''Voyage'' is the debut studio album by Swedish

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

duo

The Sound of Arrows The Sound of Arrows are a Swedish electronic music duo originally from Gävle, and now based in Stockholm. The duo, consisting of Oskar Gullstrand and Stefan Storm, have remixed tracks for artists such as Lady Gaga, Alphabeat, The Naked and Fa ...

, released in the United Kingdom on 7 November 2011. It was preceded by the release of the singles "

Nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

" on 25 April 2011 and "

Magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

" on 1 August 2011. A free remix version of the album was released in 2012. The album was released as a double 12" vinyl in 2016.

Critical reception

Krystina Nellisi 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 ...

said "In opener 'Into The Clouds' a keyboard organ mode announcing their arrival into The World of Pop, the first line is filled with hope, longing and sheer despair all. Unlike most of its current competitors, for all its studied poise, 'Voyage' has a refreshing complete lack of cynicism. Dan Martin of the ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' awarded the album eight out of ten, described the album as "'Voyage' is just that in the finest of senses, gliding you through its phases in metallic pastel shades from romantic euphoria (‘

’), the crush of heartbreak ('Hurting All The Way') through to an epic closer called 'There Is Still Hope'." ''The Music Fix'' gave the album seven points out of ten and said "they get good pinches of understated melancholy and cool European distance." and "The head says there's something rather silly about Sound of Arrows; your heart and feet will say something different. 'There Is Still Hope' they say. Andy Baber of

musicOMH MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...

gave the album three and a half stars out of five and said that "The album begins with that 2009 single, Into The Clouds, with its dreamy sentiment of escapism and huge soundscape. The closer, Lost City providing a definitive and poignant conclusion to an album that consistently provokes feelings of wonder, fantasy and nostalgia. Benjamin Hiorns of ''Subba Cultcha'' awarded the album seven out of ten and said "the duo are obviously enamoured by their source material and are true masters of analogue synthesis. Slowly building rhythm and a whirlwind of vintage synths that rattle through the speakers like fireworks. The tones and textures here almost feel alive. Alasdair Spiv of ''So So Gay magazine'' gave the album four out of five and invited you into a 'Voyage' which takes you on a journey you won’t want to come back from. Spilling over with a sense of wide-eyed wonder, the album intentionally captures the spirit of childhood discovery. Maria Forsström of

Metro (Sweden) ''Metro'' was a free daily newspaper in Sweden. It was printed in four editions: Stockholm, Gothenburg, Skåne and National, which were distributed in 67 towns and cities throughout the country. The paper was the first European free paper. On 8 A ...

gave the album three out of five. Tom Hocknell of Rockfeedback gave the album four out of five and suggested that the title, presumably a nod to 1987's Italo-pop of Desireless' 'Voyage Voyage', will have some running for the Border (line), but those staying are in for a treat. GLX of The Outhouse gave the album eight out of ten stars and said 'Voyage is' a very cinematic album and reminiscent of 80's children's epics such as

The Neverending Story ''The Neverending Story'' (german: Die unendliche Geschichte) is a fantasy novel by German writer Michael Ende, published in 1979. The first English translation, by Ralph Manheim, was published in 1983. The novel was later adapted into several f ...

. Dominic Spez gave the album ten out of ten and made track-by-track review: 'Longest Ever Dream' – there is a Swedish female who adds a very light-hearted, happy vibe to the verses. They really know how to keep a song interesting. They are geniuses. The song basically gets turned on its head and all sounds drop out of the song except for one very dirty and gritty synthesizer... when the other instruments join in, the song has a dark and sad feel, and has now turned into a whole "crying at the disco" affair. 'Hurting All The Way' is like a space-age synth ballad. 'Lost City' – this instrumental provokes feelings of accomplishment and happiness. Jordan Meehan of '' EQ Music Blog'' said 'There is Still Hope' feels as if you are floating in space, drifting magnificently until some big, demanding vocals enter and snap you back into reality. One of the things that make this song so strong is that it effortlessly fuses together big, booming classical music with electronic music, and it makes for an irresistible combination. Lee Bradshaw of ''Clixie'' gave the album nine out of ten and said that the album’s experimental electronic pop sound and style commands respect right from the off-set; still maintaining the story-like timeline and structure throughout. Adrian I of ''Music-News'' gave the album five stars out of five, mentioned the similarity with a few other bands and said that this album has been years in the making, but it is well worth exploring if you like any of the acts mentioned during the review.''Addict Music'' gave the album four stars out of five and said "I was introduced to Sound of Arrows three years ago, since then they’ve patiently harvested the hype surrounding them, building a unique universe of synth pop and neon music videos. ... The majestic track 'Ruins of Rome' makes me sad to think that Sounds of Arrows will probably never play giant arena concerts, because this song is made for just that." Amelia Heathman of ''Forge Today'' gave the album eight out of ten and noted the only real criticism that there is with The Sound of Arrows though, is that they walk a fine line between comprehensive electronica and a soundtrack to a light hearted Disney-tween film. In a way they lack the mature sound that other bands in their genre spout. But give them time to develop their sound before even thinking about writing them off as this is a fantastic first offering. ''The Digital Fix'' gave the album seven out of ten and said that this stuff often plays best with good pinches of understated melancholy and cool European distance. Andrew of ''Better Than Ya Faves'' said they created a classic début that made good on all of the previous promise and set themselves up to become trend-setters in the genre. Andrew Parker of

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

gave the album five out of ten and mentioned 'Into The Clouds' is nice and catchy – but is likely to annoy the hell out you on repeated listens. SirDorian of ''Stylish Kids in Riot'' gave the album eight and a half out of ten and said The Sound of Arrows have made a mistake in time. 'Voyage' could become a hit in the 80's, but not in the Anno 2011 supersaturation with electro/synth pop. Crash of ''Electronic Rumors'' said 'Voyage' is a manifesto of wonderment, a collection of songs that scream out their hope that the world can be a better place. The album dreams of adult problems seen through the eyes of childhood wonder, stripped down to their basic ridiculousness in a metaphor of magical discovery, culminating in 'There Is Still Hope' while the albums exit, 'Lost City' is an epic cinematic finale. Bob Bardsley of ''Popsiculture'' gave the album 92 out of 100 and noted "you'll probably be well aware that they have a fairly specific sound. Not everybody will like them – I realise that – but those who do, I'd imagine, will probably really really love the combination of typically Swedish vocals and space-age electronic instrumentals."

Singles

*" Into the Clouds" was released on 21 September 2009. *"

" was released on 25 April 2011. *"

" was released on 1 August 2011. *" Wonders"/"Conquest" was released as a limited edition 12" on 19 December 2011. *"Conquest" was released on 25 June 2012.

Track listing

All copies of the album come on 2CDs in a deluxe fold-out slipcase/digipak. The second CD is the whole of the album in instrumental format with a "special ending", namely "Longer Ever Dream", previously available on the Into The Clouds limited edition 12". : * — Additional Production

Personnel

The following people contributed to ''Voyage'': *

–

co-producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working Independent film, independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordina ...

dditional Production(tracks: 1–6, 1–11, 2–6, 2–11), producer (tracks: 1-1 to 1–3, 1–5, 1–7 to 1–10, 2–1 to 2–3, 2–5, 2–7 to 2–10), programming *Erik Lindestad, Malin Dahlström, Sarah Nyberg Pergament –

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

*Ellen William-Olsson, Fritiof Fagergren, Livia Plarsmo, Lova Hammarström, Max Falk – children's

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

Richard X Richard Philips, better known by his stage name Richard X, is a British songwriter and music producer. Gaining attention as a pioneer of the bootleg craze, Richard X has earned success as a producer and remixer. He has helmed hit singles for arti ...

–

dditional Production(tracks: 1–1, 1–3, 2–1, 2–3), producer (tracks: 1–1, 1–3, 1–4, 2–1, 2–3, 2–4),

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

(tracks: 1–6, 2–6) *Oskar Gullstrand –

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

*Nigel Walton – mastering *

Dan Grech-Marguerat Daniel James Grech-Marguerat, also known as Dan Grech, (born 11 July 1981 in Bedford), is an English / Maltese recording engineer, record producer and mixer. His production style pulls together a blend of alternative and pop genres. He is recogn ...

– mixing, producer (tracks: 1–3, 1–8, 2–3, 2–8) *Henrik von Euler – producer (tracks: 1–4, 2–4) *Hanna Brandén* –

(tracks: 1–3, 2–3) *Joseph Cross* –

(tracks: 1–9, 2–9) *Jonas Petterson* –

(tracks: 1–7, 2–7) *Malin Dahlström –

(tracks: 1–10, 2–10) *Stefan Storm* –

*Pete Hofmann –

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 ...

Miloco Studios Miloco Studios are a group of recording studios based in London, England. History Miloco was formed out of the merging of three former London recording studios: Milo Music, The Garden and Orinoco Studios. Milo Music began in 1984 as a small stu ...

throughout 2011
:Phonographic Copyright (p) –

:Licensed From – Conquest Music Ltd. :Copyright (c) –

:Phonographic Copyright (p) – Skies Above :Copyright (c) – Skies Above

Release history

References

External links

Official website

Lyrics on LyricWiki
{{Authority control 2011 debut albums Albums produced by Richard X The Sound of Arrows albums