So, I have noticed that more and more music lovers have been listening to Kygo and have been waiting for this album to drop, and it finally here. The 15 Tropical House album has had liberated singles for the past couple of months, and each one has been an amazing song.
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This is my first time I am listening to the album, fresh off of the iTunes download. So, I will let you decide how you feel about the album. But here is my first take.
A breakdown of tracks is below with a soundcloud of that.
Make sure to check it out on iTunes for a purchase, and here is the Spotify and Soundcloud playlists:
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1. Intro
Intro is a beautiful instrumental piece. He starts off with melodic chords and about a minute in adds piano and bass synths. Compared to what he has been putting out, this track is rather somber.
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2. Stole the Show (Feat. Parson James)
The first vocal track on the album, Stole the Show is a more upbeat and festival styled track. It was first debuted at Ultra Music Festival in 2015. With a mix of percussion instruments and upbeat rhythms switching off with a more mellow chorus, it became the keynote to his 2015 Festival season.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/198130539″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
3. Fiction (Feat. Tom Odell)
Starting off with a guitar and bass beat, Fiction begins with Odell singing over the simple instrumental. I like this song because it is like a live band performing. A mix of guitar and drum kit support Odell for the majority of the song with the real tropical house feel being heard during the drops. The track has a very alternative rock feel with the versus behind Odell’s vocal.
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https://www.facebook.com/kygoofficial/videos/1143061735756958/
4. Raging (Feat. Kodaline)
The more this song is listened to, it is like Kygo is opening the song up with an “Unplugged” set until it gets into the drop. An atmosphere of relaxation is felt during the majority of the song. With a few spots where the instrumentals pick up. For the majority of the song, this is a very vocal-focused song.
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https://www.facebook.com/kygoofficial/videos/1144333282296470/
5. Firestone (Feat. Conrad Sewell)
Firestorm was one of the first tracks by Kygo that I heard. The chorus seemed to be a more somber song, even more than Intro. The saving grace is how the beat builds before the drop and the instrumentals that come after the chorus. Adding more and more layers to the instrumental gives Kygo a good framework. Conrad Sewell does a good job adding his vocals and adding to the serious, or somber, feel of the track.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/179647213″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
6. Happy Birthday (Feat. John Legend)
I have an opinion that if John Legend lends his vocal, the track has high expectations to meet. Kygo needs to be given credit for providing an instrumental for the vocalist to work well off of. The beat that composes the drop, I feel like should have a little more time. But intertwining simplistic and complex instrumentals with vocals makes for at least a fun birthday song if you don’t want to go with conventional means.
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https://www.facebook.com/kygoofficial/videos/1147118475351284/
7. I’m in Love (Feat. James Vincent McMorrow)
I am unsure how I feel about I’m in Love. I do enjoy how heavy the bass is, a bit of a change up from how the previous tracks on the album. McMorrow’s vocals are brilliant in this though. How he sings with the change in melody is brilliant. This is another track that sounds like a live band performance with how strongly Kygo focuses on instrumentals that aren’t simply computerized synths.
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https://www.facebook.com/kygoofficial/videos/1135808126482319/
8. Oasis (Feat. Foxes)
I expected this to be a very festival-themed song with Foxes being the vocals, and I wasn’t wrong. This song will definitely get tropical house fans dancing with the keyboard synths and percussion. Listening to the vocals, the song will probably connect to your 13-year-old self who was looking for a place to belong.
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https://www.facebook.com/kygoofficial/videos/1149291205134011/
9. Not Alone (Feat. RHODES)
Another track that starts off with amazing vocals. Instrumentally speaking, for the majority of the track Kygo keeps it very simple. The vocals connect the listener into the minds of so many people who miss someone in their lives, for sure.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/260763285″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
10. Serious (Feat. Matt Corby)
Well this song takes the cake for the most somber track thus far. Corby singing about what its like living in today’s society really puts into perspective life. The song is pointing out what its like to have working and money take over the rest of the world. It is the more ambient side of tropical house for sure.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/260763291″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
11. Stay (Feat. Maty Noyes)
Both Stay and the acoustic version have been on repeat in playlists since I first heard them. I love the instrumentals that Kygo uses during the song, it gives a real summer vibe – something I feel Tropical House should do. I love Maty Noyes and her voice is perfect. The song, honestly, is kind of a break up song, but it gets masked in the beat and the way she is singing is just as hidden. I am sure you have heard the track somewhere in the dance scene.
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https://www.facebook.com/kygoofficial/videos/1041338695929263/
12. Nothing Left (Feat. Will Heard)
A piano-heavy track is Kygo’s forte, and this song shows it. Will Heard is singing over the piano, and reinforces the emphasis on lyrics so much more.
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13. Fragile (With Labrinth)
Fragile was one of the last singles to be released by Kygo before the album. “Baby I’m fragile” is what most people get out of the album. It is a somber song just from that. Kygo ensures ambient beats and a pushing bass to support Labrinth’s vocals. Even at the drop, it is still a pretty simplistic rhythm, given the few instrument samples Kygo choses to use.
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https://www.facebook.com/kygoofficial/videos/1146513565411775/
14. Carry Me (Feat. Julia Michaels)
This song starts off like a classic vocal tropical house track. a higher-pitched instrumental and a beautiful voice. The song is a beautiful love song about the past and present, “Could you carry me on, and on, and on” and will put anyone into a good mood. Kygo makes sure to keep the instrumentals upbeat and complimenting Michaels’ voice.
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https://www.facebook.com/kygoofficial/videos/1143652149031250/
15. For What It’s Worth (Feat. Angus and Julia Stone)
The final track on the Cloud Nine album, takes everything that is important to Kygo. There is a strong piano aspect of the album, without which the song would have totally different vibe. It is almost as though instead of the vocals being supported by all the instrumentals, the piano is being supported by the vocals and by the percussion. It isn’t your conventional tropical house, but For What It’s Worth is a brilliant written track by Kygo. Unfortunately, Kygo did not put the vocal version of this song up on Soundcloud, just Spotify. But instrumentals are part of Piano Jam
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/218004927″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
https://www.facebook.com/kygoofficial/videos/1145086372221161/
The album, overall, doesn’t seem to be meeting the hype that everyone expected. I think it is because so many of the tracks where already released, it was difficult to leave much to the imagination of fans. I still rate it pretty well.
My debut album is out now 😁. Check out 'Cloud Nine' on iTunes and Apple Music feat. John Legend, Foxes & many more! https://t.co/23yXNDqRdf
— Kygo (@KygoMusic) May 12, 2016
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