One Life Stand is the fourth album from British alternative dance band Hot Chip and was released digitally on 1 February 2010. The physical album was released on 8 February 2010 in the UK on EMI and in the US one day later on 9 February 2010, released on Astralwerks. The first single from the album, "One Life Stand", was released digitally on 30 November 2009 through the iTunes Store. Vocalist Alexis Taylor described the album as "the most warm and soulful sounding record we've made" and expressed hope that people would also say it was "a soulful quality that ties together".

Production

One Life Stand was not recorded in the manner that previous albums were. Taylor stated that the album was not "made in short bursts" but was "made with time". The first song created was "Alley Cats", which was written near the end of the band's 2008 tour, the only song to be written and performed whilst on tour. From performing it live, the band formulated a structure for the song that they felt would work and added a number of new features, such as new melodics, new hooks and a new bass line.

The band partly returned to the creative process used in the creation of The Warning in that some parts of songs were written and recorded in Goddard's bedroom, with Taylor also writing from his house and recording in the room he designated as a "music room". These parts were then built upon in a studio where the band had more space, enabling them to "expand on things". Goddard used Key Base to record at his house whilst Logic Pro was used in the studio as well as GarageBand to create parts of songs. Of the latter Taylor said, "that's what I use for recording, and that's like half of the record is going through that program". In regards to the creation of the music, Taylor stated that everyone had involvement in aspects of all of the tracks. Taylor stated that the group felt as though they had exhausted their home studio sound and the possibilities of the instruments they could use at home. Despite this, Taylor explained that he and Joe have a similar work aesthetic and that ideas would "come any time of the day or night"; working on material at home would enable them to "record at home whenever ideas come". However Taylor stated, "even the studio we worked in, it's not like a professional studio that is like, top of the range. It's just a big basement with a desk and various synthesizers and a drum kit."

Goddard said that although the album came together easily, the band had difficulty creating "Hand Me Down Your Love" because "it was just a matter of months and months of adding synthesizers, adding drum parts", which resulted in "something like 160 tracks or pieces of music". As well as this, the band needed to edit out sections that they felt were unnecessary. Goddard discussed the element of time and stated that because the band had more time to create the album, they "tried things out differently" which was ultimately "a little bit unhelpful" due to the number of recorded parts that were never used. Goddard said the band wanted to move away from synths and minimised their presence by making them more subtle. Although the band wanted the album to be a pop record and present "a unified front", Al Doyle stated that the band did not want to lose the "experimental element that had before". To achieve this the band used a broader range of instruments, including a flugelhorn and steel pans in combination with synths and drum machines, as well as a guitar, a drum kit and a piano. Doyle said it was "quite exciting for to work with that palette of instruments". Whilst the band wanted to create an album that was more cohesive, Taylor said that they did not "try to make it all sound like from the same record". The cohesiveness and unity of the album was a by-product of the way the band spent their time crafting it:

When the album was completed and handed over to the label, their response was positive: "Cool, we really like it".

Song writing

Unlike Made in the Dark, the song writing approach to One Life Stand was less of a collaborative effort. Only three or four songs were written as a group whilst the rest were written by Goddard and Taylor, though Doyle said "we did have input in the way it was produced". Doyle described the writing process for the album as "a bit like writing a poem" because there was "a certain structure" that the band needed to work to whilst exercising "as much freedom" as they could. Goddard described the band's approach to song-writing as a "mix of things a lot of very careful thinking about rhythms, and interlaying a lot of different ideas and influences" though, at certain points, there would be the sense that something needed to occur and these elements in songs were created spontaneously from the interaction between himself and Taylor: "this melody will somehow suddenly explode in your mind. It’s never planned, it just seems to happen; almost like it has to." "Hand Me Down Your Love" and "Slush" were written by Taylor whilst Goddard wrote "Brothers". Doyle stated that "One Life Stand" and "I Feel Better" were put together "in a slightly more piecemeal way".

The album was penned in the summer, with Doyle stating that the band were trying to make an "upbeat, optimistic, summertime record". Goddard said that in previous work, the band were "nervous about being open or emotionally honest" and would sometimes "have a jokiness or guarded sense to some of the words" whereas the new album is more open lyrically. In response to a description of the album as the band's most serious yet, Taylor said, "there was no decision to be more or less comic. I don't feel more or less humorous in my day-to-day" but stated that he could hear melancholy, of which he said was in "almost everything" he writes. He explained that he did not know why this was the case and said, "I can't ever write a song that just sounds completely saccharin. Even if I'm singing about someone being my complete love life, I'm singing about my own inabilities to be as bright as that person." Like Taylor, Doyle said he felt that there was "a certain vein of disquiet and melancholy that runs through the record". Another emotion that the band felt was present in One Life Stand was love. Goddard stated that the band did not set out to write an album about love but due to them feeling "quite settled and happy", he admitted that it had come through in their song writing. In particular, Taylor wrote some of the songs whilst holding his newborn daughter. Taylor felt that due to their growth as song writers and producers the band had progressed over time, resulting in improved "clarity, melodic simplicity and strength" in their song writing.

Album title

The name of the album was chosen because the band could not agree upon any other names. Taylor described the album title as being "a very dumb pun in a way" and felt it was "quite an ugly sounding phrase" but despite this, he felt the sentiment behind made it "quite a nice thing to say" because, as in the title song, it refers to "turning a one night stand into someone's whole life". Taylor stated that he liked "that kind of way of expressing love towards someone" and the idea of using a "simple but quite clumsy turn on cliché" to do so.

Taylor discussed the idea of applying the album title as a metaphor for how it could be read. He felt the title suggested longevity and stated that although it was not the band's intention to create an album "that'll be around for a long time", there was a "kind of underlying guide to make songs worthwhile for a long time, and not just temporary".

Artwork

Darren Wall (Wallzo), who previously designed the artwork for The Warning and Made in the Dark, was responsible for the album artwork for One Life Stand. As with previous Hot Chip album designs, Wall worked closely with Owen Clarke on the initial idea to reach "a core aesthetic" to experiment with. Wall expressed that over time the taste and influences of the band and himself "are always a little bit different", which results in differing artwork. However, Wall stated that he and Clarke have "hugely overlapping tastes" and tend to "gravitate towards 'mysterious objects' that invite interpretation" such as the blocks featured on the cover of The Warning and "The Artifact" used for Made in the Dark. The design the duo settled on was of a suspended marble head, which was inspired by photographs of statues being lowered into place using coloured canvas slings. Wall felt this created an interesting theme due to the idea of a classical form being "intersected with bright stripes of colour" and the idea appealed to the band. Wall described the image and being "essentially quite an over-the-top image" and stated that there was "plenty of Giorgio de Chirico and Hipgnosis reference" in the image.

Musical style

In an interview with Pitchfork Media, Taylor said, "I feel like the melodies on the new album are much more in-your-face, and it's more coherent." Compared with Made in the Dark, where Taylor stated he was interested in embracing the idea of "a messy double album" where each song sounds different sonically, Taylor said One Life Stand "hangs together better and doesn't feel the need to be lots of different things stylistically". Goddard stated that he felt Made in the Dark "was trying to be more futuristic, more crazy, 21st century, synthy and weird" whereas One Life Stand goes "back to basics". Taylor described the album as being "a less cluttered, less busy sounding record than ever before".

Taylor felt that the backing vocals of the song "Slush" sounded like a vocal exercise, using "the same cadence as many very famous melodies" and likened it to "Crazy" by Willie Nelson. Taylor liked the simplicity of "Slush" and stated that "one of the most special things about the album" for him was that Charles Hayward, drummer of This Heat, plays and sings in it.

Influences

The album was influenced by a variety of different people. Taylor stated that "I Feel Better" was based on Joe Goddard "listening to Susan Boyle on TV and thought of string melody by kind of misremembering Les Misérables song". Following this, Taylor wrote the chorus, which he described as sounding like "La Isla Bonita" by Madonna. This was not the only song to be influenced by Boyle; "Keep Quiet" was written by Goddard immediately after seeing Boyle perform "I Dreamed a Dream" on Britain's Got Talent. Goddard said he "found it quite incredible" and listening to it made him want to write a song, which he sent to Taylor, who wrote the words and sent it back." Taylor stated that though the song "Alley Cats" was influenced by the song "That's Us/Wild Combination" by Arthur Russell, which he and Goddard both like, the sound of the finished version was "something a bit more Fleetwood Mac-y". Taylor said that a new bass line, which gave the song a different feel, was responsible for the transformation. Taylor said "We Have Love" had a similar feel to Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" "in terms of the euphoria of the chorus", which he described as being "reminiscent of that".

Lyrics

Unlike on previous albums where the band felt their lyrics were obtuse they wanted to be direct with the song meaning and based the song's lyrics on love and their relationships. Taylor described "Alley Cats" as one of Goddard's more private songs and speculated that the song seemed "to partly be about his mother and wishing that she was alive to hear this song that he's singing". Taylor stated that the words of the chorus "relate to when you're feeling something that you really love is coming to an end, and saying that's not really possible". The song "I Feel Better" was described by Taylor as a song "trying to reach a kind of positive conclusion and positive state of mind whilst also trying to think about the terrible state the world is in". Doyle explained that the lyrics were about "the malaise of living in a world where there's climate change and finding solace in the arms of your partner".

Collaborators

Fimber Bravo and Charles Hayward were asked to collaborate on the album and Taylor said they immediately created unexpected material. Taylor described Hayward as "very capable of coming up with his own stuff" and stated that he was responsible for the drumming in the background of the final chorus of "Hand Me Down Your Love", which Taylor labelled as "explosive". He stated that it was not something the band would have thought to do and that it worked "tremendously well". The recordings Hayward did only lasted for a few hours and Taylor stated, "we were kind of just left to our own devices to see if we could make use of it". Bravo wanted to use the steel pans, featured in the title track "One Life Stand", "in a way that not really known for".

Release and reception

The UK release of the album is set for 8 February 2010 on EMI with the US release following on 9 February 2010 on Astralwerks.

Promotion

General manager of marketing for Astralwerks, Glenn Mendlinger, stated that the first single of the album, One Life Stand had not been "officially serviced" but was given to some "key tastemakers", reaching number five at KCRW, a Los Angeles public radio station. He said, "This is also the first time we're taking the band wider at radio, not just to college and speciality stations, but to commercial alternative".

To promote One Life Stand, Hot Chip toured a variety of places, including the UK in February 2010 as well as Europe with 10 dates in Holland, Belgium, France, Germany and Italy in March 2010 and will embark on a US tour with The xx for six dates at large venues as of 19 April 2010. Rehearsals were set to begin in January 2010 with Goddard stating, "I can't really remember how to play any of the new songs at this point".

As well as touring, Hot Chip promoted the album by performing their current single I Feel Better on Later... with Jools Holland on 13 April 2010, as well as previous single One Life Stand.

Formats

The album will be released on two CD formats; a standard album, which contains ten tracks and a deluxe edition, which includes the album and, in addition, a bonus DVD with a "making of" documentary and three live tracks recorded in Brixton in 2008. The album will also be released on 12" vinyl in two editions; a standard album and a special edition gatefold 12" vinyl designed by Wallzo. The special edition vinyl release has been limited to 1000 hand-numbered copies worldwide and consists of two 200g records, pressed at EMI 1400 in Hayes, Middlesex. It is to be released by The Vinyl Factory and will contain a number of special features such as an exclusive art print. It has been said that the format is set to become "an instant collectors item".

Chart positions

Album

References

Category:2010 albums

Category:Hot Chip albums

fr:One Life Stand

pt:One Life Stand

Artist/Band Information

Hot Chip are an English electropop band. They have released four studio albums—Coming on Strong, The Warning, Made in the Dark and One Life Stand.

History

Formation

Hot Chip formed in 2000, though members Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard had previously worked together and had been at Elliott School in Putney, London since 1991. In an interview, Goddard jokingly compared early Hot Chip releases to sixth-form poetry with acoustic guitars, although an interest in dance music rhythms and electronic experimentation is present in even the early recordings and releases such as the 'Mexico EP'. The current line up was completed when occasional collaborators Owen Clarke, Felix Martin and later Al Doyle joined the band full time in 2003.

Coming on Strong

After years of self-releasing records, they signed with Moshi Moshi in 2003 and released their debut LP Coming on Strong in 2004. During this period, they were joined by Felix Martin and Al Doyle. They started working on their second album and signed a UK & US record deal with DFA Records and EMI. DFA and Astralwerks released their debut album for the first time in the US in late 2005.

The Warning

In 2006, Hot Chip released their second album, The Warning. Now signed to EMI in the UK, the band gained more mainstream appeal as well as the attention of critics. The album was shortlisted for the 2006 Nationwide Mercury Prize and was Mixmag's Album of the Year 2006. This album spawned also two UK top forty singles: "Over and Over" in March 2006 and "Boy from School" in May 2006. "Over and Over" received attention for its music video, which was directed by Nima Nourizadeh, and was also named as the best single of 2006 by British music magazine NME.

Made in the Dark

The band released their third studio album, Made in the Dark, on February 4, 2008. The first song to be released from it was "Shake a Fist", which was released as a limited one-sided 12" in August 2007. The second release was "Ready For The Floor" in January 2008, which reached number 6 in the UK Singles Chart. In order to promote "Ready for the Floor", the band appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross in January 2008, and Joe Goddard appeared on Never Mind The Buzzcocks on 31 January. In February 2008, the band performed on the American talk shows Jimmy Kimmel and Carson Daly. On 7 May 2008, the group performed their third single, "One Pure Thought", on Radio 1's Live Lounge. The hypnotic clip for "One Pure Thought" was selected as one of the best music videos of 2008 by AllMusic.com.

One Life Stand

Having completed a world tour in February 2009, Hot Chip returned to London and began writing and recording their fourth album, One Life Stand.

In early 2009, Alexis Taylor told NME that the band recorded new songs including "Alley Cats", which the band played regularly while touring in 2008/2009. Initially, Taylor hinted that the album was going to be "a bit calmer this time" in comparison to Made in the Dark with songs that are "more mid-tempo and disco influenced", although the two tracks released prior to the album, "Take It In" and "One Life Stand", suggest that it will be more upbeat than first suggested, and may be more influenced by early house music . Alongside the regular band members, Hot Chip collaborated on several of the album tracks with the drummer Charles Hayward from This Heat and Camberwell Now, Leo Taylor, drummer from the London based band The Invisible and the Trinidadian steel pan player Fimber Bravo.

One Life Stand was released on 1 February 2010, and Hot Chip announced a new world tour in 2010.

Tours and appearances

Hot Chip - Leeds Academy.JPGthumbright250pxHot Chip Performing on stage at the Leeds Academy

During live performances, Hot Chip reinvent their studio compositions to form what has been described by Glide magazine as "heavy beat-driven improvisation" that create "an atmosphere of excitement, energy and the unexpected." Festival appearances include V Festival 2008, Dour Festival, Glastonbury, Treasure Island Festival, Roskilde festival, Sónar, Benicassim, Electric Picnic, Bestival, Lovebox, Bonnaroo, the Reading and Leeds Festivals, the Big Day Out, Melt! festival, T in the Park, Summer Sundae, Splendour In The Grass, Lollapalooza in 2006, the Brazilian Tim Festival in 2007, Oxegen in 2008, Coachella in 2007, 2008 and 2010, and Austin City Limits in September 2008. They also played at San Diego's Street Scene in 2008.

During a performance at the Glastonbury festival on 28 June 2008, Hot Chip played their cover of "Wearing My Rolex" and were joined onstage by Wiley. They also ended a number of sets in 2008 with a cover of Prince's (popularised by Sinéad O'Connor) "Nothing Compares 2 U."

The band is also known for its DJ talent; they have released several mix CDs and mixes for national and international radio stations and they all DJ regularly worldwide.

They have just been added to the lineup of the well-known Voodoo Festival 2010 which will take place over Halloween weekend in New Orleans, LA.

Other recordings

Hot Chip released a DJ-Kicks compilation album in 2007, which included a new song called "My Piano", also released as a 12".

In 2008, the band released an EP which included collaborations with Robert Wyatt. Wyatt sang and reworked versions of three tracks from Made in the Dark, and the Hot Chip with Robert Wyatt and Geese EP also included a remix by Geese, a string quartet based in London who have regularly contributed to Hot Chip's recordings. Alexis Taylor also released a solo album in late 2008 entitled Rubbed Out, which saw him focusing more on the fundamental sounds used by Hot Chip leading to a more downtempo and bluesy album than Taylor's works with Hot Chip .

In 2009, a new DJ mix album A Bugged Out Mix by Hot Chip was released on the Bugged Out label, a two disc album with disc one a collection of club and dance tracks mixed by Martin, and disc two a "house party" mix put together by Goddard, Taylor and Clarke. The artwork was made by Bevis Martin and Charlie Youle.

Other releases in 2008 and 2009 included a collaboration with Peter Gabriel on a cover version of the Vampire Weekend song Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa, many remixes including the song "Babongo Tribe Remix" for the Survival International charity album, Songs for Survival and a cover of Joy Division's "Transmission" to the War Child charity album, Heroes.

UK producer Kaze the Producer produced a dubstep remix of Hot Chip's 2010 release 'I Feel Better'.

Members

*Alexis Taylor – vocals, synthesizer, guitar, percussion, piano

*Joe Goddard – vocals, synthesizer, percussion

*Owen Clarke – guitar, bass, synthesizer

*Al Doyle – guitar, synthesizer, percussion, backing vocals, steel pans (Also plays guitar, bass, synths, and percussion for LCD Soundsystem)

*Felix Martin – drum machines, synthesizer

Former members

*Hagop Tchaparian aka The Letter G – Drum machines

*Rob Smoughton aka Grovesnor - Drums

*Daniel Paton – Drums

*Chris Trigg - Bass guitar

*Dillon Nagle - Guitar

*William Rickwood - Keytar

Guest members

*Leo Taylor - Drums (Plays drums for The Invisible)

Discography

Studio albums

* Coming on Strong (2004)

* The Warning (2006)

* Made in the Dark (2008)

* One Life Stand (2010)

References