''I Com'' is the first solo studio album by French singer and DJ
Miss Kittin
Caroline Hervé (born 1973), known professionally as Miss Kittin, is a French electronic music producer, DJ, singer, and songwriter. Since rising to prominence in 1998 for her singles " 1982" and "Frank Sinatra" with The Hacker, she has worked ...
, released on 31 May 2004 by
NovaMute Records
Novamute Records is the electronic dance music subsidiary of Mute Records, which was started in 1992.Larkin, Colin (1999) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music'', Virgin Books, , p. 243 The label's staff included Mick Paterson (promotions ...
. It is Miss Kittin's first solo release, having previously released albums in collaboration with
The Hacker
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
and
Golden Boy. As in her previous works,
and
electroclash
Electroclash (also known as synthcore, retro-electro, tech-pop, nouveau disco, and the new new wave) is a genre of music that fuses 1980s electro, new wave and synth-pop
Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) ...
continue to be the primary genres.
Most of the tracks on the album were produced by Miss Kittin with either Thies Mynther and Tobi Neumann (producers of
Chicks on Speed
Chicks on Speed is a feminist music and fine art ensemble, formed in Munich in 1997, after members Australian Alex Murray-Leslie and American Melissa Logan met at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts.
Though Chicks on Speed reached cult status th ...
).
House music
House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...
vocalist L.A. Williams raps on the track "
Requiem for a Hit", the album's second single.
Singles
"
Professional Distortion" was released as the album's lead single on 17 May 2004. It peaked at number 83 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 ...
and at number 77 on the
French Singles Chart
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...
.
The second single, "
Requiem for a Hit", was released on 27 September 2004. It peaked at number 92 on the UK Singles Chart
and at number six on the
Belgian Dance Chart.
"
Happy Violentine
"Happy Violentine" is the third single from the Miss Kittin's first solo album ''I Com''.
Critical reception
Derek Miller of Pitchfork Media described the song "Happy Violentine" as "a love song pulled inside out, a track that seems pleased to di ...
" was released on 14 February 2005 as the third and final single. It reached 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 ...
and number nine on the
Belgian Dance Chart.
Promotion
Miss Kittin released the
EP ''
Mixing Me'' on 19 April 2005. The EP contains remixes of several ''I Com'' tracks such as its three singles.
Critical reception
''I Com'' received generally favorable reviews from music critics. At
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which assigns a
normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an
average
In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...
score of 73, based on 17 reviews.
Joseph Shoo of ''
Drowned in Sound
''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums.
History
''D ...
'' commented that ''I Com'' has the "sweet attitude of sheer independent energy" while containing "neural giddiness and cerebral edginess".
Likewise, Johnny Loftus of
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 ...
described ''I Com'' as "the best bits and pieces of the post-everything genres have been rearranged in a newfangled data stream to represent Miss Kittin's very elusive, entirely accessible muse. The alluring result is cool, reloaded."
By contrast, Derek Miller of ''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...
'' noted that "some of Kittin's lyrical deficits undercut her production."
Track listing
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''I Com''.
Musicians
*
Miss Kittin
Caroline Hervé (born 1973), known professionally as Miss Kittin, is a French electronic music producer, DJ, singer, and songwriter. Since rising to prominence in 1998 for her singles " 1982" and "Frank Sinatra" with The Hacker, she has worked ...
– vocals ; drums ; programming ; synth break
*
Otto von Schirach
Otto von Schirach (born March 10, 1978 in Miami, Florida) is an American IDM and breakcore musician. Of Cuban and German heritage, he grew up in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami and heavily incorporates elements of Miami bass
Miami b ...
– programming
* Tobi Neumann – guitar
* L.A Williams – vocals
* Thies Mynther – piano ; bass, synths ; programming
* Tobi Neumann – programming ; guitar ; vocoder ; bass
* Sue.Zuki – vocals
*
The Hacker
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
– programming ; hectic breathing
* Florian – vocals
Technical
*
Caroline Hervé – production
* Tobias Neumann – production
* Thies Mynther – production
* Rashad – mastering
Artwork
*
Wolfgang Tillmans
Wolfgang Tillmans (born 16 August 1968) is a German photographer. His diverse body of work is distinguished by observation of his surroundings and an ongoing investigation of the photographic medium’s foundations.
Tillmans was the first photog ...
– pictures
* Miss Kittin – drawings, studio pics
* Bente Schipp – graphic design
Charts
References
{{Authority control
2004 debut albums
Miss Kittin albums
Novamute Records albums