Twisted City
Encyclopedia
Twisted City is a 2006 album by Dublin singer-songwriter Chris Singleton. A self-engineered and produced album, it took two and a half years to complete. The album was conceived as a tube journey through London; every song was a 'stop on the line' and dealt with Chris' experiences of the city, both personal and professional. The album was mastered in May 2006 by well-known engineer Geoff Pesche (Coldplay
, Gorillaz
, Kylie Minogue
) at Abbey Road Studios
, London and was released in the UK and Ireland in September 2006 by Right Track/Universal
Music Operations. Given the association between the album and the tube, the launch event for the album took place on the London Underground
in August 2006 and attracted coverage from ITV
News and BBC
Radio. "Twisted City" received a warm welcome from rock critics, receiving positive reviews from The Irish Times
, Hotpress
, Clash Magazine and The Daily Express amongst others.
Although Chris Singleton is an Irish artist, Twisted City takes as its main influences classic English rock. Particular influences include The Beatles
(see 'Pieces' and 'Wherever'), T.Rex (in particular, 'Gimme Something'), David Bowie
('Worry Number One') and The Stone Roses
('The Only One'). As a result of these influences, the album arguably has more of a 'rock band' sound to it than those of other contemporary Irish singer-songwriters.
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
, Gorillaz
Gorillaz
Gorillaz is an English musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters...
, Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
) at Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
, London and was released in the UK and Ireland in September 2006 by Right Track/Universal
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
Music Operations. Given the association between the album and the tube, the launch event for the album took place on the London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
in August 2006 and attracted coverage from ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
News and BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Radio. "Twisted City" received a warm welcome from rock critics, receiving positive reviews from The Irish Times
The Irish Times
The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...
, Hotpress
Hot Press
Hot Press is a fortnightly music and political magazine based in Dublin, Ireland founded in 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it had a circulation of 19,215 during 2007...
, Clash Magazine and The Daily Express amongst others.
Although Chris Singleton is an Irish artist, Twisted City takes as its main influences classic English rock. Particular influences include The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
(see 'Pieces' and 'Wherever'), T.Rex (in particular, 'Gimme Something'), David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
('Worry Number One') and The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s...
('The Only One'). As a result of these influences, the album arguably has more of a 'rock band' sound to it than those of other contemporary Irish singer-songwriters.
'Twisted City' as free download
Following the release of Radiohead's 'In Rainbows,' Chris Singleton decided in late 2007 to experiment with a similar model of distribution for the album by making it temporarily available as a free download. Upon signing up to receive news updates, and recommending the album to their friends, visitors to could download the album at no cost. The record was made available on a microsite which featured a flash-programmed 'virtual tape' which people clicked on receive their album.'Twisted City Tour'
In January 2008 Chris added an additional component to the free download of the album, by providing a downloadable guidebook to accompany it. The guidebook, containing a list of the locations which inspired the album, enabled listeners to go on a 'Twisted City Tour', where they visited each of the album's "stops" and played the relevant track on an MP3 player.Singles
There were four singles released from 'Twisted City' in 2006 and 2007. These were:- Worry Number One, BRCDS01CS, single, released on 18 September 2006 through Brownpaper Records, Right Track and Universal Music Operations.
- Get Up, single, BRCDS02CS, released on 22 January September 2007 through Brownpaper Records, Right Track and Universal Music Operations.
- Tonight, BRCDS03CS, single, released on 18 April 2007 through Brownpaper Records, Right Track and Universal Music Operations.
- Pieces/Gimme Something, BRCDS04CS, double A-side single, released on 17 September 2007 through Brownpaper Records, Right Track and Universal Music Operations.
Track listing
- "Worry Number One"
- "Gimme Something"
- "Get Up"
- "Tonight"
- "Stop Following"
- "Pieces"
- "The Only One"
- "Wherever"
- "You Carry On"
- "Twisted City"
- "People"