Me (Empress Of album)

Me
Studio album by Empress Of
Released September 11, 2015 (2015-09-11) (Standard release)
June 2016 (2016-06) (Cassette release)
Genre
Label Terrible, XL
Producer Lorely Rodriguez
Empress Of chronology
Systems
(2013)Systems2013		 Me
(2015)
Singles from Me
  1. "Water Water"
    Released: April 14, 2015
  2. "Kitty Kat"
    Released: July 20, 2015
  3. "How Do You Do It"
    Released: September 2, 2015
  4. "Standard"
    Released: September 3, 2015

Me is the debut studio album by American singer and songwriter Empress Of, released on September 11, 2015 through XL Recordings and Terrible Records.[1] Finding her residence of New York as stifling to her creative process, Lorely Rodriguez embarked on solo writing retreat to Mexico which granted her the introspection she was seeking. Work on the album continued for a further two years, culminating in a direct approach to her lyrics and production.

Me is noted for its electronic and alternative R&B sound, a departure from the "hazy, dreamy" style that previously characterized her music. The album received critical acclaim from contemporary music reviewers, who applauded Rodriguez's revelatory themes and immediate, energetic nature of her music; further spotlighted in several year-end lists.

Four singles preceded the album's release: "Water Water", "Kitty Kat", "How Do You Do It" and "Standard". Rodriguez embarked on the Me & You Tour in late 2015 with Abra in support of the album.

Background

In 2012, Lorely Rodriguez began anonymously uploading her first recordings onto YouTube: a collection of minute-long snippets designated with a single color. These demos, dubbed Colorminutes, were produced day-to-day as an exercise for Rodriguez to hone her technical proficiency and creative discipline.[2] Upon adopting the stage name Empress Of, a few became the basis for her first release "Champagne", which garnered the attention of Terrible Records. She released her first EP Systems through the label in April 2013 and later signed a joint deal with XL Recordings for her debut studio album.[3][2] The album's opener, "Everything is You", was written right after on a dilapidated piano that her Brooklyn apartment housed.[4]

Rodriguez found herself with writer's block after initial recording sessions for Me, which took place in a Williamsburg studio: "Living in New York as an artist is a hard thing to do. Everyone’s hustling, everyone’s got this really tense energy because it’s so hard to live here and make it here and pursue your dreams as an artist if you’re not super privileged. But, I was writing a bunch of shitty demos, and I didn’t want to tour that for two years, because, you know, you make a record and you tour it forever."[5][2]

"When I first started making music, I was Empress Of—this, like, mystical thing, this dreamy thing—I wanted people to just kind of be caught off guard. It wasn’t me. Which is why I went the total opposite spectrum, and wrote an album called Me, and made the imagery as simple and as personal and as direct as it can be."[6]

Much of the discarded material fixated on critiquing "capitalism, and Starbucks, and condos. And how every apartment has rats," further stating her ambivalence against touring a record about "hating New York".[7] Rodriguez desired a more introspective experience and began contacting friends over her predicament, to which one offered his parents' empty vacation house in Mexico.[8][7] Rodriguez left for the writing retreat in December 2013, leaving behind four jobs as a nanny and music teacher, to the secluded village of Valle de Bravo on Lake Avándaro.[8][2] She exited a relationship right before her trip, though the unavailability of an internet connection left her with only the music on her iTunes, a mix that her ex-boyfriend sent for Christmas that included Aphex Twin, Chet Baker and Animal Collective.[9]

Writing and development

Rodriguez counts Björk as one of her influences, citing broadcasts of her swan dress as initiating her own musical discovery.[10]

Rodriguez credits "driving [herself] crazy" as making the album's production possible.[2] Me was written during Valle de Bravo's low season for tourism, which induced a state of paranoia in Rodriguez due to the isolation. This condition was further exacerbated by the pressure of contractual obligations, causing her to feel like she was "writing against the clock" in churning out content on a daily basis during the retreat.[11][2] "Need Myself" was the first song to be written on the retreat, sang over a beat made minutes before, "almost like a meditation" in trying to deal with her solitude. The song is lyrically about picking apart an "old toxic relationship with an unresponsive partner".

"Confronting a fear like that… Being alone and isolating yourself, confronting insecurities… That’s why I wrote a [personal] record like that, because I only had myself to write off of. It was about learning how to love myself more, and how to respect myself more, and what I needed as a lover and as an artist. You learn a lot about yourself."

—Rodriguez commenting on her time in Valle de Bravo

Producing entirely on her laptop, Rodriguez worked for ten hours a day; filling white boards and composition notebooks with elaborate to-do lists.[8][12] "Threat" was written after developing a fear of intruders by the third week, causing her to relocate her studio bedside from its former lakeview window.[11] She began sleeping with a machete under her bed after a "really scary" conversation with the cleaning lady, concerned knowing that Rodriguez was spending time at the vacation house alone.[7]

Rodriguez was visited once during her period of isolation, where she and her friends participated in recreational drug use. Despite feeling like "they had rocketed to another planet", the night ultimately became "parched" and "confusing" due to failure to purchase potable water.[8] The experience would amalgamate on "Water Water", written "furiously" on New Year's Eve and thematically encircled with the scarcity of water itself.[4] "Standard" further explores the implications of privilege and class divide, wherein Rodriguez reflects on living with social and economic differences in New York's culture as a struggling artist while relating it to the poverty she witnessed in Mexico: "I would pass families on the side of the road selling firewood for pennies when a couple of weeks ago I was in N.Y. buying $4 coffee. I put myself in their shoes."[9][4]

"Being an artist living in New York, not being born super wealthy, being from a working-class family. It was fucking hard. One of my songs on the record, called "Standard," comes out of [seeing] how divided it is. There are almost moments of envy in there, like I wish I had it easy. But then there are moments of "I know what it means to work for what you want from almost nothing."[13] 

The album's closer, "Icon", was written about taking adderall in order to finish the album's production. "To Get By" was the final track to be completed for the record, where she reached a breaking point after nitpicking its details back and forth with her manager: "Knowing when to stop working on this record was probably the hardest thing about making it. Working alone, no one is telling you what’s good enough or what’s finished."[4]

Recording and composition

Me is a departure from Rodriguez's heavily reverbed approach to her debut EP Systems (2013), which she felt like she was hiding behind: "All of the music I was obsessed with at that time was hazy, hazy New York and hazy emotions, everything was hiding behind a texture. It was really nice but I realized how hard it is to connect with haze. I couldn’t connect with an audience when I was drowned in textures."[2][12] After leaving Mexico in early-2015, Rodriguez spent the next nine months fleshing out the ideas she developed, working between Montreal, New York and Los Angeles. The resulting product amalgamates electronic music and alternative R&B in a minimalist and experimental style.[14][15][16]

In writing for the New York Times, Jon Pareles states that "[the tracks] are as clean-lined and skeletal as a blueprint under plexiglass," further complimenting Rodriguez's musical progression: "Empress Of distilled her music, ruthlessly making every sound earn its place and, as a result, making each song more focused and tenacious."[17] Stephen Carlick of Exclaim! noted that Rodriguez "demonstrates her versatility early on" with "Everything is You" and "Water Water": "the former is a sparse and snapping ode to new love, buoyed by hi-hat rolls and cooed gently in her lilting alto; the latter is a pulsing, reverb-splashed anthem".[18]

Because the vocals are "the only organic thing on the record", Rodriguez felt the desire to "bring as much life" as she could which lead to it being recorded at Electric Ladyland Studios: "It was Jimmy Hendrix’ microphone that he bought in the ‘60s for his studio! [...] He sang into it, like, his spit is on it. Adele recorded 21 on it. Arcade Fire recorded Reflektor. So it’s like…I just wanted that to be very real. Vocals are really important on the record. They’re the message. I just wanted to do it—no bullshitting."[12] In an interview with The Deli, Rodriguez revealed that Me was made in Logic Pro with the Apollo Twin Duo interface from Universal Audio, further employing SoundToys plug-ins and the Native Instruments Maschine from which a majority of its bass and drum sounds originate.[19]

Title and artwork

Rodriguez contemplated the album's title for months before settling on Me. She sent potential titles to her manager, emailed as subject lines which were met with dismissal.[20] Her faith in his judgment led her to choosing a title of a subtle nature to reflect the album's message: "Sometimes people have album titles that are so grandiose, magical, mysterious or whatever, but I wanted something simple, direct and personal."[21] It was inspired by Björk's Debut (1993), which Rodriguez calls "brilliant" as she was fond of titles that "mark the beginning of something".[22]

Pitchfork compares the "stark" artwork to that of Horses (1975) by Patti Smith, signifying "lyrically raw" content.[14] The album cover developed from different avenues as Rodriguez did "everything under the sun", including having her head 3D printed. These concepts were rejected as they all "looked like something else and only represented a point in time", later relating to the universality of personal trials: "I know that when I'm older I'll still struggle with some of the things that a 24-year-old woman struggles with. [...] That isn't a 3-D rendered sculpture or some type of pastel, goth thing. It's just a black and white photo that someone took in 15 minutes. I wasn't wearing makeup. I borrowed the shirt."[23] Rodriguez stated that the artwork is about "being nervous about exposing myself", which reflected her emotions at the time of the photoshoot as she did not know the photographer.[24]

Release

Me was preceded by four singles: Water Water, Kitty Kat, How Do You Do It, and Standard. The album was announced on July 20, 2015, upon the release of second single Kitty Kat.[1]

On March 14, 2016, Empress Of released a new single titled Woman Is a Word.[25] In May 2016, it was revealed that Me would be re-released on cassette with bonus tracks, to be sold on tour in June. The bonus tracks would include Woman Is a Word; a Spanish version of Water Water titled Agua Agua; and exclusive new remixes.[26] Agua Agua was first shared by Rodriguez via SoundCloud in June 2015.[27]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic(82/100)[28]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[29]
Pitchfork Media(8.2/10)[14]
New York Times(favorable)[30]
MusicOMH[31]
Robert Christgau[32]
The Guardian[33]

Online magazine Pitchfork Media reviewed the album positively, awarding it Best New Music.[14]

Year-end lists

Publication Accolade Rank
Pitchfork The 50 Best Albums of 2015
Noisey The 50 Best Albums of 2015
Pretty Much Amazing The 50 Best Albums of 2015
Under the Radar Top 100 Albums of 2015
The Line Best of Fit The 50 Best Albums of 2015
N/A[38]
Pigeons & Planes Best Albums of 2015
The 405 The 30 Best Albums of 2015
Gorilla vs. Bear Albums of 2015
Time Out New York The 25 Best Albums of 2015

Track listing

All tracks written by Lorely Rodriguez.

No.TitleLength
1."Everything Is You"3:46
2."Water Water"3:41
3."Standard"3:39
4."How Do You Do It"3:43
5."To Get By"2:57
6."Kitty Kat"2:25
7."Need Myself"4:00
8."Make Up"3:40
9."Threat"3:27
10."Icon"3:34

Charts

Chart (2015) Peak
position
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[43] 5
US Top Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[44] 9

References

  1. 1 2 "Empress Of Announces Debut Album Me, Shares New Song "Kitty Kat"". Pitchfork.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Moreland, Quinn. "The Making Of Me". Impose Magazine. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  3. ↑ "Empress Of - Champagne". Dazed Digital. Dazed. 23 November 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Empress Of - Yours Truly". Yours Truly. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  5. ↑ Martin, Paley (14 September 2015). "Empress Of Talks Writing Debut Album 'Me' While Isolated in Mexico & Reconnecting With Herself". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  6. ↑ Silver, Jocelyn (2016-03-31). "Empress Of Wants To Rule The World | Milk". Milk. Retrieved 2017-07-14.
  7. 1 2 3 "Empress Of – Tickets – The Bowery Ballroom – New York, NY – March 25th, 2016". The Bowery Ballroom. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Bird, Cameron (21 October 2015). "The Royal Me". California Sunday Magazine. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  9. 1 2 "divas, mexico and debut albums with empress of | read | i-D". i-D. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  10. ↑ "Empress Of Discusses Her New Album, Björk, + Opening For Florence and the Machine - CATALOGUE MAGAZINE". CATALOGUE MAGAZINE. 2015-09-01. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  11. 1 2 "Alone In Mexico, Empress Of Finds Herself". The FADER. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  12. 1 2 3 "Lorely Rodriguez: 'Empress Of'...Now". Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  13. ↑ "Empress Of Talks Entitlement and the First-Generation Experience". PAPERMAG. 2015-11-21. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Berman, Stuart. "Empress of: Me". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  15. ↑ Hutchinson, Kate (2015-09-17). "Empress Of: Me review – cool, quirky future-pop". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-07-14.
  16. ↑ "Me - Empress Of | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2017-07-14.
  17. ↑ Pareles, Jon (2015-09-09). "Review: ‘Me,’ by Empress Of, Has Cool Assurance and Jumpy Lines". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-07-14.
  18. ↑ "Empress Of Me". Retrieved 2017-07-14.
  19. ↑ "Empress Of’s Gear and Creative Process | Delicious Audio Blog - Stompbox Exhibit, Synth Expo and MixCon". pedals.thedelimagazine.com. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  20. ↑ Lange, Maggie (2015-11-18). "WCW: Empress Of is the Chill Music Goddess You’re Looking For". GQ. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  21. ↑ "Me, Myself and I: Empress Of and the Discovery of Self". Thump. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  22. ↑ "Empress Of Takes the Cards She Was Dealt". Noisey. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  23. ↑ "Lorely from Los Angeles". Interview Magazine. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  24. ↑ "The Art of Collaboration With Empress Of". Noisey. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  25. ↑ "Empress Of Shares "Woman Is a Word" | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  26. ↑ "Empress Of drops The Range remix of debut album highlight ‘Icon’". FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  27. ↑ "Empress Of debuts “Water Water” video and “Agua Agua” | Terrible Records". terriblerecords.com. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  28. ↑ "Me". Metacritic. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  29. ↑ Simpson, Paul. "Me Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  30. ↑ Pareles, Jon (10 September 2015). "Review: ‘Me,’ by Empress Of, Has Cool Assurance and Jumpy Lines". New York Times. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  31. ↑ Monk, Christopher (5 December 2015). "Empress Of – Me Review". MusicOMH. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  32. ↑ Christgau, Robert (2 September 2016). "It's Britney, Bitch: Expert Witness with Robert Christgau". Noisey. Vice. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  33. ↑ Hutchinson, Kate (17 September 2015). "Empress Of: Me review – cool, quirky future-pop". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  34. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums of 2015". Pitchfork. December 16, 2015. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  35. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums of 2015". Pitchfork. December 3, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  36. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums of 2015". Pretty Much Amazing. December 18, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  37. ↑ "Under the Radar’s Top 100 Albums of 2015". Under the Radar. December 16, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  38. ↑ "The Fifty Best Albums of 2015". The Line Best of Fit. December 10, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  39. ↑ "Best Albums of 2015". Pigeons & Planes. December 23, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  40. ↑ "The 30 Best Albums of 2015". The 405. December 7, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  41. ↑ "Gorilla vs. Bear's Albums of 2015". Gorilla vs. Bear. December 1, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  42. ↑ "The 25 Best Albums of 2015". Time Out New York. December 10, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  43. ↑ "Empress Of – Chart history" Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums for Empress Of. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  44. ↑ "Empress Of – Chart history" Billboard Top Heatseekers Albums for Empress Of. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
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