"City of Dreams" is the first
single from
Joel Turner's second studio album ''
Out of the Box''. It was released on 25 August 2007 and features Turner on vocals, beatbox and acoustic guitar, with rappers C4 and KNO (of the
Modern Day Poets
Joel Turner (born 3 March 1987) is an Australian beatboxer, singer, songwriter, instrumentalist and record producer best known for the Australian hit song "These Kids". As a beatboxer, he is recognised for his trademark sounds such as his "third ...
) performing the verses. An uncensored version of the track is included on the CD single and the ''Out of the Box'' album.
The song, which includes a strong R&B aspect, is a declaration of the performers' passion for the hip hop culture and their hometown of
Brisbane. The video contains both colour and black-and-white scenes and opens with footage of a
cypher
Cypher is an alternative spelling for cipher.
Cypher may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Cypher (French Group), a Goa trance music group
* Cypher (band), an Australian instrumental band
* Cypher (film), ''Cypher'' (film), a 2002 film
* C ...
led by KNO and
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
MC Lee Majaz, taken from the online documentary ''This Kid''. Also featured in the clip are shots of the
Brisbane River
The Brisbane River is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the river, named it after the Go ...
and city skyline, as well as scenes filmed at a local skate park, inside a train station, and at Turner's childhood home.
In a promotional interview for the ''Out of the Box'' album, Turner stated that "City of Dreams" was released as lead single at the behest of his record company Hardwax. "Personally 'City of Dreams' wasn't one of my favourites but the record company liked it and they said it was the most versatile track at the time because I was singing, playing guitar and beat boxing on it, but I like it as well because it talks about where you're from and believing in your city of dreams."
Despite Turner's previous chart successes, "City of Dreams" was not picked up by major radio and had a slow start on music television, forcing his label to rely largely on the Internet and live performances in order to reach listeners. Promotion was also hampered by Turner's broken jaw, which he had suffered less than a month before the single's release. Nevertheless, the song reached number 30 on the
ARIA Charts in its second week (number 15 on the physical singles chart). It later received a nomination for Urban Work of the Year at the 2008
APRA Awards
APRA Awards may refer to one of two awards ceremonies:
*APRA Awards (Australia)
*APRA Awards (New Zealand)
The APRA Music Awards are several annual and two-yearly award ceremonies run in New Zealand by Australasian Performing Right Association ...
and again in 2009.
Urban Work of the Year - 2009
Track listing
# "City of Dreams" (Clean Version)
Writers: Joel Turner, Chris Heiner, Kitchener Wesche, Shaunn Diamond
Producer: Colin Emmanuel
# "City of Dreams" (Album Version)
Writers: Joel Turner, Chris Heiner, Kitchener Wesche, Shaunn Diamond
Producer: Colin Emmanuel
# "Turn Up the Bass" (Beatbox skit)
Writer: Joel Turner
Producer: Joel Turner
# "Jungle Rhythm" (Beatbox skit)
Writer: Joel Turner
Producer: Joel Turner
# "1,2,3" (featuring Preech)
Writers: Joel Turner, Preech
Producers: Joel Turner, Preech
Charts
References
External links
"City of Dreams" Music Video
{{authority control
2006 songs
2007 singles
Joel Turner (musician) songs