''Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans'' is the debut studio album by French-American singer

Uffie Anna-Catherine Hartley (born December 9, 1987), known professionally as Uffie (), is an American-French singer, songwriter, rapper, DJ, and fashion designer formerly signed to French electronic music record label Ed Banger Records. Uffie's music ...

. It was released on June 14, 2010, by

Ed Banger Records Ed Banger Records (sometimes referred to as Ed Rec) is a French electronic music record label founded by Pedro Winter in 2003 as a division of Headbangers Entertainment. It focuses on house music, particularly French house, as well as alternati ...

and

Because Music Because Music is an independent record label with headquarters in Paris and London. Because Music SAS is the main label, with Because Music Ltd handling the British artist roster. Because Music was founded in 2005 by former president of Virgin F ...

. Produced by

Feadz Feadz (born Fabien Pianta) is a French music producer, DJ and songwriter currently signed by French music label Ed Banger Records. He combines the genres of hip hop, electronic, techno and French house in his music and frequently collaborates ...

, J-Mat,

Mr. Oizo Quentin Dupieux (, born 14 April 1974), also known by his musical stage name Mr. Oizo (), is a French filmmaker, electronic musician, and DJ. Dupieux is credited with his legal name for his films, while the name "Mr. Oizo" is used for his musica ...

, Mirwais and

Sebastian Sebastian may refer to: People * Sebastian (name), including a list of persons with the name Arts, entertainment, and media Films and television * ''Sebastian'' (1968 film), British spy film * ''Sebastian'' (1995 film), Swedish drama film ...

, the album features guest appearances by

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...

and Mattie Safer of The Rapture, includes an "adaptation" of

The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise w ...

's "

Rock & Roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

" and a cover of

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine in ...

' " Hong Kong Garden", which Uffie cited as one of her favorite songs. The album peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart and number 18 on the

UK Dance Albums Chart The UK Dance Singles Chart and the UK Dance Albums Chart are music charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company from sales of songs in the dance music genre (e.g. house, trance, drum and bass, garage, synthpop) in record st ...

. Although reviews for the album were mixed, it was included on year-end critics' lists by several publications and was nominated at the 2011 French

Victoires de la Musique Victoires de la Musique (; en, Victories of Music) is an annual French award ceremony where the Victoire accolade is delivered by the French Ministry of Culture to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The classical and jazz ...

for Best Electronic Album. In 2012 it was awarded a silver certification from the

Independent Music Companies Association The Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA), originally the Independent Music Publishers and Labels Association, is a non-profit trade association established in 2000 to help European independent record labels represent their agenda a ...

which indicated sales of at least 20,000 copies throughout Europe. Since the release of the album, Uffie's music is said to have "had a lasting and widespread influence in the 2010s".

Release

Uffie's record label

first stated in late 2006 that her debut album would be released "mid-to-late 2007", then "sometime in 2008". Hectic traveling and touring schedules, her marriage and divorce, news of her pregnancy and growing as an artist delayed the release of the album. She stated that her new sound is very different with a much more mature sound and there would be more singing on the album than her previous EPs. She describes the album as "schizophrenic" and "worth the wait". On October 3, 2009,

Busy P Pedro Winter (born Pierre Winter; 21 April 1975), also known by the stage name Busy P, is a French record producer, DJ, record label owner, and former artist manager. After being the manager of Daft Punk from 1996 to 2008,Feadz Feadz (born Fabien Pianta) is a French music producer, DJ and songwriter currently signed by French music label Ed Banger Records. He combines the genres of hip hop, electronic, techno and French house in his music and frequently collaborates ...

, J-Mat,

, Mirwais and

served as producers on the album, while both

and Mattie Safer from The Rapture made guest appearances. Before the release of the album there was a contract dispute between Uffie and

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

as to who would be credited as the writer of the title track, "Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans", which once again delayed the album from "early 2010" to June 15, 2010. The track uses an instrumental sample of

's song "

" and the only way Reed would allow her to use the sample was by calling "Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans" an "adaptation" of "Rock & Roll" and receiving the sole credit as the writer of the song as well. This dispute delayed the album by about six months; Uffie branded Reed "fucking difficult", and when asked if he had heard the song, she stated, "Yes he has, he had to clear it. And it was a very not nice experience dealing with him, I have to say. ..I don't know what this guy's problem is but on the credits I think it even says something like he wrote it. He gets everything." In a later interview with

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

, Uffie stated that the album was heavily

acid In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a sequ ...

-influenced and that Mirwais produced five tracks, while Feadz, Mr. Oizo and Sebastian produced a couple of tracks each. She also went on to refer to the album as "the end of my crazy youth and the intro to my adult life." "

Pop the Glock "Pop the Glock" is a single by French-American recording artist Uffie. The re-released single was released as a 12" vinyl on November 30, 2009. "Pop the Glock" was Uffie's first single and an international underground hit. It was originally relea ...

", "

First Love First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

" and "Brand New Car" were all previously released as singles at least three years prior to the album's release.

Singles

MCs Can Kiss "MCs Can Kiss" is a single from Uffie's debut album '' Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans''. The single was written by Uffie and Feadz and was produced by Mr. Oizo. It was released digitally on January 12, 2010Gigwise ''Gigwise'' is a British online music news site that features music news, photos, album reviews, music festivals, concert tickets and video content. Founded in June 2001, the site is based in London, England. History Gigwise was launched in 2001 ...

called the song a "razor-sharp lyrical assault with enough bombast to fuel the war in Afghanistan", while

BBC Music BBC Music is responsible for the music played across the BBC. The current director of music is Bob Shennan, who is also the controller of BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, and the BBC Asian Network. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio o ...

dubbed it a "sarky bling-killing single". "MCs Can Kiss" peaked at number 48 on the

Japan Hot 100 The ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100 is a record chart in Japan for songs. It has been compiled by ''Billboard Japan'' and '' Hanshin Contents Link'' since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at Billboard-japan.com ( JST) and every Thur ...

and at number 97 in France. The lead single from ''Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans'', " ADD SUV" (featuring

), premiered on

on April 15, 2010. "ADD SUV" was described as being about " king fun at the rap fraternity's obsession with possessions, particularly their cars", while Uffie stated that the song was inspired by the 1967 film ''

Valley of the Dolls Valley of the Dolls may refer to: * ''Valley of the Dolls'' (novel), a 1966 novel by Jacqueline Susann ** ''Valley of the Dolls'' (film), a 1967 film adapted from the novel *** " (Theme from) Valley of the Dolls", the title song from the film, pe ...

''. A music video for "ADD SUV", filmed in Los Angeles and starring both Uffie and Williams, was directed by Nathalie Canguilhem and released on June 14, 2010. The single was praised by critics from the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'', Prefix, ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'', and BBC, and peaked at number 28 on the

UK Independent Singles Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the rele ...

. Singles "

" and "

" also managed to chart in various countries such as France, Japan, and the UK. Ed Banger Records confirmed through their

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

page on August 11, 2010, that Uffie's next single to be released would be " Difficult", produced by label-mate and friend Sebastian. It was later announced that "Difficult" would be released as an EP on October 18, 2010, containing remixes by Sebastian and Azari & III. A music video for the single was also announced to be released on October 6, 2010.

Track listing

Notes * Fabien "Feadz" Pianta and Quentin "Mr. Oizo" Dupieux are credited as songwriters on "MCs Can Kiss" in the liner notes of ''Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans'', while the liner notes of the "MCs Can Kiss" single credit Uffie and Feadz as songwriters. * signifies a remixer Sample credits * "Pop the Glock" samples "

Top Billin' "Top Billin'" is a single for American hip-hop duo Audio Two, released as the B-side of the single "Make It Funky" from the album ''What More Can I Say?'' It was released before First Priority Music inked a distribution deal with Atlantic Record ...

" by

Audio Two Audio Two was the Brooklyn, New York hip hop duo of emcee Kirk "Milk Dee" Robinson and DJ Nat "Gizmo" Robinson, most famous for its first hit "Top Billin'". History The duo's debut single, "Make it Funky", was released in 1987, but it was ...

. * "MCs Can Kiss" includes samples of "Bite This" by

Roxanne Shanté Lolita Shante Gooden (born March 8, 1970), better known by her stage name Roxanne Shante, is an American rapper. Born and raised in the Queensbridge Projects of Queens, New York City, Shante first gained attention through the Roxanne Wars and w ...

and " Night Drive" by

Giorgio Moroder Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance mu ...

. * "Difficult" includes a sample of "Love of the Hurtin' Kind" by

Claudja Barry Claudja Barry (born in 1952) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter and actress. Her successful songs were " Down and Counting", "Boogie Woogie Dancin' Shoes" (which peaked at #56 on Billboard Hot 100 on June 9, 1979), "Dancing Fever", and others. As ...

. * "First Love" includes a sample of "Don't Go" by

F. R. David Elli Robert Fitoussi (born 1 January 1947), better known as F. R. David, is a French musician. He is best known for his 1982 hit single "Words (F. R. David song), Words". Career F. R. David was born Elli Robert Fitoussi in Menzel Bourguiba, th ...

. * "Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans" is an adaptation of "

" written by

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans''.

Musicians

– vocals *

– vocals * Mirwais – keyboards, programming *

Hal Ritson HAL may refer to: Aviation * Halali Airport (IATA airport code: HAL) Halali, Oshikoto, Namibia * Hawaiian Airlines (ICAO airline code: HAL) * HAL Airport, Bangalore, India * Hindustan Aeronautics Limited an Indian aerospace manufacturer of fight ...

– keyboards ; programming ; backing vocals, additional guitar * Richard Adlam – keyboards ; programming ; drums ; backing vocals ; percussion *

Guthrie Govan Guthrie Govan (; born 27 December 1971) is an English guitarist and guitar teacher, known for his work with the bands the Aristocrats, Asia, GPS, the Young Punx and the Fellowship, as well as his solo project Erotic Cakes. More recently, he ha ...

– bass, guitars * Mattie Safer – vocals

Technical

– production * J-Mat – production *

– production * Mirwais – production, mixing * Hal Ritson – sample recreation production * Richard Adlam – sample recreation production *

– production

Artwork

* Nathalie Canguilhem – art direction * Will Goodman – design * Ysa Pérez – photography

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2010 debut albums Because Music albums Elektra Records albums Uffie albums