''Queen of the Wave'' is the fourth album by

Pepe Deluxé Pepe Deluxé is a Finnish electronic music oriented band, formed in 1996 by DJ Slow (Vellu Maurola) JA-Jazz (Tomi Castrén, formerly Paajanen) and James Spectrum (Jari Salo) in Helsinki, Finland. They started to experiment with sounds of hip ho ...

, released on CD by Catskills in the UK on January 30, 2012, and digitally by

Asthmatic Kitty Records Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, coug ...

in the US on January 31. The album's cover art and liner notes were designed by James Spectrum. It is styled as "an esoteric pop opera in three parts". The band, now consisting of Finnish producer James Spectrum and Swedish composer Paul Malmström, released five album companions in conjunction with the album through their website, and also as a free iPad app. The group has produced promotional videos for the album as well as the tracks "Go Supersonic", "In The Cave", and "A Night and a Day". The video for "Go Supersonic" was chosen as a staff pick on

Vimeo Vimeo, Inc. () is an American video hosting, sharing, and services platform provider headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices. Vimeo's business model is through software as ...

. All the profits from album sales were donated to the John Nurminen Foundation, specifically for the charity's Clean

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

project.Asthmatic Kitty
/ref> ''Queen of the Waves lyrics contain numerous references to the 1905

occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...

book '' A Dweller on Two Planets''.

Reception

On the review aggregate site

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 ...

, the album has a score of 70 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Alan Ranta of

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

gave the album a ''PopMatters Pick'' designation, proclaiming it to be "the most impressive album ever painstakingly assembled across space and time."

Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was prin ...

's Thomas Green praised the albums eccentricities, writing, "Pepe Deluxé's fourth album makes Queen (band), Queen or Kanye West, Kanye's madly eclectic sonic excesses look like a campfire strum-along." Ben Hogwood of musicOMH wrote that "anyone looking for a return to the good old days when albums were invested with tender loving care will want to hear it." ''Clash Music'' also gave the album a positive review, as Anna Wilson wrote, "Its cleverness and humour burst like springs from an overstuffed rococo couch. Splendidly indulgent." On their ''75 Best Albums of 2012'' list,

ranked ''Queen of the Wave'' at #17.The 75 Best Albums of 2012

. 10 December 2012. Retrieved 28 January 2013.

Track listing

Personnel

The following people contributed to ''Queen of the Wave:''Pepe Deluxé – Queen Of The Wave (CD, Album)
Discogs. Retrieved 25 February 2012. * James Spectrum - Engineer * Paul Malmström - Synthesizer, Handclaps, Organ, Recorder, Harpsichord, Guitar, Horns, Tambourine, Bass, Violin, Cello, Clarinet, Harmonium, Piano, Glockenspiel, Flute, Triangle, Vibraphone, Harp * Boi Crompton, The Upper Crust (band), Chris Cote, Johanna Försti, Lumimarja Wilenius, Sara Welling, Tuire Lukka - Vocals * Miikka Paatelainen - Guitar, Bass, Balalaika, Bouzouki, Glockenspiel, Vibraphone * Kai Hahto, Markku Reinikainen, Teppo Mäkynen - Drums * Timo Lassy - Flute, Saxophone, Horns * Kati Pirttimaa - Pipe Organ * Jukka Eskola - Trumpet, French Horn * Mikko Mustonen - Tuba, Trombone * Jarmo Saari - Viola, Guitar

References

External links

Asthmatic Kitty's Page on Pepe Deluxé
* {{Authority control Pepe Deluxé albums 2012 albums Concept albums Rock operas