Music by Cavelight

Music by Cavelight
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 23, 2004 (2004-03-23)
Genre
Length51:07
LabelNinja Tune
ProducerBlockhead
Blockhead chronology
Music by Cavelight
(2004)
Downtown Science
(2005)
Singles from Music by Cavelight
  1. "Insomniac Olympics"
    Released: 2003
  2. "Sunday Seance"
    Released: 2004

Music by Cavelight is the first solo studio album by American hip hop producer Blockhead.[1] It was released on Ninja Tune on March 23, 2004.[1] It peaked at number 43 on the UK Independent Albums Chart.[2] It received generally favorable reviews from critics.[3]

Release

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Music by Cavelight came about when Mush Records, for whom Blockhead had already produced a breakbeat album, asked him to produce an album.[4] After Mush Records stopped returning his phone calls, he and his manager sent the demos around other labels before Ninja Tune, having received a copy through Warp Records, offered to release the album.[4]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic72/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
CMJ New Music Monthlyfavorable[6]
Exclaim!favorable[7]
HipHopDX[8]
MusicOMHfavorable[9]
Pitchfork6.5/10[10]
PopMattersfavorable[1]
Stylus MagazineD+[11]

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 72, based on 10 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[3]

John Bush of AllMusic wrote, "These tracks are much smoother than the warped jams that fans of his hip-hop work know him for; most of the instrument sources on these tracks are not only recognizable, but hardly tampered with at all."[5] Rollie Pemberton of Pitchfork stated that "All around, Blockhead's first foray into solo sound collage is far from bad, but it rarely steals the show the way his rapper-associated work tends to."[10]

Track listing

[edit]
Original UK edition
No.TitleLength
1."Insomniac Olympics"5:06
2."Carnivores Unite"4:46
3."You've Got Maelstrom"4:47
4."Sunday Seance"5:26
5."A Better Place"4:26
6."Road Rage Breakdown"4:15
7."Triptych Pt. 1"4:03
8."Triptych Pt. 2"3:04
9."Triptych Pt. 3"2:54
10."Jet Son"3:48
11."Breathe and Start"4:22
12."Music by Cavelight"4:10
Total length:51:07
North American edition
No.TitleLength
1."Hello Popartz"2:24
2."You've Got Maelstrom"4:47
3."Carnivores Unite"4:46
4."Sunday Seance"5:26
5."A Better Place"4:26
6."Road Rage Breakdown"4:15
7."Triptych Pt. 1"4:04
8."Triptych Pt. 2"3:04
9."Triptych Pt. 3"2:54
10."Jet Son"3:48
11."Music by Cavelight"4:10
12."Breathe and Start"4:22
13."Bullfight in Ireland"4:46
14."Insomniac Olympics"5:06
Total length:58:21
Limited edition CD bonus disc: Aesop Rock Instrumentals
No.TitleLength
1."Daylight"4:28
2."Night Light"2:16
3."11:35"4:21
4."Maintenance"4:30
5."Forest Crunk"4:40
Total length:20:15

Personnel

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Credits adapted from the original UK edition CD liner notes.

  • Blockhead – production, executive production
  • Damien Paris – guitar (2, 5, 10), bass guitar (9)
  • Omega One – turntables (2, 3, 10, 11)
  • Baby Dayliner – violin (11), recording, mixing, executive production
  • Voda – mastering
  • Gabe Hilfer – executive production
  • Maya Hayuk – photography, design

Charts

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Chart Peak
position
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[2] 43

References

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  1. ^ a b c Umile, Dominic (April 1, 2004). "Blockhead: Music by Cavelight". PopMatters. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50: 04 April 2004 - 10 April 2004". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on March 25, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c "Music By Cavelight - Blockhead". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  4. ^ a b Toddler, Demented (April 12, 2004). "Blockhead - Music By Cavelight". Spannered. Archived from the original on April 12, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  5. ^ a b Bush, John. "Music by Cavelight - Blockhead". AllMusic. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  6. ^ Hignight, Heath K. (2004). "Blockhead: Music By Cavelight". CMJ New Music Monthly (123): 37.
  7. ^ Dix, Noel (January 1, 2006). "Blockhead - Music By Cavelight". Exclaim!. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  8. ^ J-23 (March 27, 2004). "Blockhead - Music By Cavelight". HipHopDX. Retrieved April 12, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Hogwood, Ben (March 29, 2004). "Blockhead – Music By Cavelight". MusicOMH. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  10. ^ a b Pemberton, Rollie (April 6, 2004). "Blockhead: Music by Cavelight". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  11. ^ Boeckel, Gentry (April 22, 2004). "Blockhead - Music By Cavelight". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
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