# Isolation (Kali Uchis album)

Isolation is the debut studio album by American singer Kali Uchis, released worldwide on April 6, 2018, through Rinse Recordings and Virgin EMI Records. The album was supported by five singles: "Dead to Me", "Tyrant" featuring Jorja Smith, "Nuestro Planeta" featuring Reykon, "After the Storm" featuring Tyler, the Creator and Bootsy Collins, and "Just a Stranger" featuring Steve Lacy. The album was later certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

## Recording

In June 2018, Kali was concerned for her debut album's sound:
   When I was making this album, I really didn't want to be influenced by current music or by my peers ...I was worried that maybe my music wouldn't be embraced by other people because it doesn't really correlate with what's trending at this moment, but I think embracing the isolation of that and taking the risk of making things that doesn't sound like anything else right now makes music exciting. That's part of what makes life exciting. That's part of being an artist.

## Music and lyrics

In an interview with NPR, Kali Uchis spoke on the details of her relationship with her family and growing up alongside the lyrics of "Killer", stating:
   In that era of my life, I was still really young and I was just kind of figuring everything out. I didn't really have anywhere to stay towards the ends of my high school days. I was in a relationship for five years from when I was 15 to when I was 19 and it was very toxic. That's kind of where it stemmed from, but also it can relate to all of the other relationships that were in my life at that moment. My relationship with my family was really, really bad. I was kicked out of the house and I was really difficult as a kid. I'm happy it happened because I was able to grow so much from it, you know?
"After the Storm" features vocals from rapper Tyler, the Creator and singer Bootsy Collins. "Nuestro Planeta" features vocals from reggaeton performer Reykon. The song is a progressive R&B and Latin pop song with a reggaeton rush, and serves as the second single for Isolation. The silky funk song serves as the third single of the album. The A.V. Club describes "Body Language" as a "Smoke-ring bossa nova" song. "Miami" is a progressive Latin pop and R&B song.

## Release and promotion

   I'm really proud to have had such a successful tour. I never had any experience performing and didn't know anybody in the industry when I started. I started literally in my room looping samples. So for me, getting the start in touring was a whole different world I didn't know about. You really have to know what you're doing to put the right type of team together. The right band, the right tour manager, and even when it comes to sound -- your team has to be the right people around you. I'm proud I finally found a team of people who understand me and who I can work really well with.
Uchis supported the album with her 23-date North American "In Your Dreams" tour which commenced on September 13, 2018, in Seattle and ended on November 10, 2018, in Los Angeles. Gabriel Garzón-Montano and Cuco served as opening acts for the tour.
Uchis made her television debut on The Tonight Show alongside Tyler, the Creator to perform "After the Storm".

## Critical reception

Professional ratings :
| Aggregate scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 8.3/10 |
| Metacritic | 87/100 |
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| The A.V. Club | B+ |
| Clash | 8/10 |
| Consequence of Sound | A− |
| Exclaim! | 8/10 |
| The Independent | |
| NME | |
| Pitchfork | 8.6/10 |
| Q | |
| Rolling Stone | |
Isolation received widespread acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 87, based on 17 reviews. Ilana Kaplan of The Independent wrote that Uchis "has been largely underrated the past few years, but Isolation might just finally give her the attention she deserves". In a rave review for Paste, Madison Desler stated that "for an album that's fifteen tracks to be this consistently good is ... an artistic triumph that should place it on every Best Of list at the end of the year", concluding the album "perhaps signal[s] a legend in the making." Q critic Rupert Howe praised Uchis' "natural pop charisma and ... ability to glide effortlessly between genres". For Rolling Stone, Joe Levy praised the album as "fascinating" and simultaneously "vintage and futuristic", comparing it to the works of Beck and Outkast. In a five-star review Thomas Smith of NME commented that "miraculously, [the album] feels in no way forced: it's a joy to witness her glide into any genre and totally own it". For Exclaim!, A. Harmony scored the album an eight out of ten and wrote the album "bends genres to her will rather than allowing them to absorb her identity, making for an impressive effort that will only improve as it ages."
For Pitchfork, Julianne Escobedo Shepherd wrote that Isolation "positions her to become a new gravitational force in pop". Pitchfork also included the album at number 38 on its list of 50 best albums of 2018, with Daphne Carr writing that it "pays tribute to pop's past while making it sound new through glowing homage to black and Latinx jukebox favorites and a global roster of collaborations housed in classic soul/R&B aesthetics."

### Accolades

Year-end lists :
| Publication | List | Rank |
| GQ Russia | The 20 Best Albums of 2018 | 10 |
| Pitchfork | The 50 Best Albums of 2018 | 38 |
| NPR | The 50 Best Albums of 2018 | 9 |
| Billboard | The 50 Best Albums of 2018 | 16 |
| The Guardian | The 50 Best Albums of 2018 | 21 |
| Dazed | The 20 Best Albums of 2018 | 11 |
| Stereogum | The Best Albums of 2018 | 28 |
| Spin | 51 Best Albums of 2018: Staff Picks | 20 |
| The A.V. Club | The best pop and R&B albums of 2018 | — |
| Exclaim! | Top 10 Soul and R&B Albums | 3 |

## Track listing

Notes
* signifies a vocal producer.
* "Nuestro Planeta" translates to "Our Planet"
Sample credits
* "Gotta Get Up" contains elements of "Love in Triplicate", performed by Midas Touch.
* "After the Storm" contains an element of "Wesley's Theory", performed by Kendrick Lamar, George Clinton, and Thundercat.

## Personnel

Musicians
* Thundercat – bass, guitar, drums (track 1)
* David Andrew Sitek – guitar, bass (track 2)
* DJ Dahi – keyboards, programming (track 2)
* Tommy Brenneck – guitar (tracks 4, 15)
* Wayne Gordon – guitar, glockenspiel (track 4); string arrangement (tracks 4, 15)
* Nick Movshon – bass (tracks 4, 15)
* Victor Axelrod – piano (tracks 4, 15)
* Dave Guy – trumpet (tracks 4, 15)
* Neal Sugarman – tenor saxophone (tracks 4, 15)
* Cochemea Gastelum – baritone saxophone (tracks 4, 15)
* Coco Taguchi – violin (tracks 4, 15)
* Garo Yellin – cello (tracks 4, 15)
* Homer Steinweiss – drums (tracks 4, 15)
* Bosco Mann – string arrangement (tracks 4, 15)
* Asa Davis – keyboards, bass (track 5)
* Kevin Arcilla – electric guitar, bass (track 5)
* TJ Osinulu – drums (track 5)
* Sounwave – keyboards (track 6), drums (track 12), programming (tracks 6, 12)
* Larrance Dopson – keyboards, programming (track 6)
* Jairus Mozee – guitar (track 6)
* Two Inch Punch – bass, keyboards, drums, percussion, programming (track 7)
* John Foyle – synthesizers, guitars, programming (track 7)
* The Rude Boyz – keyboards, programming (track 8)
* Damon Albarn – vocals, keyboards, guitar, bass, programming, drums, percussion (track 9)
* Jeff Gitty – guitar (track 10)
* Josh Crocker – programming (tracks 10, 14), guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, percussion (track 14)
* Kevin Parker – guitar, bass, keyboards, programming, drums, percussion (track 11)
* Greg Kurstin – synthesizers, piano, Moog, Rhodes (track 12)
* Chester Hansen – synthesizers, bass (track 13)
* Matthew Tavares – Rhodes (track 13)
* Leland Whitty – guitars (track 13)
* Alexander Sowinski – drums, percussion (track 13)
* Simon Guzman – conga (track 15)
Technical
* Keith Parry – recording (tracks 1, 2, 10, 15)
* Kyle VandeKerkhoff – recording (track 3)
* Wayne Gordon – recording (track 4)
* Simon Guzman – recording (tracks 4 and 15)
* Eric Stenman – recording (tracks 5, 9, 11, 12)
* James Musshorn – recording (track 5, 6, 9, 11, 12)
* Matthew Emonson – recording (track 5)
* Todd Bergman – recording {(track 6)
* Two Inch Punch – recording, mixing (track 7)
* Mavig – recording, mixing (track 8)
* Vic Wainstein – recording (track 13)
* Brandon Kelly – recording (track 14), engineering assistance (tracks 1, 2)
* Jeff Ellis – mixing (tracks 1–3, 5, 6, 9, 11–15)
* Tony Maserati – mixing (track 4)
* John Foyle – mixing (track 7)
* Timothy Nguyen – mix assistance (tracks 1–3, 5, 6, 9–15)
* Chico Torres – mix assistance (tracks 1–3, 5, 6, 9–15)
* Josh Crocker – mix assistance (tracks 14 and 15)
* Dave Kutch – mastering

## Charts

Chart performance for Isolation :
| Chart (2018) | Peak position |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) | 65 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) | 189 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) | 70 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) | 96 |
| New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ) | 2 |
| Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) | 72 |
| UK Albums (OCC) | 62 |
| US Billboard 200 | 32 |

## Certifications

Certifications for Isolation :
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | Silver | 60,000$^‡$ |
| United States (RIAA) | Platinum | 1,000,000$^‡$ |
| $^‡$ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |||