''Kick I'' (stylized as ''KiCk i''; pronounced "kick one") is the fourth
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by Venezuelan electronic record producer
Arca. Recorded between Barcelona and London, the album was released on 26 June 2020 through
XL Recordings
XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been ran and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group.
Although only releasing an average of six albu ...
. ''Kick I'' was presented with four singles: "Nonbinary", "Time", "Mequetrefe", and "
KLK" featuring
Rosalía
Rosalia Vila Tobella (born 25 September 1992), known mononymously as Rosalía (, ), is a Spanish singer. Born and raised in the outskirts of Barcelona, she has been described as an "atypical pop star" due to her genre-bending musical styles. ...
. It also includes collaborations with
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...
,
Shygirl
Blane Muise (born May 4, 1993), better known by her stage name Shygirl, is an English rapper, DJ, singer, songwriter and co-head/founder of record label and collective Nuxxe. Shygirl's music incorporates elements of hip house, industrial hip-ho ...
, and
Sophie. The album was nominated for
Best Dance/Electronic Album
The Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards — a ceremony that was established in 1958 — to recording artists for quality albums in the dance music and electronica genres. Honors in several categ ...
at the
63rd Annual Grammy Awards
The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held in and around the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles on March 14, 2021. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from September 1, 201 ...
, as well as for
Best Alternative Music Album
The Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums in the alternative genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. H ...
at the
22nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards.
''Kick I'' is the first entry of a ''Kick'' quintet. The rest of the entries were released in November–December 2021.
Background
Shortly after releasing her 62-minute long mix "
@@@@@
"@@@@@" is a DJ mix released as a single by Venezuelan record producer Arca (musician), Arca. The mix premiered on NTS on 19 February 2020. It was officially released on 21 February 2020 via XL Recordings.
Background and release
On 18 February ...
", on March 8, 2020 Arca revealed to ''
Garage Magazine
''Garage'' is a biannual publication dedicated to contemporary art and fashion. It was founded by Dasha Zhukova in 2011.
Its name comes from the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow, which Zhukova opened in 2008. A Russian-language editi ...
'' that she would be releasing her next album in the summer of 2020 and that it would feature Icelandic singer
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...
and Spanish
new flamenco
New flamenco (or ''nuevo flamenco'') or flamenco fusion is a musical genre that was born in Spain, starting in the 1980s. It combines flamenco guitar virtuosity and traditional flamenco music with musical fusion (with genres like jazz, blues, roc ...
alternative
Alternative or alternate may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki''
* ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film
* ''The Alternative ...
artist
Rosalía
Rosalia Vila Tobella (born 25 September 1992), known mononymously as Rosalía (, ), is a Spanish singer. Born and raised in the outskirts of Barcelona, she has been described as an "atypical pop star" due to her genre-bending musical styles. ...
. She had already previewed some of the songs in 2019 through live videos on her
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
profile. Arca explained that "there was a clear intention
n the album
N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''.
History
...
to allow every self to express itself. Not to decide how much air time each self would get, but to allow for modulation between them in a spontaneous way."
The album, consisting of 12 tracks, leaked on the internet on March 21, 2020 prior to any release date announcement. On May 20, 2020, Arca announced through social media the release date of the album as well as its tracklist and cover art, which was shot by
Catalan
Catalan may refer to:
Catalonia
From, or related to Catalonia:
* Catalan language, a Romance language
* Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia
Places
* 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
artist
Carlota Guerrero
Carlota Guerrero (born 1989 in Barcelona) is a Spanish artist, photographer, filmmaker, and art director. She is known for exploring themes of femininity and body autonomy.
Biography
Carlota Guerrero was born and brought up in Barcelona. She to ...
, Carlos Sáez and herself.
The album was made available to preorder since that day on streaming platforms since it will only be released digitally internationally while there will be a
CD and
LP edition for the United Kingdom on July 17.
Composition
''Kick I'' is an
avant-pop
Avant-pop is popular music that is experimental, new, and distinct from previous styles while retaining an immediate accessibility for the listener. The term implies a combination of avant-garde sensibilities with existing elements from popular ...
,
IDM,
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 ...
,
deconstructed club, and
experimental pop
Experimental pop is pop music that cannot be categorized within traditional musical boundaries or which attempts to push elements of existing popular forms into new areas. It may incorporate experimental techniques such as musique concrète, a ...
album that takes influence from
reggaeton
Reggaeton (, ), also known as reggaetón and reguetón (), is a music style that originated in Panama during the late 1980s. It was later popularized in Puerto Rico.
It has evolved from dancehall and has been influenced by American hip hop, ...
,
techno
Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...
,
bubblegum
Bubble gum or bubblegum is a type of chewing gum, designed to be inflated out of the mouth as a bubble.
Bubble gum flavor
While there is a bubble gum "flavor" – which various artificial flavorings including esters are mixed to obtain – it ...
electro,
industrial
Industrial may refer to:
Industry
* Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry
* Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems
* Industrial city, a city dominate ...
,
electropop,
trap
A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research.
Trap or TRAP may also refer to:
Art and entertainment Films and television
* ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...
,
R&B,
psychedelic music
Psychedelic music (sometimes called psychedelia) is a wide range of popular music styles and genres influenced by 1960s psychedelia, a subculture of people who used psychedelic drugs such as LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, mescaline, and cannabis to ...
and
PC Music
PC Music is a record label and art collective based in London and run by producer A. G. Cook. It was founded in 2013, making its music available on SoundCloud that year. Artists on its roster have included Hannah Diamond, GFOTY, Danny L Harle, ...
.
It is a departure from Arca's previous
ambient work into more
pop melodies, and has been called "an anti-pop pop album".
The songs play with pop
song structure
Song structure is the arrangement of a song, and is a part of the songwriting process. It is typically sectional, which uses repeating forms in songs. Common forms include bar form, 32-bar form, verse–chorus form, ternary form, strophic form, and ...
, being described as "all bridge—stretches of evolution from one idea or mindset to the next."
The
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
tic voice showcased on 2017's ''
Arca'' can be heard on "No Queda Nada" and "Calor". The majority of the album uses lyrics as "textural elements rather than vehicles for ideas or stories" and features heavy use of
rapping.
The album touches on lyrical themes of identity, both
gender
Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...
and
cultural
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...
. Ghersi's coming out as a
non-binary
Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...
trans woman
A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and s ...
was a big influence on the album, especially the first track and lead single "Nonbinary".
''Kick I'' contains mostly Spanish lyrics, connecting with Ghersi's Venezuelan roots, as well as her first lyrics in English.
"Time" features "effervescent electropop" that has been compared to the work of Swedish singer
Robyn
Robin Miriam Carlsson (born 12 June 1979), known as Robyn (), is a Swedish pop singer, songwriter, record producer, and DJ. She arrived on the music scene with her 1995 debut album, ''Robyn Is Here'', which produced two ''Billboard'' Hot 100 t ...
.
"Mequetrefe" is a reclamation of a derogatory Spanish term with a "bashed-up skeleton of a reggaetón rhythm".
Critical reception
''Kick I'' was met with generally positive reviews. 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 ...
, it holds an average score of 74 out of 100, based on 16 professional reviews.
Chal Ravens 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 ...
'' called ''Kick I'' Arca's "most accessible music to date" and praised Arca's increased confidence, but wished the lyrics were structured as more traditional pop songs.
Liam Inscoe-Jones from ''
The Line of Best Fit
''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music.
It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...
'' thought the album was enjoyable yet anticlimactic and that its sound were less fresh than it would've been years ago.
Kaelen Bell, writing for ''
Exclaim!
''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...
'' called the album an "older sister" to
Charli XCX
Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is an English singer and songwriter. Born in Cambridge and raised in Start Hill, Essex, she began posting songs on Myspace in 2008, which led to her discovery ...
's ''
Pop 2'' in its merging of pop and
experimental music
Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...
.
Tom Hull gave the album a B-plus and found it "arch, arty, arcane", and "pretty unique".
Accolades
Track listing
All tracks written and produced by
Alejandra Ghersi, unless noted otherwise.
Sample credits
* "Afterwards" contains elements of the poem "" by
Antonio Machado
* "" incorporates elements of "" by Latin Dreams
Personnel
Credits for ''Kick I'' adapted from CD liner notes.
* Arca – composition, production, vocals, mixing, cover image, artwork, design
* Carlos Sáez – additional arrangement (tracks 8, 11), cover image
* Jake Miller – vocal engineer (Björk; track 6)
* Alex Epton – mixing
* Enyang Urbiks – mastering
* Carlotta Guerrero – cover image
* Leo Foo – live photography
* Alex Raduan – black and white photography
* Roberto Rud – artwork photography
* Alfie Allen – design
Release history
References
{{Arca
2020 albums
Arca (musician) albums
Spanish-language albums
XL Recordings albums
Albums produced by Arca (musician)
Avant-pop albums