Music by Cavelight is the first solo studio album by American hip hop producer Blockhead.[1] It was released on Ninja Tune on March 23, 2004.[1] It peaked at number 43 on the UK Independent Albums Chart.[2] It received generally favorable reviews from critics.[3]
Release
Music by Cavelight came about when Mush Records, for whom Blockhead had already produced a breakbeat album, asked him to produce an album.[4] After Mush Records stopped returning his phone calls, he and his manager sent the demos around other labels before Ninja Tune, having received a copy through Warp Records, offered to release the album.[4]
At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 72, based on 10 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[3]
John Bush of AllMusic wrote, "These tracks are much smoother than the warped jams that fans of his hip-hop work know him for; most of the instrument sources on these tracks are not only recognizable, but hardly tampered with at all."[5] Rollie Pemberton of Pitchfork stated that "All around, Blockhead's first foray into solo sound collage is far from bad, but it rarely steals the show the way his rapper-associated work tends to."[10]
Track listing
Original UK edition
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Insomniac Olympics"
5:06
2.
"Carnivores Unite"
4:46
3.
"You've Got Maelstrom"
4:47
4.
"Sunday Seance"
5:26
5.
"A Better Place"
4:26
6.
"Road Rage Breakdown"
4:15
7.
"Triptych Pt. 1"
4:03
8.
"Triptych Pt. 2"
3:04
9.
"Triptych Pt. 3"
2:54
10.
"Jet Son"
3:48
11.
"Breathe and Start"
4:22
12.
"Music by Cavelight"
4:10
Total length:
51:07
North American edition
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Hello Popartz"
2:24
2.
"You've Got Maelstrom"
4:47
3.
"Carnivores Unite"
4:46
4.
"Sunday Seance"
5:26
5.
"A Better Place"
4:26
6.
"Road Rage Breakdown"
4:15
7.
"Triptych Pt. 1"
4:04
8.
"Triptych Pt. 2"
3:04
9.
"Triptych Pt. 3"
2:54
10.
"Jet Son"
3:48
11.
"Music by Cavelight"
4:10
12.
"Breathe and Start"
4:22
13.
"Bullfight in Ireland"
4:46
14.
"Insomniac Olympics"
5:06
Total length:
58:21
Limited edition CD bonus disc: Aesop Rock Instrumentals
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Daylight"
4:28
2.
"Night Light"
2:16
3.
"11:35"
4:21
4.
"Maintenance"
4:30
5.
"Forest Crunk"
4:40
Total length:
20:15
Personnel
Credits adapted from the original UK edition CD liner notes.
^ a b cUmile, Dominic (April 1, 2004). "Blockhead: Music by Cavelight". PopMatters. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
^ a b"Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50: 04 April 2004 - 10 April 2004". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on March 25, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
^ a bToddler, Demented (April 12, 2004). "Blockhead - Music By Cavelight". Spannered. Archived from the original on April 12, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
^ a bBush, John. "Music by Cavelight - Blockhead". AllMusic. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
^Hignight, Heath K. (2004). "Blockhead: Music By Cavelight". CMJ New Music Monthly (123): 37.
^Dix, Noel (January 1, 2006). "Blockhead - Music By Cavelight". Exclaim!. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
^J-23 (March 27, 2004). "Blockhead - Music By Cavelight". HipHopDX. Retrieved April 12, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^Hogwood, Ben (March 29, 2004). "Blockhead – Music By Cavelight". MusicOMH. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
^ a bPemberton, Rollie (April 6, 2004). "Blockhead: Music by Cavelight". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
^Boeckel, Gentry (April 22, 2004). "Blockhead - Music By Cavelight". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved April 12, 2015.