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These Hopeful Machines

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Untitled

These Hopeful Machines is the Grammy-nominated sixth studio album by American electronic musician BT. Released on February 1, 2010,[1] the album sees collaborations with the likes of JES, Rob Dickinson, Christian Burns and Kirsty Hawkshaw, also featuring a cover of "The Ghost in You" by The Psychedelic Furs. While some of the songs go beyond 10 minutes in length, the album spans two discs with six tracks on each. In an effort to make the album more accessible to casual listeners, the record was eventually re-issued as a single-disc version with shorter tracks, titled These Humble Machines. In addition, the album would later spawn a double disc remix edition titled These Re-Imagined Machines, also featured as a "Limited Collector’s Edition Box Set".[2] With great reception from the critics, the album was nominated for the 2011 Grammy Awards under Best Electronic/Dance Album.[3]

Background

On June 9, 2009, the first part of the single "The Rose of Jericho" was released on Beatport, and the second (and last) part was released on June 23, 2009. Five remixes were released in all in these two parts along with BT's 'Deus ex Machina Album Mix'.[4] The next single, "Every Other Way" was released on December 22, 2009. The third single of the album, "Suddenly", was the last to be released, on January 12, 2010 for digital-download only. Since the album release, the fourth and fifth singles, "Forget Me" and "The Emergency", were released on June 14, 2010[5] and September 28, 2010, respectively.

BT chose to release the album online to digital retailers as two large tracks to preserve the feel of an album.[6] On release day, an MP3 exclusive version of These Hopeful Machines was offered by Amazon which included a bonus remix of "Always", by Chicane. This download was available as 2 full A/B side tracks instead of the 12 individual album tracks.[7] The album Nominated for the 2011 Grammy Awards under Best Electronic/Dance Album,.[8]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[9]
Absolute Punk(82%) [10]
USA Today[11]
Sputnikmusic[12]
Wired.com[13]
The Big Critique[14]

USA Today: "...even techno-phobes will be seduced by (BT's) forward-thinking musicality."[11]

Allmusic: "These Hopeful Machines doesn't try to convince, it's meant to reward the already converted with a vast wonderland of melodic glitch and prolonged bliss."[9]

Wired: "If you’ve never liked electronica before, this is the release that could change your mind."[13]

Sinning in LA: "Both discs offer compelling rides from start to finish."[15]

Track listing

Disc one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Suddenly"BT, Christian Burns8:06
2."The Emergency"BT, Christian Burns, Andrew Bayer10:38
3."Every Other Way"BT, JES9:40
4."The Light in Things"BT, JES10:47
5."The Rose of Jericho"BT7:43
6."Forget Me"BT, Christian Burns9:33
Total length:55:07
Disc two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."A Million Stars"BT, Kirsty Hawkshaw, Ulrich Schnauss12:26
2."Love Can Kill You"BT5:21
3."Always"BT, Rob Dickinson6:12
4."Le Nocturne De Lumière"BT11:38
5."The Unbreakable"BT, Rob Dickinson10:25
6."The Ghost in You"The Psychedelic Furs7:57
Total length:53:19
Amazon MP3 Exclusive[7]
No.TitleLength
1."Always" (Chicane Remix)8:19

Personnel

Disc one
  • Track 1: Vocals by BT and Christian Burns
  • Track 2: Vocals by BT. Background vocals by Christian Burns.
  • Track 3: Vocals by JES. Background vocals by BT and Christian Burns
  • Track 4: Vocals by JES.
  • Track 6: Vocals by BT and Christian Burns. End chorus sung by Kaia Transeau
Disc two
  • Track 1: Vocals by Kirsty Hawkshaw. Background vocals by BT
  • Track 2: Vocals by BT. Background vocals by Christian Burns
  • Track 3, 5: Vocals by Rob Dickinson
  • Track 6: Vocals by BT. Background vocals by Amelia June

Release history

Country Date Label Catalogue
United States[16] February 2, 2010 Nettwerk 0 6700 30849 2 5
Canada[16]
Australia[17] 405 Recordings 45CD10007
Netherlands[18] Black Hole Recordings Black Hole CD 61
March 22, 2010 New State Recordings NEWCD9070

References

  1. ^ "BT - (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
  2. ^ BT - These Re-Imagined Machines at Discogs.
  3. ^ "Final Nominations List" (PDF). Grammy Award. National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
  4. ^ [1][dead link]
  5. ^ "Forget Me [Black Hole Recordings". Beatport. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
  6. ^ BT: Music Should Be An Experience by Urban Marinade
  7. ^ a b Amazon.com: These Hopeful Machines (Amazon MP3 Exclusive Version): Bt: MP3 Downloads
  8. ^ "Final Nominations List" (PDF). Grammy Award. National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
  9. ^ a b Jeffries, David. "Review: These Hopeful Machines". Allmusic. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
  10. ^ "BT - These Hopeless Machines - Album Review". AbsolutePunk.net. 2010-02-02. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
  11. ^ a b Jones, Steve; Shriver, Jerry; Gardner, Elysa; Mansfield, Brian (2010-02-05). "Listen Up: Lil Wayne's 'Rebirth' is no rock renaissance". USA Today. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
  12. ^ "BT - These Hopeful Machines (staff review)". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
  13. ^ a b Silver, Curtis (February 2, 2010). "BT Talks These Hopeful Machines, Math and Inspiration". Wired.com. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  14. ^ Miller, Mark. "BT - These Hopeful Machines". The Big Critique. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
  15. ^ "These Hopeful Machines: BT Is Back And Better Than Ever On New Album". Sinning in LA. 2010-04-30. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
  16. ^ a b "Amazon.com: These Hopeful Machines: Bt: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  17. ^ "405 Recordings News: BT - These Hopeful Machines". 405 Recordings. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  18. ^ "Black Hole CD 61 BT - These Hopeful Machines". Black Hole Recordings. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
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