| Kylie + Garibay | ||
|---|---|---|
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| EP by Kylie Minogue | ||
| Released | 11 September 2015 | |
| Recorded | February-August 2015 | |
| Genre | Electronic | |
| Length | 12:21 | |
| Label | Parlophone · Warner Bros | |
| Producer(s) | Fernando Garibay · Giorgio Moroder | |
| Kylie Minogue chronology | ||
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Kylie + Garibay is the second collaborative extended play (EP) by Kylie Minogue, and American producer Fernando Garibay, and Kylie's seventh overall. It was released on 11 September 2015 by Parlophone and Warner Bros. Records, and serves as a sequel to their first collaboration, Sleepwalker (2014). Produced by Garibay and Italian disc jockey Giorgio Moroder, the three-track EP was developed between February and August 2015, shortly after Kylie's departure with Parlophone and American-based management Roc Nation. Musically, it is influenced by electronic music whilst its lyrical content delves onto love, enjoyment, and sex.
Released with no prior announcement, Kylie + Garibay received positive reviews from most music critics. Majority of the reviews highlighted Kylie's return to mainstream dance music, and complimented the production by Garibay and Moroder. Although it entered the Australian Singles Chart at a low position of 100, the album's lead track, "Black and White", received an accompanying music video and peaked in regions including France, Spain, and the United Kingdom. In order to promote the EP, the singer appeared at Moroder's Los Angeles, California gig to perform their track, "Your Body".
Background and development[]
In March 2014, Kylie released her twelfth studio album, Kiss Me Once. Receiving positive reviews and experiencing moderate commercial success, she subsequently commenced her Kiss Me Once Tour through Europe and Australia between September 2014 to March 2015. During the first leg of her tour, the singer featured a short film titled Sleepwalker, which was presented to the audience before the beginning of the show. Produced by Garibay, the short film's tracks were distributed on Kylie's SoundCloud channel on 26 September 2014; the recordings, which were dubbed "experimental", included "Glow", "Wait", "Break This Heartbreak", and "Chasing Ghosts". In January 2015, Italian DJ Giorgio Moroder confirmed a new musical project with Kylie and Garibay, revealing to American website Idolator that "She is doing another EP with [their] friend Fernando who did most of Lady Gaga's Born This Way." He described the approach as "very sexy and uncommercial".
A year after Kiss Me Once's release, Kylie's contract with Parlophone ended. Alongside this, she announced her departure from Roc Nation and planned "to take more control over her career". Kylie began negotiations with a number of major labels, ultimately signing to BMG Rights Management in December 2016. She licensed other projects from her own production company to previous label Parlophone Records and Warner Bros. Records in the interim period. In an interview with Billboard, Kylie commented about her working with Garibay: "It was a beautiful thing, because [they] did it in [their] own time [...] Whenever [she] was in L.A., [she] would drop by [Garibay's] home studio—which is a lovely place to be anyway—and really there was no pressure. It was just about expression and kind of mashing things up." Jamaican artist Shaggy was first suggested by Garibay's manager Martin Kierszenbaum, who felt Shaggy and Kylie would be a workable duet as they had known each other prior to this project.
Composition[]
Kylie + Garibay was developed and recorded between February—August 2015. Originally, Kylie wanted to feature four recordings but narrowed it down to three for unknown reasons. Each track features guest vocalists; "Black and White" features vocals during the bridge and ending section by Shaggy, "If I Can't Have You" includes vocals by Australian singer Sam Sparro, and the final track, "Your Body", includes spoken word and production by Giorgio Moroder. Apart from the second track, "Black and White" and "Your Body" were co-written and co-composed by Kylie. Likewise, Garibay produced the entire project with the help of Moroder on the latter song. Musically, Kylie + Garibay is influenced by electronic music whilst its lyrical content delves onto love, enjoyment, and sex; according to Bradley Stern, writing for MuuMuse, he noted that "The 3-track set is another forward-thinking, shape-shifting offering, each with a different feature and feel." Likewise, Idolator's Mike Wass commented that "he tone is very different this time", labelling it more "accessible" in comparison to Kylie's and Garibay's "experimental" elements on tracks "Walk" and "Chasing Ghosts".
"Black and White" was described by Stern as a "beautiful and bizarre pop hybrid", and noted it "set the tone" of the EP. With this statement, he compared the composition to American DJ and producer, Kaskade. Robbie Daw from Idolator found that the sound was reminsisent of Kylie's previous work, whilst Digital Spy writer, Lewis Corner, labelled the sound as "warm". Lyrically, the song delves into a broken relationship, where Kylie explains her sadness of looking at photographs of a previous boyfriend. The next track, "If I Can't Have You", is a house composition that incorporates elements of tropical music. Sparro's vocals are "breathy falsetto", in comparison to his previous work. The final track, "Your Body", was noted by critics for Moroder's Italian introduction, where he stated: "she [Kylie] asked me if I could do a little talk in Italian on her music. She wanted it really sexy, like a Latin lover – heavy breathing." Christina Lee from Idolator, who reviewed the song from a live performance, said the song "is just as the electronic music trailblazer described: sexy, seductive and more ambient...". Pitchfork Media writer, Zoe Camp, compared the sound of the track to the work of Swedish musician, Robyn.
Release and promotion[]
Despite Kylie's contractual end with Parlophone Records in March 2015, Kylie and Garibay was licensed by Kylie's own production company on 11 September 2015 by the Parlophone label, alongside Warner Bros. Records, with no prior announcement. It was distributed on the iTunes Store and Spotify by Parlophone, featuring the three tracks. On her website, Kylie commented that she is "so happy to finally be able to share these songs with fans. And to have each track featuring such amazing and different artists – Shaggy, Giorgio Moroder and Sam Sparro – is a real thrill. Fernando really lives and breathes for music, and [they] had a lot of fun plotting to surprise fans with these songs." The EP and a separate project called Kylie Christmas (also released in 2015) were the final projects that Kylie worked on with Parlophone and Warner Bros. Records to date, albeit with both releases remaining under Kylie's ownership and licensed to her old labels, which she still considered "family".
Prior to the EP's release, Kylie, Garibay, and Moroder appeared at a musical gig in Los Angeles, California in February 2015. Moroder was the headlining act, and they collectively performed a live version of "Your Body". Subsequently, Minogue released the music video to "Black and White" on YouTube; it was directed by English artist and Kylie's long-term friend, Katerina Jebb, in order to promote the EP. The visuals were inspired by old film footage; the singer wanted to place herself in a vintage-oriented set-up. To achieve this, video editor Benjamin Ricart created "old grainy" and "damaged" overlaps. Noted by critics for its stripped-down appeal and a lack of "polished" looks, the video was compared to the visual work of American musician Lana Del Rey, whom was also noted for her use of vintage footage and editing.
Reception[]
Kylie and Garibay received positive reviews from most music critics. Bradley Stern from MuuMuse praised the EP's "mid-transition". Stern further noted musical and production similarities between the EP and Kylie's 1997 album Impossible Princess; he concluded "As it turns out, IndieKylie is alive and well. This is a very good thing."Zoe Camp from Pitchfork Media highlighted "Your Body" as the EP's best entry, complimented Moroder's vocal inclusion, and commended the track's 1980s music influences. Billboard editor Keith Caulfield wrote, "When a megastar like Kylie Minogue drops new music out of the sky without warning, it’s a pop emergency of the best kind." He reflected on the EP's release, commending the production and inclusions of Shaggy, Giorgio Moroder, and Kylie's vocals.
As a low-key, experimental project, Kylie and Garibay was not expected to be commercially successful. However, the EP and its three songs appeared on iTunes charts in countries including the United Kingdom, Australia, France, and Spain.
Track listing[]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Black and White" (featuring Shaggy) | Kylie Minogue · Fernando Garibay · Shaggy · Whitney Phillips | Garibay · Giorgio Moroder | 3:37 |
| 2. | "If I Can't Have You" (featuring Sam Sparro) | Garibay · Sparro · Brian Lee | Garibay · Moroder | 3:37 |
| 3. | "Your Body" (featuring Giorgio Moroder) | Minogue · Jamie Hartman · Phillips · Garibay · Max Wolfgang · Gara Go · Gino Gampagna | Garibay · Moroder | 5:07 |
Total length: |
12:21 | |||
Personnel[]
The following credits are adapted from the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA).
· Kylie Minogue – lead vocals, background vocals
· Fernando Garibay – production
· Giorgio Moroder – production
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