Velocifero

Velocifero
Studio album by Ladytron
Released 19 May 2008
Recorded 2007–08 at Studio de la Grande Armée (Paris, France)
Genre Synthpop, electro-industrial, new wave, shoegaze,[1] alternative dance
Length 54:29
Label Nettwerk (UK, Italy, US)
Playground Music Scandinavia (Sweden)
Shock Records (Australia)
Major Records (Germany)
Sideout (Japan)
Producer Ladytron, Alessandro Cortini, Vicarious Bliss
Ladytron chronology

Witching Hour
(2005)		 Velocifero
(2008)		 Live at London Astoria 16.07.08
(2009)
Singles from Velocifero
  1. "Ghosts"
    Released: 12 May 2008
  2. "Runaway"
    Released: 22 September 2008
  3. "Tomorrow"
    Released: 2 March 2009

Velocifero is the fourth studio album by English electronic band Ladytron and their first to be released by Nettwerk. The album was made available on the iTunes Store as of 19 May 2008, followed by a physical release on 2 June in the United Kingdom and on 3 June elsewhere. Velocifero peaked at number seventy-five on the UK Albums Chart, becoming the band's second highest-charting album to date in the UK (after Gravity the Seducer reached number seventy-two in 2011). It was also their first album to chart on the US Billboard 200, reaching number 131.

According to band member Reuben Wu, "velocifero" literally means "bringer of speed",[2] and is also the name of a classic retro-styled scooter. "Black Cat" and "Kletva" are both sung entirely in Bulgarian. "Kletva" (which means "oath") is a cover of a song from a solo album by Kiril Marichkov of Bulgarian rock band Shturtzite. Daniel Hunt provided additional vocals on "Versus".

Velocifero produced three singles: "Ghosts", "Runaway" and "Tomorrow".

Singles

"Ghosts"

"Ghosts" was released as the album's lead single on 12 May 2008. It reached number 106 on the UK Singles Chart.[3] The song was included on the soundtrack to the video games Need for Speed: Undercover,[4] The Sims 2: Apartment Life (Apartment Life featured the song as an instrumental version; both in 2008) The Sims 3 (2009) and LittleBigPlanet 2 (2011), as well as on the soundtrack to the 2009 slasher film Sorority Row.[5] The track was also used in the TV advert for the 2010 Jameson Dublin International Film Festival.[6] A remix of "Ghosts" by New York alternative rap collective Blestenation was released as a free download on 22 August 2008 by RCRD LBL.[7]

"Runaway" was released as the album's second single on 22 September 2008. It was featured in the 2008 video game FIFA 09.[8]

"Tomorrow" was released as the album's third and final single on 2 March 2009.

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic (73/100)[9]
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [10]
The A.V. Club (B+)[11]
BBC Music (favourable)[12]
Billboard (favourable)[13]
Drowned in Sound (7/10)[14]
The Guardian [15]
Pitchfork Media (7.2/10)[16]
PopMatters (8/10)[17]
Spin (5/10)[18]
The Times [19]

Velocifero received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 73, based on 26 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[9]

Track listing

All songs written by Ladytron, except where noted.

No. Title Length
1. "Black Cat"   5:09
2. "Ghosts"   4:43
3. "I'm Not Scared"   3:58
4. "Runaway"   4:50
5. "Season of Illusions"   4:02
6. "Burning Up"   4:08
7. "Kletva" (Kiril Marichkov) 2:43
8. "They Gave You a Heart, They Gave You a Name"   3:29
9. "Predict the Day"   4:25
10. "The Lovers"   2:39
11. "Deep Blue"   5:03
12. "Tomorrow"   3:36
13. "Versus"   5:44

Note: "Ghosts" (Modwheelmood Mix) was available on iTunes only.

Velocifero (Remixed & Rare)

On 6 April 2010, Nettwerk released a compilation of remixes, B-sides and rarities titled Velocifero (Remixed & Rare). The cover is the based on the black and white stripes artwork of the single "Runaway".

No. Title Length
1. "Ghosts" (Toxic Avenger Remix) 3:37
2. "Tomorrow" (Apparat Remix) 5:39
3. "Runaway" (James Zabiela's Red Eye Remix) 8:59
4. "Predict the Day" (Grey Ghost Remix) 6:05
5. "Runaway" (ADULT. Remix) 5:02
6. "Tomorrow" (Vector Lovers Lucky Remix) 6:53
7. "Ghosts" (Modwheelmood Remix) 4:28
8. "Tomorrow" (Jim Abbiss Radio Remix) 3:34
9. "Versus" (Kindle Remix) 4:38
10. "Tomorrow" (port-royal Remix) 3:36
11. "Runaway" (Brendan Long Remix) 5:17
12. "Tomorrow" (Dirty Vegas Club Remix) 9:22
13. "Runaway" (Ashtar Command Remix) 4:40

Personnel
  • Pipa – design
  • Erwan "Eq" Quinio – engineering
  • Peter Salmang – additional musician
  • Slic – drums
  • Somekong – additional musician
  • Vicarious Bliss – additional production
  • Daniel Woodward – engineering
  • Semay Wu – cello

Charts

Chart (2008) Peak
position
Australian Hitseekers Albums Chart[22] 9
UK Albums Chart[23] 75
US Billboard 200[24] 131
US Top Electronic Albums[24] 3
US Top Heatseekers[24] 3

Release history

Country Date Label Format
Sweden[25] 19 May 2008 Playground Music Scandinavia Digital download
Italy[26] Nettwerk
United Kingdom[27]
Australia[28] 20 May 2008 Shock
Sweden[29] 28 May 2008 Playground Music Scandinavia CD
Germany[30] 30 May 2008 Major CD, LP, digital download
Australia[31] 2 June 2008 Shock CD
United Kingdom[32] Nettwerk
United States[33] 3 June 2008 CD, LP
Italy[34] 4 June 2008 CD
Japan[20] Sideout CD, digital download
United States[35] 28 September 2010 Nettwerk Digital download
Velocifero (Remixed & Rare)
United Kingdom[36] 6 April 2010 Nettwerk Digital download
Australia[37] 21 May 2010 Shock CD, digital download
Germany[38] Major Digital download
United States[39] 1 June 2010 Nettwerk CD
United Kingdom[40]
United States[41] 28 September 2010 Digital download

References

  1. ↑ http://www.magnetmagazine.com/2008/06/03/ladytron-velocifero-nettwerk/
  2. ↑ "Nettwerk: Ladytron". Nettwerk. Archived from the original on 9 May 2008. Retrieved 15 April 2008.
  3. ↑ "Chart Log UK: 1994–2010". The Official Charts Company. The Zobbel Website. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
  4. ↑ "Need for Speed Undercover". Need for Speed. Electronic Arts. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  5. ↑ "Sorority Row [Soundtrack] – Various Artists". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
  6. ↑ "The Jameson Dublin International Film Festival: Big". Ads of the World. WebMediaBrands. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
  7. ↑ Duke, Samuel (22 August 2008). "EXCLUSIVE NEW DOWNLOAD: Ladytron – Ghosts (Blestenation Remix)". RCRD LBL. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
  8. ↑ "EA'S FIFA Soccer 09 Soundtrack Scores on International Music Goals". Business Wire. 14 August 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Velocifero – Ladytron". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  10. ↑ Phares, Heather. "Velocifero – Ladytron – Review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 5 June 2008.
  11. ↑ Bahn, Christopher (2 June 2008). "Ladytron: Velocifero". The A.V. Club. Onion, Inc. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  12. ↑ Quinn, Michael (30 May 2008). "Review of Ladytron – Velocifero". BBC Music. BBC Online. Retrieved 7 June 2008.
  13. ↑ Menze, Jill (7 June 2008). "Velocifer". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  14. ↑ Dobson, Gareth (5 June 2008). "Ladytron – Velocifero". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  15. ↑ Lynskey, Dorian (30 May 2008). "Ladytron, Velocifero". The Guardian. guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  16. ↑ Patrin, Nate (2 June 2008). "Ladytron: Velocifero". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
  17. ↑ Begrand, Adrien (3 June 2008). "Ladytron: Velocifero". PopMatters. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
  18. ↑ Wood, Mikael (2 June 2008). "Ladytron, 'Velocifero'". Spin. Spin Media LLC. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  19. ↑ Gatti, Tom (31 May 2008). "Ladytron: Velocifero". The Times. Times Newspapers. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Ladytron – Velocifero". HMV Japan. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  21. ↑ "Velocifero by Ladytron" (in Japanese). iTunes Store Japan. Apple Inc. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  22. ↑ "ARIA Hitseekers – Week Commencing 9th June 2008" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Pandora Archive. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  23. ↑ "Ladytron – Velocifero". Official Charts Company. Chart Stats. Archived from the original on 28 July 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 "Velocifero – Ladytron". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  25. ↑ "Velocifero by Ladytron". iTunes Store Sweden. Apple Inc. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  26. ↑ "Velocifero di Ladytron" (in Italian). iTunes Store Italy. Apple Inc. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  27. ↑ "Velocifero by Ladytron". iTunes Store UK. Apple Inc. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  28. ↑ "Velocifero by Ladytron". iTunes Store Australia. Apple Inc. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  29. ↑ "Velocifero – Ladytron" (in Swedish). CDON.se. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  30. ↑ "Velocifero: Ladytron" (in German). Amazon.de. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  31. ↑ "Velocifero – Ladytron". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  32. ↑ "Velocifero: Ladytron". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  33. ↑ "Velocifero: Ladytron". Amazon.com. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  34. ↑ "Ladytron – Velocifero" (in Italian). Internet Bookshop Italia. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  35. ↑ "Velocifero by Ladytron". iTunes Store US. Apple Inc. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  36. ↑ "Velocifero (Remixed and Rare) by Ladytron". iTunes Store UK. Apple Inc. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  37. ↑ "Velocifero – Remixed & Rare – Ladytron". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  38. ↑ "Velocifero (Remixed & Rare) von Ladytron" (in German). iTunes Store Germany. Apple Inc. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  39. ↑ "Velocifero (Remixed and Rare): Ladytron". Amazon.com. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  40. ↑ "Velocifero: Remixed & Rare: Ladytron". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  41. ↑ "Velocifero (Remixed & Rare) by Ladytron". iTunes Store US. Apple Inc. Retrieved 1 June 2011.