Adventure (Madeon album)

Adventure
Studio album by Madeon
Released 30 March 2015
Recorded 2014–15
Genre
Length 41:12
Label Columbia
Producer Hugo Pierre Leclercq
Madeon chronology
The City
(2012)		 Adventure
(2015)
Singles from Adventure
  1. "Imperium"
    Released: 17 October 2014
  2. "You’re On"
    Released: 8 December 2014
  3. "Pay No Mind"
    Released: 9 February 2015
  4. "Home"
    Released: 10 March 2015
  5. "Nonsense"
    Released: 24 March 2015
Deluxe cover

Adventure is the debut studio album by French electronic music producer Madeon. It was released on 30 March 2015. The album comes in standard and deluxe versions and is currently available for digital download and also available in CD format. The standard version includes 12 tracks, featuring talent and vocals from Kyan, Dan Smith from Bastille, Passion Pit, Mark Foster from Foster the People and Aquilo. The deluxe version also includes previously released singles "Icarus", "Finale", "The City", "Cut the Kid", "Technicolor" and a bonus track in collaboration with Vancouver Sleep Clinic. The album was supported by a live show called Adventure Live, which debuted on 31 March 2015 in London.

Background

In May 2013, Leclercq stated in several interviews that he had begun working on his debut album with it being in a very early stage. At this time, the release was still expected to be in early 2014.[1][2] He revealed his intention to release at least eleven new tracks in 2014 on his Tumblr account, further hinting a possible album release in 2014.[3] In May 2014, he predicted a release date for the second half of 2014.[4]

In early 2014, Leclercq took several months off touring "to focus on writing [his] album".[5] Leclercq began creating "an Adventure sample pack and a collection of a few signature sounds to use throughout album [...] before writing more songs".[6]

In June, Porter Robinson, a good friend of Leclercq,[7] answered a question regarding Adventure in his Reddit Ask Me Anything as: "i've heard madeon's album and it's FUCKING magificent. i've been singing one of them all goddamn day" sic.[8] Leclercq later confirmed on Twitter that Robinson was referring to the third single "Pay No Mind".[9]

Later in 2014, Leclercq gave out first details about the album. In July, he answered a question on Tumblr on how to describe his album as "start[ing] somewhere and tak[ing] you somewhere else. It goes from euphoric and pop to emotional and widescreen".[10] In an interview, Leclercq revealed that the album will feature "not just club tracks [but] songs and music that touches [him. It] uses electronic elements, but goes beyond the DJ-role format", also suggesting a new show after the album.[11]

In November, Leclercq promised new music, hinting the release of "You're On", and finished the official artworks for the album a few days later.[12][13]

Leclercq announced the album name Adventure on 8 December 2014 after letting his fans guess the name on Twitter and the premier of the second single "You're On".[14]

On 10 December, Leclercq revealed that he had just delivered the album to the label.[15]

The official album announcement followed on 19 January 2015. It includes the release date of 30 March, the official track listing in standard and deluxe edition, both artworks and pre-order links for all editions.[16]

Madeon's press release states:

With Adventure, I wanted to capture the feeling and sensibility of my teenage years. I wanted the album to start very vibrant and pop and end with a more contemplative tone. In making the record I both collaborated in the studio with some of my favourite musicians, and wrote and performed vocals on songs myself, two things I hadn’t really done before with my own music. [17]

In February, Leclercq tweeted that he was working on his new live show Adventure Live.[18] It began on 10 April 2015 in San Francisco, and is a 22-stop tour in North America.[19] The show premiered in London on 31 March.[20]

On 18 March 2015, the so called Adventure Machine was launched as a promotional tool. The web app allows anyone to mix selected stems from Adventure together using their phone, tablet, computer or Novation Launchpad. Madeon posted on Facebook, saying: "You can combine samples from my album and create new mash-ups/mixes. It's really easy and fun and all i've been doing for the past two hours basically."[21] The app was nominated for a Webby Award.

On 24 March 2015, Adventure premiered on Spotify and iTunes for streaming.[22] On the same day, Leclercq did a Reddit IAmA.[23]

Graphics

The Madeon alphabet used for most cryptic messages.

Artwork

Like with his previous releases, Leclercq designed all artwork himself, trying to capture "escaping a city to reach the desert" in the single artwork.[24] "You're On" as the second track of the album has a blue/ green artwork with a mountain in the center water in the foreground. The fifth track, "Pay No Mind", has a canyon with a setting sun shining through it. The seventh track "Imperium" centers a dune in a red desert. This progress displays the move into the desert. The album cover combines red desert and blue sky elements. The single artwork include the artist name Madeon, and track name written in the Madeon alphabet in the top right corner.

Music videos

A screenshot from Madeon's music video for "You're On". The centered person is Asteria. On the building in the back, a code written in the typical Madeon alphabet is visible (in addition to its translation).

This move from a "happy and colorful" to "a more contemplative place" visualized by "escaping a city to reach the desert" is also the main motive of the music videos for "You're On" and "Pay No Mind". Both are part of a trilogy of music videos, the third part is for the song "Nonsense" with Mark Foster. The first music video in the trilogy was for "You're On". The video follows a young female named Asteria through a futuristic city, where she is mesmerised by a tower in the distance, (the same tower which is seen on the album artwork of Adventure). There, she meets a young male named Icarus and together, they discover an object of some sort, embedded in the wall, and they activate it. The video ends with a "To Be Continued" message, written in the Madeon alphabet. Leclercq has a brief cameo performing live with Launchpads.[25]

The second music video in the trilogy was released for the third single "Pay No Mind" on 20 February 2015. Continuing on from the music video for "You're On", the video follows Icarus and Asteria try to decode secret messages and find an escape from the futuristic city they live in. They successfully find an exit out of the city, and are last seen outside the walls, heading towards the tower in the distance. The music video for "Pay No Mind" was released on Leclercq's newly created Vevo channel.[26]

The press release for the music videos states:

Set in a remote city, in an undefined future, Asteria is restless to see more of the outside world. She finds a friend in Icarus, who shared her desire of leaving.[27]

The finale of the trilogy, set to "Nonsense" follows the characters to the tower after a long journey through the desert. As they open the doors to the tower, the Madeon logo forms and the credits roll.

Cryptic messages

The Madeon diamond between "Innocence" and "Pixel Empire" seen in a spectrogram.

Like with preceding music videos, the Adventure trilogy includes many cryptic messages written in the typical Madeon alphabet.[28] This code together with hidden messages Leclercq included in preceding releases hasn't been publicly decoded yet, though several forums are trying to.[29]

The ending of "Technicolor" includes a morse code stating "Icarus fell". The website to download Technicolor includes a morse code at the bottom of the page translating to "type it" (originally "- -.-- .--. . .. -"). When directly typing "Icarus fell", the top image of the website will change to "The secret is inside the Pixel Empire".

The transition from "Innocence" to "Pixel Empire" shows the Adventure diamond when seen in a spectrogram.

Singles

In September 2014, a new song by Leclercq called "Imperium" was released unofficially as the part of the soundtrack for the latest edition of the popular football video game franchise, FIFA 15. On 18 October, it was officially released as a free download through an interactive feature on his website, similarly to the release of "Cut the Kid". "Imperium" is the lead single from Adventure.

On 8 December 2014, Leclercq released the second single titled "You're On" featuring singer Kyan. Leclercq described "You're On" as "a totally different vibe from "Imperium". It's inspired by my love of pop music, cool chords and chopped up diva vocals."[30] An official music video was released on 15 December 2014.[31] It is the start of a story and will be continued with two more music videos.[32][33]

On 18 January 2015, Leclercq first announced that the third single will be "Pay No Mind" featuring Passion Pit in a BBC Radio 1 interview by Alice Levine.[34] On 3 February 2015, Leclercq tweeted the single artwork and the release date.[35] Like with previous single "You're On", Leclercq posted a low quality preview of "Pay No Mind" on his Instagram.[36] The single was premiered by Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1 as the Hottest Record on 9 February 2015.[37] Leclercq himself considers "Pay No Mind" "really good",[38] also citing it as his favorite Passion Pit track when asked.[39] The official music video was released on 20 February 2015.[40] It continues the music video for "You're On" and is the second part of music video trilogy. Dancing Astronaut named "Pay No Mind" the number one top track of February 2015.[41]

On 9 March 2015, the fourth single "Home" was premiered by Annie Mac's new BBC Radio 1 show.[42] It is the final track from the Standard edition and the first track released in which Leclercq wrote and performed vocals himself.[43] The Fader named "Home" "The Best Electro-Pop Anthem You'll Hear All Day".[44] Leclercq described the process behind the track as "I have this thing I do about once a year. I lock myself in the studio for 24 hours and make two or three new songs from start to finish. By the 18th hour, the combination of sleep deprivation, creative frustration and isolation put me in this weird vulnerable state. I kind of felt like giving up on music at the time to be honest, so I made a song about that. Because I was alone in the studio and had a microphone, I ended up recording it myself and finished producing it in the few hours remaining. I dont see myself as a singer but I thought it would be weird to have anyone else do the song so I kept it the same as the demo on the album."[45]

On 24 March 2015, a day after Adventure premiered on Spotify for streaming, "Nonsense" featuring Mark Foster from Foster the People was released as the fifth single.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Sputnikmusic[46]
Digital Spy[47]
Pitchfork7.8/10[48]
We Got This Covered[49]

Adventure received positive reviews. Sputnikmusic stated that while many debut albums by other dance music artists received poor recognition, Madeon has made a solid effort. While criticizing a little on the lyrics, Sputnikmusic said that "All of these songs [in the album] have the potential of breaking into the EDM stratosphere and becoming a hit... This is certainly an album that needs to be in your upcoming summer playlist."[46] Digital Spy declared that Madeon managed to put his own style of music into the album. Digital Spy further stated that "...it's his steely determination to not compromise his art that will serve him best in the long run - and it's that boldness that makes his debut album the strongest of starts to his Adventure."[47] Pitchfork meanwhile said that Adventure is "a strikingly versatile collection." and further stated that "Adventure" provides Madeon with many different ways for him to choose from for his future music. EDM Chicago meanwhile remarked that "Adventure is proven to be a catalyst for both pop and dance fans alike... it serves an emotional and meaningful purpose that hands-down has propelled it into being definitively one of the best produced records this year."[50] In a five-star review, We Got This Covered said that the album is "...One which is filled with good vibes, catchy pop sounds, and a lasting state of euphoria."[49] The Fader's author Larry Fitzmaurice commented that the album is an "...expansive, impossibly beautiful landscape that evokes sounds from electronic music's past and present...all coalescing into one of the most radiant pop albums in recent memory."[51]

Track listing

Standard edition[52]
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Isometric (Intro)"  Hugo Pierre Leclercq 1:20
2. "You're On" (featuring Kyan)
 3:12
3. "OK"  
 3:01
4. "La Lune" (featuring Dan Smith)
 3:39
5. "Pay No Mind" (featuring Passion Pit)
 4:09
6. "Beings"  Leclercq 3:35
7. "Imperium"  Leclercq 3:18
8. "Zephyr"  Leclercq 3:40
9. "Nonsense" (featuring Mark Foster)
 3:35
10. "Innocence" (featuring Aquilo)
 3:44
11. "Pixel Empire"  Leclercq 4:04
12. "Home"  Leclercq 3:45
Total length:
 41:12
Notes

Charts

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[62] 31
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[63] 169
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[64] 118
French Albums (SNEP)[65] 29
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[66] 35
UK Albums (OCC)[67] 30
UK Dance Albums (OCC)[68] 4
US Billboard 200[69] 43
US Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[70] 1

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Edition(s) Label
Europe[71] 27 March 2015
  • Standard
  • deluxe
 Columbia
Oceania
UK[72] 30 March 2015
US 31 March 2015
Canada
Latin America
Japan[73]

External links

References

  1. ↑ "Madeon Triple J Interview". YouTube. 25 May 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  2. ↑ "Madeon MTV News UK Interview". YouTube. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  3. ↑ "Madeon Tumblr - "About how many songs do you think of releasing this year? (: -- At least eleven."". Tumblr. 22 January 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  4. ↑ "Madeon Tumblr - "Are you going to release your new album soon or later within the year? -- Second half of the year"". Tumblr. 9 May 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  5. ↑ "Madeon Facebook - "I decided to stop touring for a few months to focus on writing my album"". 5 January 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  6. ↑ "Madeon Reddit - "I set aside a few weeks to create an Adventure sample pack..."". Reddit. March 24, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Madeon Facebook - "(...) the biggest help was my friend Porter Robinson (...)"". Facebook. 21 May 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  8. ↑ "Porter Robinson's Reddit AMA - "i've heard madeon's album and it's FUCKING magificent. i've been singing one of them all goddamn day"". Reddit. 10 June 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  9. ↑ "Madeon Twitter - "I think it was Pay No Mind ft. Passion Pit (next single)"". Twitter. 25 January 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  10. ↑ "Madeon Tumblr - "How would you describe your new upcomming [sic] album? -- It starts somewhere and takes you somewhere else. It goes from euphoric and pop to emotional and widescreen."". Tumblr. 29 July 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  11. ↑ "Madeon SW4 interview at 1:06 - "it's not just club tracks"". Soundcloud. 28 August 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  12. ↑ "Madeon Twitter - "Oh btw, new music this month :)"". Twitter. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  13. ↑ "Madeon Twitter - "Spending today finishing the album artwork !"". Twitter. 11 November 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  14. ↑ "Madeon Twitter - "Madeon - Adventure (Album - 2015)"". Twitter. 8 December 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  15. ↑ "Madeon Facebook - "I just delivered my album to the label"". Facebook. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  16. ↑ "Madeon Facebook - "My debut album " Adventure " is coming out March 30th. It’s available to pre-order now (...)"". Facebook. 19 January 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  17. ↑ "Press release text". Popjustice. January 19, 2015. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Madeon Twitter - "Working on Adventure Live. Two months to go !"". twitter. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  19. ↑ "Madeon Facebook - "I'm going on tour with my new live show in North America !"". Facebook. 11 February 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  20. ↑ "Madeon Twitter - "LONDON ! I'll be premiering my new live show at Oval Space on the 31st of March "". Twitter. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  21. ↑ "Madeon Facebook - "The Adventure Machine is live !!"". Facebook. March 18, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Madeon Twitter - "You can pre-stream Adventure NOW"". Twitter. March 24, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Madeon Twitter - "Doing an IAmA on Reddit"". Twitter. March 24, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Madeon Twitter - "Spending today finishing the album artwork !"". Twitter. 1 November 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  25. ↑ "Madeon premiers new futuristic music video "You're On" featuring Kyan!". 15 December 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  26. ↑ "Madeon teams up with Passion Pit for futuristic music video". 23 February 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  27. ↑ "Madeon Drops ‘Pay No Mind’ Video with Passion Pit: Watch". February 20, 2015. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  28. ↑ "Cryptic messages in the You're On video". Tumblr. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  29. ↑ "Technicolor Scavenger Hunt (Spoilers)". 3 August 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  30. ↑ "Madeon Twitter - "You're On is a totally different vibe from Imperium. It's inspired by my love of pop music, cool chords and chopped up diva vocals."". Twitter. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  31. ↑ "Madeon - You're On (Official Video)". YouTube. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  32. ↑ "Madeon Twitter - "It's multi part and tells a story."". Twitter. 12 December 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  33. ↑ "Madeon Twitter - "Watched the latest cut of the Adventure Trilogy part. 2 music video... I'M REALLY HAPPY."". Twitter. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  34. ↑ "Madeon BBC Radio 1 interview". BBC Radio 1. 18 January 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  35. ↑ "Madeon Twitter - "MADEON - PAY NO MIND (FEAT. PASSION PIT) /// SIX DAYS @passionpit"". Twitter. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  36. ↑ "Madeon Instagram - Pay No Mind Preview". Instagram. 5 February 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  37. ↑ "BBC Radio 1 Pay No Mind Premier". 9 February 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  38. ↑ "Madeon Twitter - "IT'S REALLY GOOD I THINK."". Twitter. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  39. ↑ "Madeon twitter "What's your favourite song of Passion Pit? -- Madeon - Pay No Mind (ft. Passion Pit) ;)"". Twitter. 24 January 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  40. ↑ "Madeon Twitter - "Pay No Mind music video is OUT !!"". Twitter. 20 February 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  41. ↑ "Dancing Astronaut's top 10 tracks of February 2015". Dancing Astonaut. 25 February 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  42. ↑ "Madeon Twitter - "it's called "Home" and it's premiered tonight by @AnnieMac."". Twitter. 8 March 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  43. ↑ "Madeon Twitter - "Because I (...) had a microphone, I ended up recording it myself "". Twitter. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  44. ↑ "Madeon's "Home" Is The Best Electro-Pop Anthem You'll Hear All Day". The Fader. March 10, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  45. ↑ "Madeon Facebook - "Hey - New Song !!"". Facebook. March 10, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  46. 1 2 "Madeon - Adventure (album review )". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 2015-03-30.
  47. 1 2 Corner, Lewis. "Madeon: Adventure album review - A vividly kaleidoscopic soundscape - Music Review". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2015-03-30.
  48. ↑ "Madeon: Adventure | Album Reviews". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2015-03-30.
  49. 1 2 Krista De Leon (2014-04-10). "Madeon - Adventure Review". Wegotthiscovered.com. Retrieved 2015-04-12.
  50. ↑ Noah (2015-04-05). "Madeon - "Adventure" | Album Review". EDM Chicago. Retrieved 2015-04-12.
  51. ↑ Fitzmaurice, Larry (2015-04-08). "Meet Madeon, Your Favorite Superstar's Secret Electro-Pop Weapon". The Fader. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  52. ↑ Vinaixa, Josep (19 January 2015). "Madeon - Adventure (Tracklist & Credits)". Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  53. ↑ "Madeon Twitter - "I wrote the song with genius/hero @jimmynapes"". Twitter. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  54. ↑ "Adventure credits". Discogs. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  55. ↑ "Madeon about Charli XCX - "She’s on ‘Adventure’, but secretly."". MTV. 11 February 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  56. ↑ "Madeon Twitter - "Also credits to @SamTDCC for the awesome guitar playing on Pay No Mind!"". 5 February 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  57. ↑ "Madeon Twitter - "do you also sing on Beings and Zephyr?! - yes"". Twitter. March 11, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  58. ↑ "Madeon Twitter - "I ended up recording it myself"". Twitter. March 9, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  59. ↑ "Madeon Reddit - "I licensed a small sample from the FEZ OST in the track Pixel Empire"". Reddit. March 24, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  60. ↑ "The City credits". Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  61. ↑ "Technicolor credits". Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  62. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Madeon – Adventure". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  63. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Madeon – Adventure" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  64. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Madeon – Adventure" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  65. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Madeon – Adventure". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  66. ↑ "Top of the Shops - アルバムの公式リストは、日本で数週間を販売しました" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
  67. ↑ "Madeon | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  68. ↑ "Official Dance Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  69. ↑ "Madeon – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Madeon. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  70. ↑ "Madeon – Chart history" Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums for Madeon. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  71. ↑ "Release date Europe". Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  72. ↑ "Adventure release date". Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  73. ↑ "Release date Japan". Retrieved 23 March 2015.
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