2016 studio album by Baauer
Aa
Released March 18, 2016 Recorded 2014–2016
Genre Length 33 :27
Label
LuckyMe
Producer Baauer Noah Beresin Mason Klein (
exec. )
"GoGo!" Released: October 20, 2015
"Day Ones" Released: January 28, 2016
[1]
"Temple" Released: March 16, 2016
[2]
Aa (pronounced "double a"
[1]
[2]
[3] ) is the debut
studio album by American record producer Harry Rodrigues, under his alias
Baauer , released by
LuckyMe on March 18, 2016. It has guest features by
Future ,
G-Dragon ,
Leikeli47 ,
M.I.A. ,
Novelist ,
Pusha T ,
Rustie , Tirzah and TT the Artist.
Background and recording
That song ["Harlem Shake"] gave me the opportunity to travel the world. The whole world. And in doing so learnt more about music than I could have ever imagined. But more so than anything I discovered, what makes a sound special to me is its imperfections, its peculiarities. I spent the last couple years trying to get all of those imperfections into one record, and I think finally it makes sense.
- Rodrigues, 2016
[3]
After Rodrigues' debut single, "
Harlem Shake ", spawned numerous
Internet memes , he stated that "it became corny and annoying as fuck".
[4] He also stated: "I didn't want to be an
EDM producer and I still don't want to be".
[5]
The album is named after Rodrigues' stage name, Baauer.
[6]
[7] He said: "I have two A's in my name, and also the first release I did on
LuckyMe was ß , so this is gonna be Aa and in the future I'll do a U , and then ER ".
[7]
Rodrigues recorded the album in
Glasgow , Japan and the
United Arab Emirates
[8] for "at least two years".
[6]
Music
Aa is an
electronic ,
[9]
trap ,
[10]
bass
[11] and
hip hop
[10]
[12] album. It is also influenced by
M.I.A. and
tribal music .
[8]
[12]
Artwork
The artwork was designed by Jonathan Zawada and Dominic Flannigan.
[13]
[14] It depicts a tree rising from an upturned motorcycle helmet, which is a reference to the "Harlem Shake" music videos.
[8]
Critical reception
At review aggregate site
Metacritic , Aa has an
average score of 76 out of 100, based on 11 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
[16]
Accolades
Track listing
Aa
[25] Title 1. "Church" 1:45 2. "GoGo!" 3:14 3. "Body" 3:31 4. "Pinku" 2:05 5. "Sow" 3:11 6. "Day Ones" (featuring
Novelist and Leikeli47) 2:51 7. "Good & Bad" 1:09 8. "Way from Me" (featuring Tirzah) 3:17 9. "Temple" (featuring
M.I.A. and
G-Dragon ) 3:05 10. "Make It Bang" (featuring TT the Artist) 3:20 11. "Kung Fu" (featuring
Pusha T and
Future ) 2:34 12. "Church Reprise" (featuring
Rustie ) 1:32 13. "Aa" 1:15 Total length: 33:27
Personnel
Credits for Aa .
[14]
[26]
Baauer – producer, writer, recording
Caleb Leven – vocal engineering
Dominic Flannigan – design
Future – vocals ("Kung Fu")
G-Dragon – vocals ("Temple")
Joe LaPorta – mastering
Johnatan Zawada – design
Leikeli47 – vocals ("Day Ones")
Mason Klein – executive producer
M.I.A. – vocals ("Temple")
Noah Beresin – production ("Church", "Way from Me", "Temple")
Novelist – vocals ("Day Ones")
Pusha T – vocals ("Kung Fu")
Rustie – guitar ("Church Reprise")
Ryan Schwabe – mixing, vocal engineering
Stewart Hawkes – mastering
S-Type – additional production
Tirzah – vocals ("Way from Me")
TT The Artist – vocals ("Make It Bang")
Charts
References
^
a
b Minsker, Evan (January 28, 2016).
"Baauer's Debut Album Aa Features M.I.A, Future, Pusha T, Rustie; Performs "Day Ones" on "Colbert" " .
Pitchfork . Retrieved June 26, 2017 .
^
a
b
"Hear Baauer, M.I.A., G-Dragon Team for Booming 'Temple' " .
Rolling Stone . March 16, 2016. Retrieved June 26, 2017 .
^
a
b Hughes, Josiah (January 28, 2016).
"Baauer Taps Pusha T, Future, M.I.A. for Debut Album" .
Exclaim! . Retrieved June 26, 2017 .
^ Beta, Andy (February 17, 2016).
"Baauer Is Shaking Off the Blessing and Curse of Meme Stardom" .
Rolling Stone . Retrieved June 26, 2017 .
^ McQuaid, Ian (March 16, 2016).
" 'It became me, that was all I was': can the man who made the Harlem Shake escape its shadow?" .
The Guardian . Retrieved June 26, 2017 .
^
a
b Fintoni, Laurent.
"Baauer's World-Sampling Sounds Are Bigger Than The Internet" .
The Fader . Retrieved July 24, 2017 .
^
a
b
"Baauer's Post-"Harlem Shake" Renaissance" .
Complex . March 15, 2016. Retrieved June 26, 2017 .
^
a
b
c Bulut, Selim (15 March 2016).
"Baauer's journey from college beatmaker to hip-hop boss" .
Dazed . Retrieved July 24, 2017 .
^
a
b Bromwich, Jonah (March 22, 2016).
"Baauer: Aa Album Review" .
Pitchfork . Retrieved March 23, 2016 .
^
a
b Rivitz, Will (March 30, 2016).
"Baauer: Aa" .
PopMatters . Retrieved June 26, 2017 .
^
a
b Staples, Derek (March 17, 2016).
"Baauer – Aa" .
Consequence of Sound . Retrieved March 23, 2016 .
^
a
b
c Sully, George (March 2, 2016).
"Baauer: Aa – Debut album review" .
The Skinny . Retrieved March 23, 2016 .
^
"Baauer - Aa - LuckyMe" . Retrieved June 27, 2017 .
^
a
b
"Aa - Baauer | Credits" .
AllMusic . Retrieved June 27, 2017 .
^
"Aa by Baauer reviews" .
AnyDecentMusic? . Retrieved June 26, 2017 .
^
a
b
c
"Critic Reviews for Aa" .
Metacritic . Retrieved March 23, 2016 .
^ Jeffries, David.
"Aa – Baauer" .
AllMusic . Retrieved June 21, 2020 .
^ Kilpin, James (March 17, 2016).
"Baauer – Aa" .
Clash . Retrieved March 23, 2016 .
^ Keating, Daryl (March 16, 2016).
"Baauer Aa" .
Exclaim! . Retrieved March 23, 2016 .
^ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (March 17, 2016).
"Baauer: Aa review – Harlem Shake hitmaker delivers up-and-down album" .
The Guardian . Retrieved March 23, 2016 .
^ Ryce, Andrew (March 15, 2016).
"Baauer – Aa" .
Resident Advisor . Retrieved March 23, 2016 .
^ Wallen, Doug (March 24, 2016).
"Baauer – Aa" .
Rolling Stone Australia . Archived from
the original on April 5, 2016. Retrieved March 23, 2016 .
^ Medved, Matt; Bein, Kat; Leight, Elias (December 13, 2016).
"Billboard's 10 Best Dance/Electronic Albums of 2016: Critics' Picks" .
Billboard . Retrieved June 27, 2017 .
^
"50 Best Albums of 2016 | 35. Baauer, Aa " .
Complex . December 15, 2016. Retrieved June 26, 2017 .
^
"Aa by Baauer on Apple Music" .
iTunes . March 18, 2016. Retrieved September 5, 2016 .
^
"Baauer - Aa (CD, Album)" .
Discogs . 18 March 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2017 .
^ Ryan, Gavin (March 26, 2016).
"ARIA Albums: Violent Soho 'Waco' Is No 1" . Noise11 . Retrieved March 26, 2016 .
^
"Baauer Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)" .
Billboard . Retrieved March 30, 2016.
^
"Baauer Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)" .
Billboard . Retrieved March 30, 2016.