City of Gold (The Prototypes album)

City of Gold
Studio album by The Prototypes
Released May 17, 2015
Genre Drum and bass
Label Viper Recordings (VPRL010)
The Prototypes chronology
Don't Let Me Go - EP
(2014)		 City of Gold
(2015)

City of Gold is a studio album by the drum and bass duo The Prototypes. Released on May 17, 2015, through the British record label Viper Recordings, itfeatures vocals from artists such as Ayah Marar, Laconic, and Amy Pearson.[1] City of Gold was generally well received by critics,[2][3] with Jemayel Khawaja of THUMP giving it a positive review.[4] City of Gold reached No. 22 on the UK Dance Chart.[5]

Production

They started working on their debut album in early 2013, and over the next two years would release a number of the tracks from the ongoing project as singles.[3] The album features vocals from artists such as Ayak, Donae'o, Ayah Marar, Laconic, and Amy Pearson.[1] According to The Prototypes, "music should come from the soul/heart, this album is all about just that. When we DJ we want tracks that mash the dance up, but if we were listening to the full album [of just those tracks] everything just starts to meld [together]. We want to keep the listeners' attention." Also, the duo mentioned enjoying the opportunity to "release some other tempos and a less hard hitting sound" alongside their drum and bass standards.[3]

The duo cited the track "Redose" as one of their favorite on the album for its "different and experimental" qualities,[6] and the title track was inspired by "epic" films such as Oblivion and Interstellar, as well movie soundtracks by Hans Zimmer.[2] Their pre-existing track "Lights" was reworked into "Kill the Silence," with vocals added by Ayah Marar.[2] "Don’t Let Me Go" featuring Amy Pearson was originally a house anthem sped up to drum and bass tempos, with the duo explaining this added "a J Majik vibe to it, which we really liked.”[2] About the album's track "Fallen," the duo stated in an interview that the song had been started in 2013 as an instrumental track, until "management sorted a vocal version. When we listened to it and didn’t know who had laid down the vocals. We were pretty shocked to learn it was none other than Donae'o... He called us up to ask if we liked what he’d done, which of course we did, so we ended up getting in the studio with him and nailed down a big vocal session."[2]

Release and reception

External video
The Prototypes - "Pop It Off" (feat. Mad Hed City) (Official Video) April 13, 2013
The Prototypes - "Don't Let Me Go" (Ft. Amy Pearson) (Official Video) June 20, 2013

A number of promotional singles were released before the album itself. One of their first releases on Viper Recordings, "Pale Blue Light" came out on February 23, 2014.[7] Shortly afterwards, they released a second two-track single package on Viper, with the tracks "Don't Let Me Go" and "Humanoid."[7] "Pale Blue Dot" went on to be nominated for Best Track at the Drum & Bass Arena Awards in 2014, while "Don't Let Me Go" was nominated for Best Music Video.[8] On May 3, 2015, the duo released the track "Pop It Off," with guest features by the group Mad Hed City.[7]

They released their debut album City of Gold on May 17, 2015 through Viper.[7] The duo supported the album with a 50 date tour, playing at festivals such as Urban Art Forms and Tomorrowland.[1] After its release, in the week of May 24, 2015 City of Gold reached No. 22 on the UK Dance Chart.[5] On May 27, 2015, they had a track from the album included on a list of the Top 10 Drum And Bass Tracks put out by Magnetic Magazine.[9] Drumsound & Bassline Smith named "Pop It Off" their UKF Music Tune Of The Month for April 2015, with UKF also praising the music video.[10]

Critical response

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Vice Media(positive)[4]
UKF Music(positive)[2]
"The Prototypes' track 'Fallen,' featuring Donae'o, is an homage to this subtly-more-subtle era in UK bass [that incorporated more break-based drums]. Just after the minute mark, the track drops into a jungle-influenced breaks groove with 90s hardcore written all over it. It's moments like this, common on City of Gold, that elevate The Prototypes above many of their upfront-minded peers."[4]
— Jemayel Khawaja of THUMP[4]

Robin Murray of UKF Music called the debut "a relentless, incendiary journey through a range of genres and tempos."[2] Break Beat wrote on May 20, 2015 "it’s an album with a capital A," explaining that "there’s a concept (without being too laboured or contrived), there’s a journey and there’s the right amount of tracks we’d expect from them... and evidence of them really pushing themselves in different, exciting directions."[3] Chris Muniz of Insomniac Events wrote on May 28, 2015 that City of Gold was a "touchstone project" for the duo, with "big-room hits to epic, cinematic interludes and everything in between."[6]

About individual tracks, Jemayel Khawaja of THUMP wrote that the track "Redose" is an "immersive halftime stomper that drops elements of dubstep, electro, and deep house."[4] Khawaja further wrote that "The Prototypes' track "Fallen" was "an homage to this subtly-more-subtle era in UK bass [that used to incorporate more break-based drums]," and that "moments like this, common on City of Gold, that elevate The Prototypes above many of their upfront-minded peers."[4] Matthew Chapman of UKF Music wrote positively about the single "Pop It Off," praising in particular "the syncopated rhythm of the percussion instantly gives you a classic dancehall step, MCs bringing fiyah’ on the microphone is reminiscent of toasters and Rodigan shouting over the biggest tracks, rave stabs and an incredible amount of attention on everything 100Hz and below."[11] Robin Murray of UKF Music called "Pop It Off" "one of the most unanimously unifying cuts in D&B of the year so far" in May 2015.[2]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by The Prototypes. 

No. Title Length
1. "City Of Gold"   4:24
2. "Pop It Off" (featuring Mad Hed City) 4:40
3. "Under" (featuring Ayak) 4:17
4. "Kill The Silence" (featuring Ayah Marar) 4:04
5. "Abyss 2015"   4:25
6. "Edge Of Tomorrow"   3:16
7. "Fallen" (featuring Donae'o) 3:28
8. "Pale Blue Dot"   4:51
9. "Is It Love" (featuring Laconic) 3:35
10. "Don't Let Me Go" (featuring Amy Pearson) 4:30
11. "The Journey Continues"   1:15
12. "Redose"   3:50
13. "Humanoid"   4:42
14. "Slip Away"   3:31

Charts

Chart (2015) Peak position
UK Dance Chart[5] 22

Awards and nominations

Year Award Nominated work Category Result
2014 Drum & Bass
Arena Awards 		"Pale Blue Dot" Best Track [8] Nominated
"Don't Let Me Go" Best Music Video[8] Nominated

Personnel

This list of songs or music-related items is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "About". ThePrototypes.co.uk. 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-29.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Murray, Robin (May 18, 2015). "The Prototypes: A Journey Through The City Of Gold". UKF Music. Retrieved 2015-07-29.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "The Prototypes: Golden Era". Break Beat. May 20, 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-29.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Khawaja, Jemayel (May 11, 2015). "Brighton's Finest: Drum and Bass Act The Prototypes Drops Debut Album". THUMP (Vice Media). Retrieved 2015-07-29.
  5. 1 2 3 "Official Dance Albums Chart Top 40". officialcharts.com. May 24, 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-29.
  6. 1 2 Muniz, Chris (May 28, 2015). "The Prototypes: Essential Cuts". Insomniac Events. Retrieved 2015-07-29.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "The Prototypes". iTunes. Retrieved 2015-07-29.
  8. 1 2 3 "Drum & Bass Arena Awards Nominations". BreakBeat.com. 2014. Retrieved 2015-07-29.
  9. ↑ "Top 10 Drum And Bass Tracks – 5.27.15 Chart". Magnetic Magazine. May 27, 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-29.
  10. ↑ "Tune Of The Month: April 2015". UKF Music. April 30, 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-29.
  11. ↑ Chapman, Matthew (July 3, 2015). "Summer Drum & Bass: A Technical Guide". UKF Music. Retrieved 2015-07-29.

External links

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