Cloud Nine

by Kygo

Overview

Foregoing the big drops and unrelenting hammer beats of festival EDM on his debut album Cloud Nine, Norwegian pianist and producer Kygo (born Kyrre Gorvell-Dahll) crafted relaxed, melodic pop-hook house aimed at secluded beaches, nocturnal haunts, and even romantic rendezvous. Boasting a full roster of guest vocalists, Cloud Nine is music for the lounge, not the club, and the soundtrack to the post-party comedown. As the title suggests, this collection is pleasurable and light, lifting listeners to that eponymous place in the heavens. From the sparkling "Intro" to the plaintive closer "For What It's Worth," Cloud Nine is a cohesive journey where each song melts into the next along the connective thread that is Kygo's celestial piano tinkling. The high points of the album are subtle nods to Kygo's big influence, Avicii, that combine folksy guitars atop thumping dance beats. "Fiction" features British singer/songwriter Tom Odell and sounds like Arcade Fire's Win Butler guesting on a track by that aforementioned Swede. Irish band Kodaline lend their acoustic guitar strumming to the James Bay-penned "Raging." Irish singer James Vincent McMorrow contributes a fragile falsetto to the arena-ready "I'm in Love." Elsewhere, juicier jams add some soul to Cloud Nine, like on Parson James' tropical house "Stole the Show," Will Heard's sensual "Nothing Left," and Maty Noyes' pulsing "Stay." Stand-out centerpiece "Oasis" features British pop singer Foxes on a Sia-penned epic that incorporates a string section and the best Chris Martin piano melody this side of "A Sky Full of Stars." It's also one of the few truly energetic moments on Cloud Nine. To that end, some stretches of the album may be a little too sleepy and subdued, with songs bleeding together in a hypnotic haze. Nonetheless, refreshingly void of aggression or any deliberate tension, Cloud Nine comforts with its positivity and charm. ~ Neil Z. Yeung

Product Details

Release Date:	05/20/2016
Label:	Epic
UPC:	0889853319725

Tracks

1. Intro
2. Stole the Show
3. Fiction
4. Raging
5. Firestone
6. Happy Birthday
7. I'm in Love
8. Oasis
9. Not Alone
10. Serious
11. Stay
12. Nothing Left
13. Fragile
14. Carry Me
15. For What It's Worth

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Kygo   Primary Artist,Vocals
Labrinth   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Conrad Sewell   Vocals,Featured Artist
Kodaline   Vocals,Featured Artist
Tom Odell   Piano,Vocals,Featured Artist,Guitar (Electric)
Rhodes   Featured Artist,Vocals
Matt Corby   Vocals,Featured Artist
Angus Stone   Vocals,Featured Artist
Bjoern Yttling   Guitar (Acoustic)
Jimmy Messer   Guitar
Angus & Julia Stone   Featured Artist
Foxes   Vocals,Featured Artist
Will Heard   Vocals,Featured Artist
Parson James   Vocals,Featured Artist
Maty Noyes   Vocals,Featured Artist
Kyle Kelso   Vocals
John Legend   Vocals,Featured Artist
Justin Tranter   Vocals (Background)
Julia Stone   Vocals,Featured Artist
James Vincent McMorrow   Vocals,Featured Artist
Julia Michaels   Vocals,Featured Artist
William "Nasty Kutt" Wiik Larsen   Guitar

Technical Credits

William "Nasty Kutt" Wiik Larsen   Producer,Programming,Composer,Engineer
Hans Stenlund   Engineer
Martijn Konijnenburg   Composer
Tom Oxley   Sleeve Photo
Conrad Sewell   Composer
Tom Odell   Composer
Rhodes   Composer
Ryan Miller   Studio Assistant,Studio Assistant
Matt Corby   Composer
Michael Harwood   Composer
Angus Stone   Composer,Engineer,Vocal Producer
Natalie Salter   Composer
Myles Shear   Executive Producer
Mark Ralph   Mixing,Producer,Additional Production
Jason Agel   Vocal Engineer
Bjoern Yttling   Composer,Producer
Jimmy Messer   Composer
Sia Furler   Composer
Derek Fuhrmann   Composer,Vocal Engineer,Guitar Engineer
Angus & Julia Stone   Composer,Vocal Engineer,Vocal Producer
Sia   Composer
Kevin Rudolf   Composer
James Bay   Composer
David Rodriguez   Engineer
Steve Garrigan   Composer
Will Heard   Composer
Mr. Brainwash   Cover Art
Kygo   Composer,Producer,Programming
Parson James   Composer
Ashton Parson   Composer
Ryan Jumper   Assistant,Mixing Assistant
Maty Noyes   Composer
Mark Carl Stolinkski Williams   Composer
Kyle Kelso   Composer,Vocal Engineer,Vocal Producer
Justin Tranter   Composer
Labrinth   Composer,Producer
Miles Walker   Mixing
Ivan Corraliza   Composer
John Stephens   Composer
Eric J. Dubowsky   Vocal Engineer
John Horesco IV   Mastering
Julia Stone   Composer,Engineer,Vocal Producer
James Vincent McMorrow   Composer
Mark Williams   Composer
Marli Harwood   Composer
Henke Jonsson   Mastering
Julia Michaels   Composer
John Horesco   Mastering