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Album1

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Album1
A colorful hummingbird centered on a white background with 'album1' in red stylized font
Studio album by
Released21 September 2018
Recorded2018
Length58:32
Labelbitbird
ProducerSan Holo
San Holo chronology
Album1
(2018)
BB U OK?
(2021)
Singles from Album1
  1. "Worthy"
  2. "Lift Me from the Ground"
  3. "Brighter Days"
  4. "Forever Free"
  5. "Surface"
  6. "Voices in My Head"

Album1 (stylized as album1) is the debut full-length studio album by Dutch DJ, musician, record producer and composer, San Holo. It was self-released on 21 September 2018, by his independent record label, bitbird. The album features guest appearances from Sofie Winterson, Bipolar Sunshine, James Vincent McMorrow, Yvette Young, Cassini, The Nicholas, Duskus, Caspian and Fazerdaze.[1] The album was supported by six singles: "Worthy", "Lift Me from the Ground", "Brighter Days", "Forever Free", "Surface", and "Voices In My Head".

Following its release, album1 debuted at number seven on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart for the week of 6 October 2018, becoming Holo's first top ten album. Simultaneously, three singles from album1 entered the Dance/Electronic Songs chart for the tracking week of 6 October 2018; "Lift Me from the Ground" re-entered the charts at No. 39, while "Show Me" and "Brighter Days" debuted at numbers 42 and 49, respectively.[2] album1 was nominated for the Edison Pop Award's Best Dance Album of 2019.[3]

Background

[edit]

Much of the album was written and recorded from a home studio Holo created from an Airbnb rented in Vestal Avenue in Los Angeles.[4] Unlike most conventional EDM albums, Holo focused on writing and recording with live instruments and using analog tape recorders through the recording process.[5]

The songs on album1 are combined of heavy melodic vocals, guitar riffs, violins, drum beats, and future bass elements. The album draws heavily from San Holo's post-rock inspiration and influences with a contemporary EDM sound in a new sound Holo describes as "post-EDM".[4]

From May 2018 through early July 2018, Holo released snippets of behind-the-scenes footage from unreleased songs including, "Forever Free" and "Worthy". On 26 July 2018, the snippets were revealed to be part of an album release in a video announcement from Sander revealing his debut album album1.

On 3 August 2018, Holo released two singles from the album, "Worthy" and "Lift Me from the Ground" on bitbird while also announcing an upcoming tour for the album.[6] "Lift Me from the Ground" debuted at No. 42 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart the week of 18 August 2018.[7]

On 31 August 2018, another single from album1 was released: "Brighter Days", featuring singer Bipolar Sunshine, with an official lyric video for the track. San Holo and Bipolar Sunshine jointly performed the song together at the 3FM Awards on September 5.[8]

Pre-orders for album1 were opened on 7 September 2018, alongside an announcement of an album release date of 21 September via his Twitter.[9] Another single from album1 was released on 14 September 2018, "Forever Free" featuring Duskus.[10]

In the week leading up to the album's release on 21 September, two more singles from the album were released, "Surface" featuring post-rock band Caspian with uncredited vocals by Fazerdaze on the 17th, and "Voices in My Head" featuring The Nicholas on the 19th.[11]

Speaking to Forbes, Holo described the album as "electronic music, but with this new album I’m working on I’m putting a lot of organic, real sounds in there to build a bridge between the EDM world and the more indie world until it becomes one."

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
EARMILK9/10[12]

The album has received generally favorable reviews from critics.

album1 placed number two on Billboard's Critic's Pick Top 10 Best Dance/Electronic Albums of 2018.[13] "album1 is notable for its innovative use of organic instrumentation and analog recording techniques...It's a powerful listen, and there's nothing like seeing San Holo rip a guitar solo while standing in front of his enthralling production, live on stage" said Kat Bein, from Billboard Dance. Brian Bonavoglia from ThisSongSlaps ranked album1 as the top album of 2018 and claims, "[album1] is one of the most forward-things productions we've seen all year."[14] Molly Hudelson from Substream magazine exclaims, "album1 will take you on an emotional journey from start to finish, but rather than forcing a certain emotion at any point, it feels incredibly cathartic. Whether you've been busy with school or work, stressed out by family troubles, or overwhelmed by whatever difficult life circumstances you’re facing at the moment, what we all crave in those moments is a relief...album1 will gently guide you along in letting it all out."[15] EDMSauce editor Sophia Medina confesses, "this was definitely the first album, in a very long time, that I actually enjoyed all the songs on the album. If you couldn't tell already, I’m strongly into songs that can not only touch my heart but can stir my emotions at the same time. This album did just that. My emotions were everywhere! I feel like if an album can create some sort of sentimental connection, then it's one that should definitely be acknowledged."[16] The Nocturnal Times praises album1 to their readers, "there's no surprise the album garnered mass critical acclaim and is a favorite among dance music enthusiasts alike." album1 was ranked number one on the top electronic/dance albums of 2018.[17] Matt Meadow of Your EDM named it their third best album of 2018 adding that "the 12-track album is said to bridge progressive rock with dance music, utilizing a vastly different style of arrangement than most dance music fans are used to. In addition, San brings his soft and powerful guitar riffs into the mix for a deeply personalized production with his signature sound attached to each and every note."[18]

Accolades

[edit]
Year-end Lists
Publication List Rank Reference.
Billboard Critics Pick - Top 10 Dance/Electronic Albums of 2018 #2 [19]
ThisSongSlaps Top 10 Albums of 2018 #1 [20]
Your EDM Top 10 Albums of 2018 #3 [21]
The Nocturnal Times Top Electronic/Dance Album of 2018 #1 [22]
Awards
Year Ceremony Category Result Reference
2018 Edison Pop 2018 Best Dance Album of 2018 Won [23]
2019 International Dance Music Awards Best Electronic Album Won [24][25]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Everything Matters (When It Comes to You)"
5:36
2."Lift Me from the Ground" (featuring Sofie Winterson)
  • van Dijck
  • Rutger van Woudenberg
4:20
3."Show Me"
  • van Dijck
  • Sean de Vries
5:41
4."Brighter Days" (featuring Bipolar Sunshine)
3:56
5."Always on My Mind" (featuring James Vincent McMorrow and Yvette Young)3:41
6."Go Back in Time"
  • van Dijck
  • van Woudenberg
  • Samuel Chown
4:21
7."Love (WIP)" (featuring Cassini)
  • van Dijck
  • van Woudenberg
  • Dorian Gaubert
  • Young
4:22
8."Voices in My Head" (featuring The Nicholas)
  • van Dijck
  • van Woudenberg
  • Gaubert
  • Sjaak Douma
4:52
9."Worthy"
  • van Dijck
  • van Woudenberg
4:59
10."Forever Free" (featuring Duskus)
  • van Dijck
  • Simon White
  • Tessa Douwstra
6:22
11."Surface" (featuring Caspian and Fazerdaze)
6:02
12."Vestal Avenue"van Dijck4:15
Total length:58:32

Notes

  • All track titles are stylized in all lowercase.

Charts

[edit]
Chart (2018) Peak
position
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[26] 80
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[27] 7
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[28] 20

Release history

[edit]
Country Date Format Label Catalogue
Various 21 September 2018 bitbird bba002

Touring

[edit]

Kicking off on 31 October 2018, album1 tour embarked on a 35-date North American tour starting in St. Petersburg, Florida, and wrapping up in Seattle, Washington. It will have support from Taska Black, Duskus, Eastghost, Chet Porter, Baynk, Slow Magic, Said The Sky, The Nicholas, and BeauDamian on select dates.[29]

album1 tour - North America
Date City State/Providence Venue
31 October 2018 St. Petersburg Florida Jannus Live
1 November 2018 Orlando The Plaza
2 November 2018 Jacksonville Mavericks
3 November 2018 Charlotte North Carolina The Fillmore
6 November 2018 Nashville Tennessee Cannery Ballroom
7 November 2018 Tuscaloosa Alabama Druid City Music Hall
8 November 2018 Atlanta Georgia Buckhead Theatre
9 November 2018 Washington District of Columbia Echostage
10 November 2018 Raleigh North Carolina The Ritz
11 November 2018 Charlottesville Virginia Jefferson Theatre
14 November 2018 Toronto Ontario Danforth Music Hall
15 November 2018 Buffalo New York Town Ballroom
16 November 2018 New York Terminal 5
17 November 2018 Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Stage AE
20 November 2018 Portland Maine Port City Music Hall
21 November 2018 Philadelphia Pennsylvania Electric Factory
23 November 2018 Boston Massachusetts House of Blues
24 November 2018 Montreal Quebec Corona Theatre
26 November 2018 Burlington Vermont Higher Ground
28 November 2018 Columbus Ohio Bluestone
29 November 2018 Detroit Michigan The Majestic
30 November 2018 Grand Rapids The Intersection
1 December 2018 Minneapolis Minnesota Skyway Theatre
4 December 2018 Omaha Nebraska Sokol Auditorium
5 December 2018 Indianapolis Indiana Deluxe
6 December 2018 Kansas City Missouri The Truman
7 December 2018 St. Louis The Pageant
8 December 2018 Milwaukee Wisconsin The Rave
12 December 2018 Salt Lake City Utah The Complex
13 December 2018 Las Vegas Nevada Brooklyn Bowl
14 December 2018 Los Angeles California Shrine Expo Hall
15 December 2018 San Jose City National Civic
19 December 2018 Eugene Oregon McDonald Theatre
20 December 2018 Portland Crystal Ballroom
21 December 2018 Seattle Washington
22 December 2018

"I am always thinking into the future and this new music and the tour, I hope will stretch the boundaries within the EDM community to new levels. Singing and playing guitar gives the set a stronger, livelier feel." - Sander van Dijck

On 3 December 2018, San Holo announced his biggest European headline tour to date, weaving through 12 cities across 7 countries with more dates to still be announced. The tour will start in March 2019 and will run the entire duration of the month culminating in a headline show his home country, The Netherlands, at the famed Paradiso in Amsterdam.[30]

album1 tour - Europe
Date City Country Venue
18 January 2019 Groningen Netherlands Eurosonic
28 February 2019 Manchester United Kingdom The Deaf Institute
1 March 2019 Bristol Thekla
2 March 2019 London Hangar
6 March 2019 Oslo Norway Parkteatret
7 March 2019 Copenhagen Denmark Pumpehuset
15 March 2019 Toulouse France Rex
16 March 2019 Paris La Maroquinerie
21 March 2019 Hamburg Germany Mojo
22 March 2019 Cologne Gloria
23 March 2019 Berlin Gretchen
24 March 2019 Frankfurt Zoom
28 March 2019 Ghent Belgium Charlatan
29 March 2019 Luxembourg Luxembourg Den Atelier
30 March 2019 Amsterdam Netherlands Paradiso

On 22 January 2019, Holo announced on Instagram an extended album1 North American tour across 17 cities, hitting markets Holo missed during the initial North American tour in 2018.[31] The tour will start in Sacramento, CA and will run the entire duration of the month ending in Chicago, IL.

album1 tour - North America
Date City State Venue
4 April 2019 Sacramento California Ace of Spades
5 April 2019 San Diego Observatory North Park
7 April 2019 Flagstaff Arizona Orpheum Theater
9 April 2019 Albuquerque New Mexico The Historic El Rey
10 April 2019 El Paso Texas Lowbrow Palace
11 April 2019 Austin Emo's
12 April 2019 Houston Stereo Live
13 April 2019 New Orleans Louisiana Joy Theater
16 April 2019 Birmingham Alabama Iron City
17 April 2019 Knoxville Tennessee The Mill & Mine
19 April 2019 Tulsa Oklahoma Cain's Ballroom
20 April 2019 Dallas Texas Stereo Live
23 April 2019 Columbia Missouri The Blue Note
24 April 2019 Des Moines Iowa Wooly's
25 April 2019 Iowa City Blue Moose Tap House
26 April 2019 Cincinnati Ohio Bogart's
27 April 2019 Chicago Illinois Aragon Ballroom

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Meadow, Matthew (2018-09-08). "San Holo Reveals Tracklist & Release Date for Debut Album, 'album1'". Your EDM. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  2. ^ "EDM Music & Dance Songs Chart". Billboard. 21 January 2013. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  3. ^ Staff, Your EDM (2018-12-04). "San Holo Nominated For Dutch Equivalent Of Grammy Awards For Debut Album". Your EDM. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  4. ^ a b Kocay, Lisa. "San Holo On 'Album1' And Bridging The Gap Between EDM And Indie Music". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
  5. ^ "San Holo Breaks Down His New Sound On Deeply-Personal 'Album1': Exclusive". Billboard. 21 September 2018. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
  6. ^ @sanholobeats (3 August 2018). "Hey i just released TWO new songs from album1 on @bitbirdofficial! check out the music video for worthy on youtube…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. ^ "Hot Dance/Electronic Songs Chart". Billboard. 21 January 2013.
  8. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: San Holo - brighter days (ft. Bipolar Sunshine) [Live at 3FM Awards]. YouTube.
  9. ^ @sanholobeats (7 September 2018). "it's time! for the last year my life has revolved around writing and producing my debut album. im so happy i get to…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. ^ @sanholobeats (14 September 2018). "hey! new song from album1 'forever free' with @officialDuskus is out NOW on @bitbirdofficial 🕊let me know what yo…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. ^ @sanholobeats (19 September 2018). "✨new song 'voices in my head' ft. @TheNicholasmusc is out now! this is the last song that comes out before the f…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. ^ Lin, Vivian (September 24, 2018). "Album Review: San Holo shows us nostalgia is a magical feeling in 'album1'". Earmilk. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  13. ^ "Billboard's 10 Best Dance/Electronic Albums of 2018: Critics' Picks". Billboard. December 12, 2018.
  14. ^ "[TSS Spotlight] Top 10 Albums of 2018 | ThisSongSlaps.com". December 19, 2018.
  15. ^ Hudelson, Molly (December 10, 2018). "Substream AOTY: Molly Hudelson's Favorite Albums of 2018".
  16. ^ "Best EDM Albums Of The Year 2018: EDM Sauce Critic's Choice". December 17, 2018.
  17. ^ Times, The Nocturnal (December 12, 2018). "Top Electronic/Dance Albums of 2018 by The Nocturnal Times".
  18. ^ Staff, Your EDM (2018-12-21). "Your EDM's Top 10 Albums of 2018". Your EDM. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
  19. ^ "Billboard's 10 Best Dance/Electronic Albums of 2018: Critics' Picks". Billboard. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 2019-01-09.
  20. ^ "[TSS Spotlight] Top 10 Albums of 2018 | ThisSongSlaps.com". thissongslaps.com - Electronic Dance Music & Hip-Hop Media. 2018-12-19. Retrieved 2019-01-09.
  21. ^ Meadow, Matt (2018-12-21). "Top 10 Albums of 2018 by Your EDM". Your EDM. Retrieved 2019-01-09.
  22. ^ "Top Electronic/Dance Albums of 2018 by The Nocturnal Times". The Nocturnal Times. 2018-12-12. Retrieved 2019-01-09.
  23. ^ Powell, Karlie (2019-02-14). "San Holo Wins Big At The "Dutch Grammys" for Album1". Your EDM. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
  24. ^ Magnetic. "IDMA 2019 Nominees, SHAQ "Becoming Diesel" WMC Conversation Announced". Magnetic Magazine. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  25. ^ Billboard Charts (29 March 2019), IDMA 2019 - Winners (33rd International Dance Music Awards), retrieved 30 June 2019
  26. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – San Holo – album1" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  27. ^ "San Holo Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  28. ^ "San Holo Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  29. ^ Grant, Sydney (2018-07-31). "San Holo to Embark on the Album1 Tour This Fall!". EDM Identity. Retrieved 2019-02-12.
  30. ^ "San Holo Just Announced A New Round Of US Tour Dates". Run The Trap: The Best EDM, Hip Hop & Trap Music. 2019-01-22. Retrieved 2019-02-12.
  31. ^ "San Holo on Instagram: "hey! the new USA album1 tour dates are here :) - this time i'm hitting the cities i couldn't hit last time.. let me know where im gonna see…"". Instagram. Retrieved 2019-03-24.