This Is an Exercise

Last updated
This Is an Exercise
This Is an Exercise.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedFebruary 21, 2006
Genre Electropop
Length32:23
Label Kill Rock Stars (KRS 432)
Anna Oxygen chronology
All Your Faded Things
(2003)
This Is an Exercise
(2006)

This Is an Exercise is an album by experimental electropop artist Anna Oxygen, released in 2006 on Kill Rock Stars. Allmusic described the album as "just as fascinating as it is chilly and alienating. In her songs, Oxygen explores some of the same issues of authenticity, creation, and consumption that Tracy + the Plastics do, but with a sci-fi/fantasy bent." [1]

Experimental music is a general label for any music that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilites radically opposed to, and questioning of, institutionalized compositional, performing, and aesthetic conventions in music. Elements of experimental music include indeterminate music, in which the composer introduces the elements of chance or unpredictability with regard to either the composition or its performance. Artists may also approach a hybrid of disparate styles or incorporate unorthodox and unique elements.

Electropop is a music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Usually, it is described as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre has seen a revival of popularity and major influence since the 2000s.

Anna Oxygen American singer

Anna Jordan Huff (Mercovich) is an American multi-media artist, composer, producer and actress best known by her stage name Anna Oxygen. After starting her music career as a member of the Space Ballerinas, a synthpop group then based in Olympia, she recorded her debut solo album All Your Faded Things (2003) with producer Justin Trosper, before releasing her second album This Is an Exercise (2006) on the Kill Rock Stars label. Her albums have featured guest vocalists such as Beth Ditto and Mirah.

Contents

Production and release

Oxygen composed the album herself, also handling piano, primary vocals, and sequencing. It also featured Melissa Collins on cello, Andy Gertz on accordion, and guest vocalists Kitty Jenson, Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn & Ginger Takahashi. Portland artist Jona Bechtolt helped Oxygen with the cover art. [1] It was released on February 21, 2006 on Kill Rock Stars. [1]

Jona Bechtolt electronic musician

Jona Bechtolt is an electronic musician and multimedia artist based in Portland, Oregon, United States, best known as for his band YΔCHT. He is a former member of The Badger King, Dirty Projectors, and The Blow. YΔCHT began in 2003 as a vehicle for his solo work, but in 2008 became a duo with the addition of singer Claire L. Evans.

Kill Rock Stars American record label

Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and Tinuviel Sampson, and based in both Olympia, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, but was originally known for its commitment to underground punk rock bands and the Olympia area music scene.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Phoenix New Times (positive) [2]

The album met with a mixed reception, with a number of reviewers writing about the album with acclaim. In a positive review for the Phoenix New Times , Ray Cummings called the album "dancey." About Oxygen's vocals, Cummings wrote that "Huff's voice recalls Linda Perry's... at its lightest, it's diva-in-training delightful. In either mode, her pipes are a perfect contrast to the rhythmically ebullient programmed synths and beats supporting them - backdrops coursing, playful, robotic, and pop basic." [2]

Phoenix New Times is a free digital and print media company based in Phoenix, Arizona. New Times publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music and arts, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue circulates every Thursday. The company has been owned by Voice Media Group since January 2013, when a group of senior executives bought out the founding owners. Stuart Warner was named editor of New Times in January 2017.

Linda Perry American singer

Linda Perry is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. She was the lead singer and primary songwriter of 4 Non Blondes, and has since founded two record labels and composed and produced hit songs for several other artists. They include: "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera; "What You Waiting For?" by Gwen Stefani; and "Get the Party Started" by P!nk. Perry has also contributed to albums by Adele, Alicia Keys, and Courtney Love, as well as signing and distributing James Blunt in the United States. Perry was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2015.

In a positive review for Allmusic, Heather Phares called the album "a darker, more dramatic, and more polished affair than All Your Faded Things ," also describing it as "just as fascinating as it is chilly and alienating. In her songs, Oxygen explores some of the same issues of authenticity, creation, and consumption that Tracy + the Plastics do, but with a sci-fi/fantasy bent." [1] Phares gave the album 3.5/5 stars, also stating that "on This Is an Exercise, Anna Oxygen excels at creating a unique, sometimes disturbing sonic world with an almost-palpable sense of atmosphere." [1]

<i>All Your Faded Things</i> 2003 studio album by Anna Oxygen

All Your Faded Things is an album released by Anna Oxygen on July 22, 2003 under the Cold Crush Records label. It was produced by Justin Trosper.

Tracy + the Plastics is the name of the electropop and video project group from Olympia, Washington. The members include Nikki Romanos on keyboard, Cola on drums, and Tracy as the lead vocals. Although the name implied the group was made up of a lead singer and back up musicians, all three characters were performed by Wynne Greenwood, a lesbian feminist artist using video projection who calls herself a representative of the "lesbo for disco" generation.

Track listing

  1. "Fairy Quest" – 2:59
  2. "Fake Pajamas" – 2:41
  3. "Dream. Dream. Dreams." – 2:26
  4. "March of Human" – 1:40
  5. "Hypertension" – 3:25
  6. "R.R.N." – 2:23
  7. "Mechanical Fish" – 2:51
  8. "Walk" – 2:53
  9. "Psychic Rainbow" – 2:13
  10. "Willow Song" – 4:08
  11. "This Is..." – 2:27
  12. "Hold You" – 2:17

Personnel

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Phares, Heather (February 21, 2006). "This Is an Exercise Review". Allmusic . Retrieved 2014-12-30.
  2. 1 2 Cummings, Ray (February 23, 2006). "This Is an Exercise Review". Phoenix New Times . Retrieved 2014-12-30.
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Discogs is a website and crowdsourced database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are located in Portland, Oregon, US. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the largest online database of electronic music, there are now releases in all genres and on all formats on the site. In fact, after the database was opened to contributions from the public, Rock music began to take over as the most prevalent genre. Discogs currently contains over 11.6 million releases, by over 6 million artists, across over 1.3 million labels, contributed from over 456,000 contributor user accounts — with these figures constantly growing as users continually add previously unlisted releases to the site over time.

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