Embers is the debut album of Pakistani American

Pakistani American

A Pakistani American is any citizen or resident of the United States who has Pakistani heritage.- History in the United States :Muslim immigrants from areas that are now part of Pakistan have been migrating to America and first entered the United States as early as the eighteenth century, working...

 singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

 and former iiO

IiO

iiO was a New York City-based house music act composed of singer-songwriter Nadia Ali and producer Markus Moser. The group gained prominence for its 2001 single "Rapture", which reached number two on the UK Singles Chart and Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. Following the success of "Rapture",...

 front-woman Nadia Ali

Nadia Ali

Nadia Ali is a Pakistani-American singer-songwriter, born in Libya and raised in Queens, New York. She gained attention as the frontwoman and songwriter of the band iiO, after their 2001 hit "Rapture" reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. The song also charted across several countries in Europe...

, released on September 15, 2009 by Smile in Bed Records. The album features Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs number one single "Love Story

Love Story (Nadia Ali song)

"Love Story" is a song by Nadia Ali. It was released on March 10, 2009 as the second single from Ali's debut solo album Embers by Smile in Bed Records.-Love Story: Remixes:-Love Story: Les Remixes Noirs:-Awards and nominations:...

", top 4 single "Fine Print

Fine Print (Nadia Ali song)

"Fine Print" is a song by Nadia Ali. It was released on July 1, 2009 as the third single from Ali's debut solo album Embers by Smile in Bed Records.-Track listing:-Charts:-External links:* at iTunes...

" and top 6 single "Crash and Burn

Crash and Burn (Nadia Ali song)

"Crash and Burn" is a song by Nadia Ali. It was released on June 17, 2008 as the first single from Ali's debut solo album Embers by Smile in Bed Records. The single reached the top 10 of Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play Chart.-Track listing:-Charts:...

". On December 1, 2010, the Morgan Page remix of "Fantasy" was nominated in the Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical

Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical

The Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical is an honor presented to producers for quality remixed recordings at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards...

 category at the 53rd Grammy Awards

53rd Grammy Awards

The 53rd annual Grammy Awards were held on February 13, 2011, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. They were broadcast on CBS with a rating of 26.6 million viewers. Barbra Streisand was honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year two nights prior to the telecast on February 11. Nominations were...

.

Background

Nadia Ali gained prominence as the front-woman of the house act, iiO with their single "Rapture". She left the band in 2005 to pursue a solo project. Ali stated it took her over four years to produce the album as she was busy touring and because she was still learning as an artist and trying to establish her identity as a songwriter and co-producer. Further describing the delay she mentioned “I think every artist is constantly evolving.  It was important for me to showcase my more thoughtful side.” Ali collaborated with producers Frtizy, Sultan and Ned Shepard and Alex Sayz and co-produced each track on the album. She wrote all the tracks on the album besides "Promises".

She decided to name the album Embers because she said "most of the songs that I wrote were about relationships that I’ve experienced and how they leave like tiny embers inside me still". Explaining further she stated "Embers are the smoldering remains of a fire that was once ablaze. It represents all of the feelings that still remain even when that particular situation [or] relationship is over".

Talking about the songs on the album she mentioned that she chose "Fantasy" as the last single on her album, because of how it summed her up "as an emotional songwriter who loves being a part of electronic music". Speaking about ballads on the album, she stated that she didn't want a typical dance album but more variety so she chose to go 'experimental'.

Track listing

Personnel

The following people contributed to Embers:

• Ossama Al Sarraf - producer
  Record producer
  A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
  
  , engineer
  Audio engineering
  An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
  
   and mixer
  Audio mixing (recorded music)
  In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
  
  
• Nadia Ali - songwriting
  Songwriter
  A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
  
  , vocals
  Lead vocalist
  The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
  
   and producer
• Paul Bosko - songwriting (track 11)
• Scott 'Fritzy' Fritz - producer, engineer and mixer
• Dave Kutch - mastering
  Audio mastering
  Mastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
  
  
• Gabriella Manrique - graphic design
• Nausheen Shah - styling
• Ned Shepard - producer, engineer and mixer
• Alex Sayz - producer, engineer and mixer
• Nick Wahlberg - producer, engineer and mixer
• Jade Young - photography