''Case Study 01'' (stylized in
all caps
In typography, all caps (short for "all capitals") refers to text or a font in which all letters are capital letters, for example: "THIS TEXT IS IN ALL CAPS". All caps may be used for emphasis (for a word or phrase). They are commonly seen in l ...
) is the second studio album by Canadian singer and songwriter
Daniel Caesar
Ashton Dumar Norwill Simmonds (born April 5, 1995), known professionally as Daniel Caesar, is a Canadian singer and songwriter. After independently building a following through the release of two critically acclaimed EPs, ''Praise Break'' (201 ...
, released on June 28, 2019, through Golden Child Recordings. It features guest appearances from
Brandy,
Pharrell Williams,
John Mayer,
Sean Leon and
Jacob Collier
Jacob Collier (; né Moriarty; born 2 August 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. His music incorporates a combination of jazz with elements from many other musical genres, and often features extensive use of reha ...
.
Promotion
Caesar held a listening party in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
in the week leading up to the album's release. Along with invited music industry figures, the event was also open to the first 200 guests that arrived. Caesar also teased the album on social media, including with a video of a person walking across a desert set to a "muted keyboard melody" and a quote from scientist
J. Robert Oppenheimer
J. Robert Oppenheimer (; April 22, 1904 – February 18, 1967) was an American theoretical physicist. A professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley, Oppenheimer was the wartime head of the Los Alamos Laboratory and is oft ...
.
Critical reception
Jacob Carey of ''
Exclaim!'' noted the "experimental nature" of the album, concluding: "Although ''Case Study 01'' may not receive the same critical reception as Freudian, it's a solid effort by an artist who is, more or less, still a rookie, attempting to diversify his sound early on in order to avoid cementing himself into gospel music for the entirety of his career."
Aaron Williams of ''
Uproxx
''Uproxx'' (stylized in all caps) is an entertainment and popular culture news website. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater, and acquired by Woven Digital (later renamed Uproxx Media Group) in 2014. The site's target audience ...
'' stated: "Even with Caesar's newfound physicality, ''Case Study 01'' is still a thoughtful, beautiful-sounding album. If nothing else, it proves he's still a smart, intriguing songwriter who could wring twice as much romance out of a couplet as any of his contemporaries. But there's also a sense that maybe he's trying a little too hard here as well."
The album was longlisted for the
2020 Polaris Music Prize
The 2020 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on October 19, 2020. The longlist was announced on June 15, 2020, with the shortlist following on July 15, 2020 and the winner announced on October 19, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 ...
.
Track listing
Notes
* All track titles are stylized in
all caps
In typography, all caps (short for "all capitals") refers to text or a font in which all letters are capital letters, for example: "THIS TEXT IS IN ALL CAPS". All caps may be used for emphasis (for a word or phrase). They are commonly seen in l ...
* signifies an additional producer
* "Cyanide" contains additional vocals by
River Tiber
The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Ri ...
and
Kardinal Offishall
Jason Drew Harrow (born May 11, 1976), better known by his stage name Kardinal Offishall (), is a Canadian rapper, record producer, DJ, and record executive. Often credited as Canada's " hip hop ambassador", he is regarded as one of the countr ...
* "Entropy" and "Frontal Lobe Muzik" contains additional vocals by Sean Leon
* "Too Deep to Turn Back" contains additional vocals by Arainna Reid
* "Complexities" contains additional vocals by Liza Yohannes
Sample credits
* "Cyanide" contains samples from "Candy Maker", performed by
Tommy James and the Shondells
Tommy James and the Shondells are an American pop rock/psychedelic rock band, formed in Niles, Michigan, in 1964. They had two No. 1 singles in the U.S. – " Hanky Panky" (July 1966, their only RIAA Certified Gold record) and "Crimson and Clo ...
.
* "Entropy" and "Too Deep to Turn Back" contains a sample from "
At the River
"At the River" is a song by British duo Groove Armada. It was released as a single in 1997 on 7-inch vinyl, limited to 500 copies. The song appeared on the duo's debut album '' Northern Star'' and again on their second album, ''Vertigo'', relea ...
" as performed by
Groove Armada
Groove Armada are an English electronic music duo, composed of Andy Cato and Tom Findlay. They achieved chart success with their singles "At the River", " I See You Baby" and " Superstylin'". The duo have released nine studio albums, four of w ...
, written by
Andrew Cocup and Tom Findlay.
Personnel
Credits adapted from Daniel Caesar's
Instagram.
Musicians
*
Daniel Caesar
Ashton Dumar Norwill Simmonds (born April 5, 1995), known professionally as Daniel Caesar, is a Canadian singer and songwriter. After independently building a following through the release of two critically acclaimed EPs, ''Praise Break'' (201 ...
– production ; recording, programming
* Alex Ernewein – production
* Arianna Reid – additional vocals
*
Boi-1da
Matthew Jehu Samuels (born October 12, 1986), known professionally as Boi-1da ( , a play on "boy wonder"), is a Jamaican-Canadian Record production, record producer and songwriter based in Toronto, Ontario.
The Toronto raised producer has work ...
– production
* DJ Camper – additional keys
* Ethan Ashby – additional production
*
John Mayer – production, additional vocals ; electric guitar
*
Jordan Evans – production ; additional production, drums
*
Kardinal Offishall
Jason Drew Harrow (born May 11, 1976), better known by his stage name Kardinal Offishall (), is a Canadian rapper, record producer, DJ, and record executive. Often credited as Canada's " hip hop ambassador", he is regarded as one of the countr ...
– additional vocals
* Liam Mitro – saxophone, flute
* Liza Yohannes – additional vocals
*
Matthew Burnett
Matthew Raymond Burnett (born July 24, 1991) is a Canadian record producer, musical director and manager from Toronto, Ontario, Canada who has worked with a number of major recording artists in various genres from R&B to soul, hip hop and rap. ...
– production ; electric bass
*
River Tiber
The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Ri ...
– additional vocals , additional production , recording , strings ; additional music
*
Sean Leon – additional vocals
*
The Neptunes
The Neptunes are an American songwriting and production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provides additional vocals on records and appears in the duo's music videos ...
– production
Technical
* Alex Ernewein – recording
* Ben "Bengineer" Sedano – assistant recording
* Chad Franscoviak – recording
* Gabriel Placentia – assistant recording
* Jordan Evans – recording , additional drum programming , programming
* Matthew Burnett – programming
* Mikalai Skrobat –
* Mike Larson – recording
* Morning Estrada – recording
*
Paul Boutin
Paul Boutin (born December 11, 1961 in Lewiston, Maine) is an American magazine writer and editor who writes about technology in a pop-culture context.
Boutin, who began writing for ''Wired'' in 1997, wrote for ''The New York Times'' from 2003 ...
– recording
* Riley Bell – mixing, mastering ; recording
* Rob Bisel – recording
Charts
References
{{Authority control
2019 albums
Daniel Caesar albums
Albums recorded at Shangri-La (recording studio)