''I'm Dreaming'' is the debut studio album by Australian electronic musician and producer

Alice Ivy Annika Schmarsel (born 8 July 1993) known by her stage name Alice Ivy, is an Australian electronic musician and producer. Alice Ivy was the winner of the 2016 Triple J Unearthed Listen Out competition. She has released two studio albums: '' I'm ...

, released on 9 February 2018 by

Dew Process Dew Process is an Australian independent record label, based in Brisbane, Queensland, founded and owned by Australian music industry figure Paul Piticco. Operational The label operates in two primary areas: traditional development of Australi ...

in Australia and New Zealand and by

Last Gang Records Last Gang Records is a record label formed by Canadian music industry lawyer Chris Taylor (businessman), Chris Taylor and concert promoter Donald K. Tarlton in the Fall of 2003 at the Pop Montreal Music Festival. Last Gang was nominated as Indepe ...

internationally. It was written, composed, and produced by Alice Ivy under her real name; Annika Schmarsel.

Background and promotion

The album contains many of Alice Ivy's previously released standalone singles. "Charlie" featuring Georgia van Etten, originally released on 3 January 2015. The second single "Touch" also featuring van Etten, originally released on 25 January 2016 with its music video later released in February. The third single, "Almost Here" featuring RaRa, was originally released on 23 June 2016. The fourth single, "Get Me a Drink" featuring

E^ST Melisa Bester, who performs as E^ST or East, is a South African-born Australian singer-songwriter and musician. She has released four extended plays, ''Old Age'' (2014), ''The Alley'' (September 2015), ''Get Money!'' (July 2016) and ''Life Ain' ...

and Charlie Threads, was originally released on 9 March 2017. The fifth and final single, "Be Friends" featuring Cazeaux O.S.L.O. and Tim De Cotta, was released on 22 September 2017. From February to March 2018, Alice Ivy performed an eight date headline tour to promote her debut album. On all East Coast dates, Alice Ivy was accompanied by Melbourne soul artist Nasty Mars, with local opening slots going to Oh Boy, Keelan Mak, François, Sophiegrophy, Strictface & Skivvybeats.

Writing and composition

All songs on the album were written by Alice Ivy herself. The album is supported by many guest vocalists including; Georgia van Etten, Cazeaux O.S.L.O., Tim De Cotta, Bertie Blackman, RaRa,

, and Charlie Threads. The track "Touch" contains samples from the 1951 '' Alice in Wonderland'' film. The track "Charlie" contains soundbites from various television commercials from the 1950s. The track "Chasing Stars" tells the story of "Lincoln Beachey, the first person to do a loop to loop in an airplane. The music has many layers which depict the endless landscape of the sky." The album's genre has been described as

chillwave Chillwave (originally considered synonymous with glo-fi and hypnagogic pop) is a music microgenre that emerged in the late 2000s. It loosely emulates 1980s electropop while engaging with notions of memory and nostalgia. Common features inclu ...

downtempo Downtempo (or downbeat) is a broad label for electronic music that features an atmospheric sound and slower beats than would typically be found in dance music. Closely related to ambient music but with greater emphasis on rhythm, the style may b ...

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 ...

, while also incorporating elements of

plunderphonics Plunderphonics is a music genre in which tracks are constructed by sampling recognizable musical works. The term was coined by composer John Oswald in 1985 in his essay "Plunderphonics, or Audio Piracy as a Compositional Prerogative", and even ...

neo-psychedelia Neo-psychedelia is a diverse genre of psychedelic music that draws inspiration from the sounds of 1960s psychedelia, either updating or copying the approaches from that era. Originating in the 1970s, it has occasionally seen mainstream pop su ...

nu jazz Nu jazz (also known as jazztronica, or future jazz) is a genre of jazz and electronic music. The music blends jazz elements with other musical styles, such as funk, electronic music, and free improvisation.Definition from Sergey Chernov, June 7, ...

big beat Big beat is an electronic music genre that usually uses heavy breakbeats and synthesizer-generated loops and patterns – common to acid house/techno. The term has been used by the British music industry to describe music by artists such as th ...

, and hip hop.

Critical reception

The album received positive reviews. ''LunchBox'' rated the album 4/5 and said: "It is easy to be taken away into a tranquil state of mind when listening to this record." Rating the album positively, Sarah Pritchard from ''Altmedia'' said: "Alice Ivy's debut is a creative triumph and an example of how not to lose heart when surrounded by too much choice, the album is the result of a discerning, musically trained mind." Paul Waxman of ''Beat'' rated it positively, saying: "Alice Ivy's impressive debut really is a dream, each track taking the listener to a new but familiar place. And like every good dream, you feel sad once it's over." ''Sungenre'', in a positive review said: "''I'm Dreaming'' is an impressive effort from an all-in-one breakout producer who should be monitored closely."

Track listing

Notes * Georgia van Etten is featured in "Charlie" but is only credited on the single's SoundCloud page, not in the track's title.

Personnel

Credits adapted from

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

Musicians

* Annika Schmarsel - guitar, vocals, mixing, mastering, writing, producer Additional musicians * Georgia van Etten – vocals * Cazeaux O.S.L.O. – vocals * Tim de Cotta – vocals * Bertie Blackman – vocals * RaRa – vocals *

– vocals * Charlie Threads – vocals * Connor Black Harry – backing vocals * Luy Amiel – guitar * Sam Dowson – drums

Technical

* Ben Coe – mastering * Phil Threlfall – mixing * Cam Bluff – mixing * Simon Lam – mastering

Release history

References

{{Authority control Alice Ivy albums 2018 debut albums Dew Process albums