''Nine Types of Light'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band
TV on the Radio
TV on the Radio (TVOTR) is an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2001. The band consists of Tunde Adebimpe (vocals, loops), David Andrew Sitek (guitars, keyboards, loops), Kyp Malone (vocals, guitars, bass, loops), and Jale ...
, released on April 11, 2011, through
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...
. It is the final TV on the Radio album to feature bassist Gerard Smith, who died of lung cancer nine days after it was released. The album's lead single "Will Do" was released on February 23, 2011. Its closing track, "Caffeinated Consciousness", was made available on the band's website as a free download on March 10, 2011. ''Nine Types of Light'' was very well received by critics and has a "Universal Acclaim" rating of 82 at review aggregating website
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 ...
.
Film
The band created an accompanying film to go with the album, an hourlong visual companion that offers music videos for all of ''Nine Types of Lights tracks. Packaged with a deluxe version of the CD, the film also exists on YouTube in its entirety. Characterized by eclectic visual style and thematic content as well as TV on the Radio's diverse, unique sound, the film allows for a different interpretation and method of experiencing the album. Directed by singer
Tunde Adebimpe
Babatunde Omoroga Adebimpe (born February 26, 1975) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, actor, director, and visual artist best known as the lead singer of the Brooklyn-based band TV on the Radio.
Early life
Adebimpe was born into a Nige ...
(with different directors helming the individual clips, see below for list), the film also features interviews with a variety of New Yorkers discussing topics including dreams, love, fame, and the future. A humorous epilogue, set to the song "You" and featuring the band members meeting for lunch ten years after a fictional breakup, concludes the film. Overall, the work can be seen as
Afrofuturistic
Afrofuturism is a cultural aesthetic, and philosophy of science and history that explores the intersection of the African diaspora culture with science and technology. It addresses themes and concerns of the African diaspora through technocultur ...
, particularly the video for "Will Do," which incorporates virtual-reality technology to tell a unique love story starring Adebimpe and
Joy Bryant
Joy Bryant is an American actress, businesswoman and fashion model. She has appeared in numerous films and television since beginning her acting career in 2001. She has received two NAACP Image Award nominations, and one Screen Actors Guild Award ...
.
Track listing
# "Second Song" – 4:22
# "Keep Your Heart" – 5:43
# "You" – 4:05
# "No Future Shock" – 4:03
# "Killer Crane" – 6:15
# "Will Do" – 3:46
# "New Cannonball Blues" – 4:34
# "Repetition" – 3:46
# "Forgotten" – 3:40
# "Caffeinated Consciousness" – 3:21
;Deluxe version
#
"All Falls Down" – 4:55
# "Will Do" (Switch Remix) – 5:20
# "Will Do" (XXXChange Dancehall Mix) – 3:45
;iTunes version
# "Troubles" (bonus track) – 3:04
;Film
# "Caffeinated Consciousness" – dir. Tim Nackashi – 02:27
# "Second Song" – dir. Michael Please
Michael "Mikey" Please (born 1984) is a BAFTA-winning and Academy Award nominated English animator, director, illustrator, and writer.
Biography
An alumnus of the Royal College of Art (MA Animation) and the University of the Arts London (BA T ...
– 05:46
# "New Cannonball Blues" – dir. Maya Erdelyi – 11:05
# "No Future Shock" – dir. Jon Moritsugu
Jon Moritsugu (born February 15, 1965) is an American cult-underground filmmaker.
His movies are satiric, protopunk deconstructions of popular genres and formats with scabrous and pointedly garish results.
The ''New York Times'' describes them a ...
& Amy Davis
Amy Davis is an American fashion illustrator, actress, filmmaker, and Lo-fi music, lo-fi musician. Her illustrations have been in shows all over the world, as well as published in magazines and books. She is married to filmmaker Jon Moritsugu, a ...
– 15:11
# "Repetition" – dir. Johnerick Lawson – 19:38
# "Will Do" – dir. Dugan O'Neal – 24:48
# "Keep Your Heart" – dir. Petro Papahadjopoulos – 28:29
# "Forgotten" – dir. Tunde Adebimpe – 34:09
# "Killer Crane" – dir. TV on the Radio & Dano Cerny – 39:26
# "You" – dir. Barney Clay – 49:17
# "Dragon Backwards" – dir. Tim Nackashi, Tunde Adebimpe & Jaleel Bunton – 59:09
Personnel
TV on the Radio
* Tunde Adebimpe
Babatunde Omoroga Adebimpe (born February 26, 1975) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, actor, director, and visual artist best known as the lead singer of the Brooklyn-based band TV on the Radio.
Early life
Adebimpe was born into a Nige ...
– vocals, loops, keyboards
* Jaleel Bunton – drums, bass guitar, guitar, programming, organ, synthesizer, vocals
* Kyp Malone
David Kyp Joel Malone (born February 27, 1973) is an American multi-instrumentalist and member of the bands TV on the Radio, Iran, Rain Machine, and Ice Balloons.
Biography
Malone grew up in Moon Township, Pennsylvania and moved to New Jersey for ...
– vocals, guitar, bass guitar, synthesizer, clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound.
Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...
, flute, viola
The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...
* David Andrew Sitek
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
– programming, synthesizer, guitar, bass guitar, samples, vocals
* Gerard A. Smith – bass guitar, organ, samples, synthesizer, vocals
Additional musicians
* Priscilla Ahn
Priscilla Ahn (born Priscilla Natalie Hartranft; March 9, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She released her single "Dream" from her debut album, '' A Good Day'', produced by Joey Waronker for EMI's Blue Note Reco ...
– background vocals
* Stuart Bogie – horn
Horn most often refers to:
*Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound
** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments
*Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...
* Peter Hess – horn
* Dan Huron – percussion
* Michael Irwin – horn
* Kevin Moehringer – horn
* Gillian Rivers – strings
String or strings may refer to:
*String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
* Todd Simon – horn
* Kenny Wang – strings (viola)
* Lauren Weaver – strings
Production
* Jaleel Bunton – programming
* Rich Costey
Rich may refer to:
Common uses
* Rich, an entity possessing wealth
* Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling
** Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting
Places United States
* Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated commun ...
– mixing
* Steve Fallone – mastering
* David Andrew Sitek – producer, programming
* Zeph Sowers – engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
Design
* Tunde Adebimpe – art direction
Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games.
It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the visi ...
, designer
* David Andrew Sitek – art direction, designer, photographer
* Nick Walker – assistant photographer
Charts
References
{{Authority control
TV on the Radio albums
2011 albums
Interscope Records albums
Albums produced by Dave Sitek
Soul albums by American artists