Changa is the fifth studio album by Australian electronic trio Pnau. It was released on 10 November 2017 by the independent label etcetc.[2] It follows their 2012 remix album in collaboration with Elton John, Good Morning to the Night,[3] and is their first studio album since Soft Universe (2011).[4] It is also their first album as a trio, with vocalist and co-founder Nick Littlemore's brother Sam Littlemore joining in 2016.[5]
| Changa | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 10 November 2017 | |||
| Length | 44:25 | |||
| Label | etcetc | |||
| Producer | Pnau | |||
| Pnau chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Changa | ||||
The album was preceded by the lead single "Chameleon" in November 2016,[5] which reached number four on the ARIA Singles Chart,[6] and number 11 on the Triple J Hottest 100, 2016.[7] It features vocals by Kira Divine.[4] It has received over 85 million streams on Spotify and been certified double platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association.[8] On 25 August, Pnau released three more tracks in promotion of the album: "Into the Sky", "Young Melody" featuring Vera Blue, and "Control Your Body",[2] with "Into the Sky" debuting on Triple J.[9] Divine also lent vocals to "Control Your Body".[4] "Into the Sky" was accompanied by a video of Nick Littlemore as a floating head set against psychedelic visuals.[4] "Go Bang" was released as a single on 27 October.[10]
In the lead-up to the album's release, the trio embarked on an Australian tour,[8] performing at the Listen Out festival in Sydney on 30 September, and at the Adelaide dance event Oh Yes.[9]
At the ARIA Music Awards of 2018, Changa was nominated for Album of the Year.[11]
Music and themes
editUpon its release, Mixmag compared "Young Melody" to the "smooth lounge vibes of PNAU's sublime debut LP Sambanova".[3] Pnau said of "Into the Sky": "It is a song that wrote itself. We like to think that it captures the ambition, angst and ambivalence we held as teenagers."[2] Nick Littlemore commented that the trio had been influenced by Happy Mondays for the song.[4] Al Newstead of ABC called "Into the Sky" a "fuzzy, distorted drum heavy track that [...] tak[es] inspiration from the 'Madchester' '90s dance scene".[4] He also labeled "Young Melody" a "blissful dance" track, and noted the "4am rave vibes" of "Control Your Body".[4] Amnplify described "Control Your Body" as having "enigmatic instrumentation and vocals before settling into a deep rhythmic groove – a true acid workout and a nostalgic homage to the bands [sic] formative rave days".[12]
"Chameleon" was additionally called a "festival favourite and dance floor anthem".[12]
Album title
editThe album is named after Changa, the DMT-infused smokeable form of ayahuasca.[3]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Save Disco" (with The Two Leaves) |
| Pnau | 3:54 |
| 2. | "Chameleon" |
| Pnau | 3:18 |
| 3. | "Go Bang" |
| Pnau | 3:09 |
| 4. | "Changa" |
| Pnau | 3:25 |
| 5. | "In My Head" |
| Pnau | 3:07 |
| 6. | "Into the Sky" |
| Pnau | 2:57 |
| 7. | "Please Forgive Me" |
| Pnau | 3:02 |
| 8. | "Young Melody" (featuring Vera Blue) |
| Pnau | 3:41 |
| 9. | "Nothing in the World" |
| Pnau | 3:12 |
| 10. | "Control Your Body" |
| Pnau | 4:06 |
| 11. | "La Grenouille" |
| Pnau | 4:52 |
| 12. | "Changes" (vs. Faul & Wad Ad) |
| Faul & Wad Ad | 5:42 |
| Total length: | 44:25 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Embrace" |
| 5:29 |
| 13. | "Wild Strawberries" |
| 3:55 |
| 14. | "Baby" |
| 2:45 |
| 15. | "No More Violence" |
| 4:54 |
| 16. | "With You Forever" |
| 3:34 |
| 17. | "Come Together" |
| 5:01 |
| Total length: | 64:20 | ||
Notes
- Tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9 and 10 feature vocals by Kira Divine.
- The bonus tracks from the 2018 tour edition came from their previous album Pnau.
Charts
edit| Chart (2017) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[14] | 11 |
| Australian Dance Albums (ARIA)[15] | 1 |
| New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)[16] | 5 |
References
edit- ^ "Changa – EP by PNAU on iTunes". iTunes Store (AU). 11 May 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
- ^ a b c Williams, Tom (25 August 2017). "Pnau Just Dropped Three New Songs From Their New Album 'Changa'". Music Feeds. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ a b c Carbines, Scott (25 August 2017). "PNAU embrace 'Changa' on new album". Mixmag. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g Newstead, Ad (25 August 2017). "First listen: PNAU announce new album with Madchester raver 'Into The Sky'". Triple J. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ a b Cashmere, Paul (4 November 2016). "PNAU Premiere First Song In Four Years 'Chameleon'". Noise11. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ "australian-charts.com – Pnau – Chameleon". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ "1–100 | Hottest 100 2016 | triple j". ABC. 11 November 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ a b Pezeshki, Ariana (11 September 2017). "PNAU Announce Upcoming Australian Tour & Album Release". MTV. Archived from the original on 16 September 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ a b Lefevre, Jules (25 August 2017). "Pnau just dropped the new music you've been waiting for". Junkee. Archived from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ "Go Bang – Single by PNAU". iTunes Store (AU). Retrieved 10 November 2017.
- ^ Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) (28 November 2018). "And the ARIA Award Goes To..." Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 28 November 2018.
- ^ a b "PNAU Share Three New Tracks + Announce Fifth Studio Album 'CHANGA'". Amnplify. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ "Changa (2018 Tour Edition) by Pnau on Apple Music". iTunes Store (AU). 6 July 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ "Australiancharts.com – Pnau – Changa". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ "ARIA Dance – Week Commencing 20th November 2017" (PDF). ARIA Charts (1447): 17. 20 November 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 November 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
- ^ "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 20 November 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.