We Are the Night

We Are the Night
Studio album by The Chemical Brothers
Released	June 27, 2007
Genre	Trip hop, big beat
Label	Freestyle Dust, Virgin, Astralwerks, Toshiba-EMI
Producer	The Chemical Brothers
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Blender link Drowned in Sound (6/10) link The Guardian link The Independent link IGN (8.9/10) link NME (6/10) link Pitchfork Media (3.8/10) link Yahoo! Music UK (6/10) link
The Chemical Brothers chronology
Push the Button (2005) We Are the Night (2007) B-Sides Volume 1 (2007)

We Are the Night is the sixth studio album by English electronica duo The Chemical Brothers, first released on June 27, 2007. The record entered the UK Albums Chart at #1. It also debuted at #65 on the Billboard 200. It was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry

The album won the Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album at the 50th Grammy Awards, making The Chemical Brothers the only artist to win this award more than once.

Background

In June 2006 it was announced on their official website that The Chemical Brothers were working on material for a new album, then-codenamed "Chemical 6".^[1] Ed Simons of the duo was also quoted as saying that they would hope to "put a battle weapon out for the summer",^[2] which was seen as a reference to their Electronic Battle Weapon series on white label.

"Electronic Battle Weapon 8" and "Electronic Battle Weapon 9" debuted on Pete Tong's BBC Radio 1 show on December 8, 2006. The two tracks were later released as a double A-sided vinyl record prior to The Chemical Brothers' New Years Eve appearance at Turnmills in London. A version of "Electronic Battle Weapon 8" is featured on the We Are the Night album under the title "Saturate". At the same Turnmills appearance, the duo debuted a track at midnight to welcome the new year. This track was eventually released as "Burst Generator", found on the album.

The Chemical Brothers officially announced We Are the Night at their MySpace page on March 21, 2007.^[3] It suffered a delay in release due to an issue during production of the artwork.^[4] An online "old-skool" The Chemical Brothers computer game by EMI was subsequently released as an apology.^[5]

On April 12, 2007, Tong was again privileged to debut a track by The Chemical Brothers. The first single from the album, "Do It Again" aired on his Radio 1 "In New Music We Trust" show.

Structure

Used throughout the album is the nostalgic technique of sampling old sounds The Chemical Brothers used on other albums. For example the song "We Are the Night" uses a direct sample from "The Sunshine Underground" from Surrender.

The album also includes samples of outside sources. The title track "We Are the Night" incorporates samples from "Decimazione Amanti" by Riz Ortolani and a reading of Ode to D.A. Levy by Bill Bissett.^[6] "A Modern Midnight's Conversation" uses a sample from Barbara & Ernie's recording of "Listen to Your Heart".

Track listing

1. "No Path to Follow" (featuring Willy Mason) – 1:04
2. "We Are the Night" – 6:33
3. "All Rights Reversed” (featuring Klaxons and Lightspeed Champion) – 4:42
4. "Saturate" – 4:49
5. "Do It Again" (featuring Ali Love) – 5:33
6. "Das Spiegel" – 5:51
7. "The Salmon Dance" (featuring Fatlip) – 3:40
8. "Burst Generator" – 6:52
9. "A Modern Midnight Conversation" – 5:56
10. "Battle Scars" (featuring Willy Mason) – 5:50
11. "Harpoons" – 2:25
12. "The Pills Won't Help You Now" (featuring Tim Smith of Midlake) – 6:35

• "Das Spiegel" means "The Mirror" in German. The correct grammar would be "Der Spiegel".

U.S., UK, and Japan iTunes bonus tracks

13. "Seal" (featuring Juana Molina)– 4:40
14. "The Rock Drill" – 5:09

Japan CD and iTunes bonus tracks

13. "Seal" (featuring Juana Molina)– 4:40
14. "No Need" – 5:14

Singles

References

External links

• Official site
• UK release Label site
• American release Label site
• We Are the Night at Discogs