''1000 Fires'' is the debut studio album by American singer and actress

Traci Lords Traci Lords (born Nora Louise Kuzma; May 7, 1968) is an American actress and singer. She entered the adult film industry using a fake birth certificate to conceal that she was two years under the legal age of eighteen. Lords starred in adult fi ...

, released on February 28, 1995, by

Radioactive Records Radioactive Records was an American record label. It was formed as a joint venture between talent manager Gary Kurfirst (who managed such acts as the Ramones, Big Audio Dynamite, Deee-Lite and Deborah Harry) and MCA Records, and it is now out of ...

. The album remains her only full-length music release to date. Lords started working on the album in April 1994, and collaborated with producers

Juno Reactor Juno Reactor is a multi-national musical and performing group, primarily based in Brighton, UK. Known for their cinematic fusion of electronic, global influences, and orchestral symphonic approach, collaborating with composer Don Davis and compo ...

, Mike Edwards and

Babble Babble may refer to: * ''Babble'' (That Petrol Emotion album), 1987 album by That Petrol Emotion * ''Babble'' (Coyne & Krause album), 1979 album by Kevin Coyne And Dagmar Krause * Babble (band), a later incarnation of the Thompson Twins * Babb ...

. Executive produced by

Gary Kurfirst Gary Kurfirst (8 July 1947 – 13 January 2009) was an American music promoter, producer, manager, publisher, and record label executive. Kurfirst founded Radioactive Records, whose acts included Live, Black Grape, Ramones, Big Audio Dynamite, ...

, ''1000 Fires'' is predominantly influenced by

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

music with elements of

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

and

trip hop Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with "downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop ...

. Lyrically, it mostly focuses on dark themes, referring to Lords's past in the

porn Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,

industry, revealing her

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

experience on the song "Father's Field" or dealing with thoughts of

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

on "

Fallen Angel In the Abrahamic religions, fallen angels are angels who were expelled from heaven. The literal term "fallen angel" never appears in any Abrahamic religious texts, but is used to describe angels cast out of heaven"Mehdi Azaiez, Gabriel Said R ...

". Upon its release, the album received mixed reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

. It achieved moderate commercial success, but failed to enter the ''Billboard'' 200. It is currently out of print. During the promotion of the album, Lords performed as a DJ and opened shows for other artists such as

Moby Richard Melville Hall (born September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, singer, producer, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "among the ...

and the band

My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult (often shortened to Thrill Kill Kult or TKK) is an American electronic industrial rock band originally based in Chicago and founded by Groovie Mann (born Frankie Nardiello) and Buzz McCoy (born Marston Daley). ...

. Two singles from the album were released. The lead single, "

Control Control may refer to: Basic meanings Economics and business * Control (management), an element of management * Control, an element of management accounting * Comptroller (or controller), a senior financial officer in an organization * Controllin ...

", peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Songs and its

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

version was featured in the film ''

Mortal Kombat ''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The development of the first game was originally based on an idea that Ed Boon and John Tobias had of making a v ...

'' (1995). The

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

to the film was certified

double platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA), which earned Lords her first music award. Its following single, "

", was also successful in charts, peaking at number eleven on Hot Dance Club Songs. The

Paul Oakenfold Paul Mark Oakenfold (born 30 August 1963), formerly known mononymously as Oakenfold, is an English record producer, remixer and trance DJ. He has provided over 100 remixes for over 100 artists including U2, Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears, Mass ...

remix of the song was included on the soundtrack to the film ''

Virtuosity ''Virtuosity'' is a 1995 American science fiction action film directed by Brett Leonard and starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. Howard W. Koch Jr. served as an executive producer for the film. The film was released in the United Sta ...

'' (1995), in which Lords had a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...

Background and recording

After her departure from the

adult film Pornographic films (pornos), erotic films, sex films, and 18+ films are films that present sexually explicit subject matter in order to arouse and satisfy the viewer. Pornographic films present sexual fantasies and usually include eroticall ...

industry and transition to mainstream films, Lords got signed for a development deal with

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

, but was later dropped due to disagreements between her and the label. "They wanted to market me in the way that would make the most money. They wanted to make me the new

Samantha Fox Samantha Karen Fox (born 15 April 1966) is an English pop singer and former glamour model from East London. She rose to public attention aged 16, when her mother entered her photographs in an amateur modelling contest run by ''The Sunday Peopl ...

. And I never wanted that. That wasn't what it was about for me. I pretty much had a sense of myself, and I knew that I would be an imposter," Lords said. Following the split up from her husband Brook Yeaton, Lords decided to focus on her career outside acting. She began taking vocal lessons and was encouraged by her coach to search for a new record deal. After meeting with American DJ

Rodney Bingenheimer Rodney Bingenheimer (born December 15, 1946) is an American radio disc jockey who is best known as the host of ''Rodney on the ROQ'', a radio program that ran on the Los Angeles rock station KROQ from 1976 to 2017. In the early 1970s, he also ma ...

at a birthday party, she was recommended to Jeff Jacklin, who hired her to record the song "Love Never Dies" for the 1992 film ''

Pet Sematary Two ''Pet Sematary Two'' is a 1992 American horror film directed by Mary Lambert. The screenplay was written by Richard Outten. It is the sequel to the film ''Pet Sematary'' (1989) which was based on Stephen King's 1983 novel of the same name. The f ...

''. The producer of the soundtrack,

, signed her for a development deal with his label

. In April 1994, the label arranged her to fly to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and meet with producer Tom Bailey. They recorded the songs "I Want You", "Fly" and "Just Like Honey", which was later re-recorded by Keith Fernley of Bailey's group

with a different set of lyrics and became the song "Father's Field". Lords used lyrics she had previously written in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

based on her personal journals she kept since she was a child. After finishing her recording with Bailey, Lords wanted something with a harder edge to add another dimension to her album. She was introduced to producer Ben Watkins of the electronic group

and decided to incorporate more

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

sound. Mainly inspired by the music she would hear at warehouse parties during her stay in London, Lords teamed up with American singer Wonder with whom she created the lyrics to the song "

". Lords later commented on the inspiration behind the album's sound: "It was in England that I fell in love with

music. I was working in the UK doing some modelling a couple of years ago, and I was sharing a flat with some other girls in

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

. We were really broke, and the cheapest place to go and have a good night out were raves - you could get in for about three bucks. So I went to a lot of raves and clubs, and I fell in love with the music - it was something that wasn't happening in the States at the time." Lords recorded three more songs with Watkins; "Good-N-Evil", "Outlaw Lover" and "

". Later she met Mike Edwards, the lead singer of the band

Jesus Jones Jesus Jones are a British alternative rock band from Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire, formed in late 1988, who continue to record and perform, as of 2021. Their track " Right Here, Right Now" was an international hit, and was subsequently globall ...

. They recorded the songs "Distant Land", "Say Something" and "Okey Dokey"; the latter of which they recorded as a joke at the end of a recording session.

Title and artwork

When asked about the album's title, Lords said: "I think that fire is something that's really representative of the record. It's really, really peaceful and you're drawn to it. But if you get too close, it can torch you and kill you. But if you just get close enough, it's warm and it's soothing, it's mesmerising and it's peaceful. It can give you everything or destroy you, depending on how smart you are." The cover sleeve was shot by Joshua Jordan.

Composition

The album's opening track and lead single, "

", is an up-tempo electronic song. Heavily influenced by techno and trance, it contains a prominent

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompani ...

. "I told Ben

atkins Atkins may refer to: Places in the United States * Atkins, Arkansas, a city * Atkins, Iowa, a city * Atkins, Louisiana, an unincorporated community * Atkins, Nebraska, an unincorporated community * Atkins, Virginia, a census-designated place * ...

I wanted to do a song that had elements of rock and roll but with a techno vibe and he ran with it, creating a slamming heavy metal guitar intro on an insanely hyper track." The song is about a dominant female who nurses a broken heart as she sings, "Let me kiss it and make it better/After tonight you will forget her". "

" is also an up-tempo techno-trance song with elements of

ambient music Ambient music is a genre of music that emphasizes tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm. It may lack net composition, beat, or structured melody.The Ambient Century by Mark Prendergast, Bloomsbury, London, 2003. It u ...

. It features Spanish guitar and

castanets Castanets, also known as ''clackers'' or ''palillos'', are a percussion instrument (idiophone), used in Spanish, Kalo, Moorish, Ottoman, Italian, Sephardic, Swiss, and Portuguese music. In ancient Greece and ancient Rome there was a similar ...

. The lyrics were influenced by and written surrounding the death of

Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American musician who served as the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Nirvana. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona ...

. The third track, "Good-N-Evil", incorporates elements of

industrial music Industrial music is a genre of music that draws on harsh, mechanical, transgressive or provocative sounds and themes. AllMusic defines industrial music as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music" that was "initiall ...

. "Fly" is a mid-tempo song built around a

beat. The album's fifth track and the only

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

on the album, "Distant Land", contains elements of ambient music and features mellow guitar melody. Lyrically, the song is a tale of a woman waking up lost and not knowing where she is, searching for light in a distant land. "Outlaw Lover", the sixth track from the album, is an up-tempo electronic song. It contains strong techno elements and features male

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

vocals. Lords cast herself as a woman in a small town who had been wronged, and tells her unfaithful lover "You best be warned I'm a woman scorned," before shooting him dead. The lyrics were inspired by

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

stories and old

westerns The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

. The following track, "I Want You", is another song with strong trip hop influences and oriental vibe. "Say Something" also incorporates trip hop music within its composition. In the album's ninth track, "Father's Field", Lords reveals her experience with

when she was 10 years old. She was attacked by her 16-year-old classmate in the back of her father's house.

Release and promotion

Following the release of the album, Lords embarked on a small tour performing as a DJ, mostly in the Miami club scene. On August 12, 1995, she was the opening act of the

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...

after party, Enit Festival, alongside

Sven Väth Sven Väth (born 26 October 1964) is a German DJ and electronic music producer. He is a three-time DJ Awards winner, and his career in electronic music spans over 30 years. The single "Electrica Salsa" with OFF launched his career in 1986. Referr ...

DJ Keoki George Lopez (born October 23, 1966), known by his stage name DJ Keoki or Keoki Franconi, is a Salvadoran-American electronic musician, among other genres, DJ. Born in El Salvador and raised in Hawaii, Keoki began advertising himself as "superst ...

and

Single Cell Orchestra Single Cell Orchestra is the performing name of Miguel Fierro (born Miguel Angelo Fierro), a San Francisco-born musician who has worked for many years in electronic music and techno music, techno. His first successful single was "Transmit Liberation ...

. "

" was released as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from the album on December 20, 1994. The song received critical acclaim, especially for its

sound which was unexpected from Lords. It peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Songs and number 84 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. Its

version was featured on the soundtrack to the 1995 film ''

.'' The music video was shot in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, and was inspired by

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

with Lords portraying the female version of the character. The album's second single, "

", released on August 3, 1995, was also successful in charts, peaking at number eleven on Hot Dance Club Songs. Lords managed to get

add the song to his DJ set. His remix of the song was included on the soundtrack to the film ''

'' (1995), in which Lords had a cameo. Two music videos for the song were released: one features the original version of the song and was shot during the making of the film ''Virtuosity''; the second version, directed by

Stéphane Sednaoui Stéphane Sednaoui () is a French director, photographer, film producer and actor. Over the years, Sednaoui has redefined his artistic approach to focus on his fine-art and cinematographic projects. New and existing work have been exhibited r ...

, features the "Honeymoon Stitch Mix", produced by

Chad Smith Chad Gaylord Smith (born October 25, 1961) is an American musician who has been the drummer of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers since 1988. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. Smith is also the drummer of the h ...

and

Dave Navarro David Michael Navarro (born June 7, 1967) is an American guitarist. He is best known as a member of the rock band Jane's Addiction, with whom he has recorded four studio albums. Between 1993 and 1998, Navarro was the guitarist of the Red Hot Ch ...

, then of

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...

Reception

Upon its release, ''1000 Fires'' received mixed reviews from music critics.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

gave it three stars out of five, calling it "a competent exercise in techno". He criticized Lords's vocals as being "thin" and not having much range, but also remarked that "she does have a forceful and distinctive personality, which gives the record a cohesive sound." Benjamin Svetkey at ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' gave the album a B+, referring to Lords as "

with estrogen injections". ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' stated that "there's no saying a former under-age porn star can't make decent records and – shock! – that's exactly what her debut album is." noting that her "come-hither whisper works well on ambient items like Distant Land." while the album was brought down by "some terrible dance-by-numbers things" Despite the good chart position of the lead single, ''1000 Fires'' did not achieve mainstream success. Lords later commented: "The problem with that album was that it was ahead of its time. Electronica was just starting to happen. Moby was just starting to be huge. I opened for

Thrill Kill Kult My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult (often shortened to Thrill Kill Kult or TKK) is an American electronic industrial rock band originally based in Chicago and founded by Groovie Mann (born Frankie Nardiello) and Buzz McCoy (born Marston Daley). ...

and Moby as a DJ back then. The masses didn't know who Moby was. I think if it had been slightly delayed it would have done better.

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

had it right to wait for ''

Ray of Light ''Ray of Light'' is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released in early 1998 by Maverick Records. A stylistic and aesthetical departure from her previous work, ''Ray of Light'' is an electronica and techno-pop reco ...

''. She has been a lot better with her timing than me. I am proud of that album because I hear it now and it still feels current. It doesn't feel dated."

Track listing

;Notes * signifies an additional producer

Credits and personnel

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

– executive production *

– programming,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

– production *Mike Edwards – production, remixing *Nick Burton –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

(track 3) * B. J. Cole –

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a Console steel guitar, console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all s ...

(track 6) *Ronald Sam –

tic vocals (track 6) *Otto the Barbarian –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

(tracks 1–3, 6) *Nahoko Maehara – engineering assistance (tracks 1–3) *Keith Fernley – engineering, mixing, production assistance (tracks 4, 7, 9) *Mike Ash –

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

ing (track 4) *Ian Richardson – engineering (tracks 5, 8, 10) *Eddy Schreyer – mastering *Tim Stedman –

art direction Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the visi ...

*Joshua Jordan –

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

*REY International – design Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.

Chart performance

Singles

References

External links

* ''1000 Fires''at

* {{Authority control Traci Lords albums 1995 debut albums Radioactive Records albums