''Big Calm'' is the second studio album by English

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...

group

Morcheeba Morcheeba is an English electronic band formed in the mid-1990s with founding members vocalist Skye Edwards and the brothers Paul and Ross Godfrey. They mix influences from trip hop, rock, folk rock and downtempo, and have produced ten regula ...

. It was released in March 1998 by Indochina Records and

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehre ...

. The album reached the top 20 of the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

, while the single "Part of the Process" charted in the top 40 of 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 ...

in August of the same year. "The Music That We Hear", included on special-edition versions of the album, is a reworking of "Moog Island" from Morcheeba's debut album, '' Who Can You Trust?'' The album cover was inspired by that of the 1966 Ray Conniff compilation ''Hi Fi Companion''.

Recording and composition

The recording of the album started on Christmas Day 1995, as Morcheeba members Paul and Ross Godfrey were awaiting the release of ''Who Can You Trust?''. After basic demos had been laid down at their home studio, the duo brought in vocalist

Skye Edwards Skye Edwards (born Shirley Klaris Yonavieve Edwards; 27 May 1974), sometimes simply Skye, is a British singer-songwriter. Her career began in 1994 when she and the Godfrey brothers (Paul Godfrey, a DJ, and Ross Godfrey, a multi-instrumentalist ...

and a number of guest performers to complete the record. Steve Bentley-Klein provided a string-arrangement for "The Sea", while "Let Me See" features Dom Pipkin on organ and

Jimmy Hastings James Brian Gordon Hastings (born 12 May 1938) is a British musician associated with the Canterbury scene who plays saxophones, flute and clarinet. Hastings was born in Aberdeen, Scotland. He has played with his brother Pye Hastings in Caravan, ...

on flute. The song "Blindfold" had been written for the film ''

She's So Lovely ''She's So Lovely'' is a 1997 American romantic drama film directed by Nick Cassavetes, written by John Cassavetes. At the time of its release, it received special attention because, eight years after his death, it was the first (and still on ...

'', but was not deemed ready for the feature. "Friction" features Spikey T while the title track includes contributions from Jason Furlow and

DJ Swamp Ronald K. Keys Jr. aka DJ Swamp is an American hip hop DJ, turntablist, producer and vocalist. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. He currently resides in Los Angeles, United States. In 1996, he won the title of US DMC Champion, his ...

Track listing

All lyrics written by Paul Godfrey, Ross Godfrey & Skye Edwards except 11 written by Paul Godfrey, Ross Godfrey, Skye Edwards & Jason Furlow

Personnel

– vocals and production *Paul Godfrey – programming, scratching, live drums and lyrics *Ross Godfrey – all guitars, sitar, pedal steel, lap steel, clavinet, Hammond, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer piano, drums, EMS synthesizer and MKS 80 *Pete Norris – sound manipulation, synthesizer programming *Spikey-T – Jamaican vocals on "Friction" *Jason Furlow aka Nosaj the Great – rapping on "Big Calm"

Recording and composition

Track listing

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References