Ki (album)

*This article is about the album. For the song, see "Ki"*

***Ki*** is the eleventh studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the first of six albums in the Devin Townsend Project series. It is the opening statement of a quadrology following Townsend's career as a story. The album was released on May 25, 2009, on Townsend's independent record label HevyDevy Records.

Townsend, the founder, songwriter, and frontman of extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad ("SYL") and progressive metal group Devin Townsend Band ("DTB"), dissolved both bands in 2006 to spend time with his family and avoid the burnout of touring and interviewing. After a period of self-discovery and a year-long break from songwriting, Townsend began work on a four-album series to clarify his identity as a musician. *Ki* includes themes of self-control and sobriety, and is musically subtler than much of the artist's previous work, consisting of ambient rock music interlaced with tentative bursts of heavy metal.

The album was written, produced, mixed, and co-engineered by Townsend, who also performed guitar and vocals. Townsend assembled a supporting group of Vancouver musicians including blues drummer Duris Maxwell, rock bassist Jean Savoie, keyboardist Dave Young of the DTB, and guest vocalist/future Casualties of Cool collaborator Ché Aimee Dorval to play on the album. While some critics found the album uneven, *Ki* received generally positive reviews for its unexpected musical direction, along with its production, vocal dynamics, and mix of influences.

## Hevydevy.com description

> *Ki was the intro to my theme, the idea of solitude and shadows. Quiet moments and threatening sentiments that kept trying to crescendo into something dark. Overtime, it crescendos… yet in the beginning of the record, it stops itself. There's a 'regulator' on the intensity that holds the storm back in songs like Disruptr, Coast and Gato. Each time it takes itself to that point, it's followed by an immediate retreat to the shadows. The point that it gets to in 'Heavens End' however, is the first moment that it 'lets it out' and it is followed by a sort of 70's jam, almost like a regrouping. The lyrics in 'Heavens End' I found (to my surprise) were very against religion. Not against the sense of infinity or spiritual connection, definitely not atheist, but angry at organized religion. The cruelty and divisiveness of it. Seeing the environment and life from a sense of unity stemming from my experiences recently with different perspectives really made me surprise myself at how bitter I'd become towards it all. I have always been kind of 'on the fence' about religion, so when Ki finally let’s it rip on Heavens End, I found myself shocked that a lot of my anger was actually directed towards THAT as a theme. It was so typical, yet it seemed understandable… that anyone or any organization can claim ownership of the things that I've always felt profoundly attracted to, yet more than anything, just happy to be a part of, seemed the height of arrogance, and above all…exclusionary and really mean spirited. The experience made me realize during the process that 'perhaps the anger within me is not directed at anything other than a misdirection of spiritual intensity'… people had been born and had died in my life, I had hurt my friends and band mates, I was confused, but it seemed that through the purging of this I was coming to some conclusions, and purging some baggage was necessary. Religion was first on the list. So Ki moves on, and when it finally gets to the song 'Ki' …it had a sort of epiphany. A sort of breakthrough of the first level, where the religious implications are gone, and the idea that what defines my humanity is more of an 'I don't know, but I'm happy to be here' kind of frame of mind rather than a 'life is lived through fear of punishment after death' Ki included some great people in the recording, Notably drummer Duris Maxwell, Bassist Jean Savoie, Keyboards Dave Young and singer Che Aimee. The point of it was 'personal accountability'.*
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## Background

After disbanding SYL and the DTB in 2006, Townsend shaved off his trademark "skullet" hairstyle and gave up alcohol and marijuana. Townsend found it "disconcerting" that he had difficulty writing music without drugs, and that he had trouble identifying his purpose as a musician. He spent a year producing albums in absence of writing, but found it unrewarding and decided to "pick up the guitar and just write." This began a period of self-discovery where he learned "how to create without drugs".

Over two years, Townsend wrote over 60 songs, and found that they fit into "four distinct styles". In March 2009, Townsend announced his plans for a quadrology called the Devin Townsend Project, with the goal of clarifying his musical identity and being "accountable" for the persona he projects to the public. *Ki*, the first album of the Devin Townsend Project, is written to "set the stage" for the subsequent albums. The word "*ki*" represents the Japanese concept of "life force" (氣). Townsend chose the name as an homage to the 1981 Kitarō album of the same name, which he "loved as a kid".

The project's concept includes a different group of musicians for each album. For *Ki*, Townsend chose a group of musicians with whom he had (mostly) not previously worked. He discovered Maxwell, a blues drummer who has played with such acts as Heart, Jefferson Airplane, and Tommy Chong, in a blues club in northern Canada. Townsend was impressed by his energy and recruited him for *Ki*. Townsend also chose Jean Savoie, a music store employee who plays in a Beatles cover band, to play bass on the album. Maxwell and Savoie were ideal for the album, Townsend explained, because they had little experience playing heavy music, and had a fresh perspective that fit with *Ki'*s subtler sound. Townsend also brought back Young, an ambient keyboardist who had played in the DTB, and recruited Vancouver artist Dorval as a vocalist on several tracks. The album was primarily recorded, produced, and mixed from late 2008 to early 2009 at Devestate and Studio D; the drums were recorded at Factory Studios in Vancouver.

## Music and lyrical themes

Townsend channelled his newfound self control and sobriety into *Ki*, a "restrained, melodic, and tranquil" album that is "a sharp contrast" to the heavy metal he is known for, while maintaining his "signature sound". The album features clean guitar tones, live takes, no drum triggering, and relatively quiet mastering, with a musical style combining ambient, progressive rock, jazz rock, and psychedelic blues. The album's recurring musical theme is "tension and release", a gradual build in intensity which suddenly stops and gives way to "something relaxing". The album's musical style has been compared to Porcupine Tree, Chroma Key, and Pink Floyd, with Townsend's vocals drawing comparisons to Steven Wilson and Steve Hackett.

*Ki* was mixed by Townsend, and features very little compression, in contrast with his usual 'wall of sound' production style. Townsend explained that he originally "tried doing the wall-of-sound with it and it just kind of ruined it...it turned it into a not-so-good Strapping record." The album deliberately eschews the loudness wars, the recent music industry practice of competitively mastering audio to seem as loud as possible. "I officially pull my hat out of the loudness wars", Townsend told his mastering engineer. The album's songs were primarily written in open C tuning, except for "A Monday", "Trainfire", and "Disruptr" in open B, "Heaven's End" and "Winter" in open B♭, and "Quiet Riot" in standard tuning. Townsend has cited *Second Nature* by The Young Gods, Paul Horn, *Chants of India* by Ravi Shankar, and Ween as influences on the album.

Townsend described *Ki* as both the introduction and the moral to the "larger concept" of the Devin Townsend Project quadrology. The album's lyrical themes explore Townsend's inner demons, past addictions, self-acceptance, and his "newfound ability to say *no*." The album opens with a brief, quadrology-bookending instrumental that leads into "Coast", a quiet, bass-driven track that sets the stage for the album as a "metaphor for Devin's newfound restraint." Townsend described it as "the intro to the story, quiet, dark, haunted and unsure". The track builds in intensity toward the end with layers of vocals, but rather than exploding into Strapping Young Lad–style metal, fades into "loose, bluesy guitar work". "Disruptr" has been described as "a coffee-house metal track", contrasting light instrumentation with heavy metal–style songwriting and vocals in a way that one critic compared to Talking Heads. "Gato" proceeds in a similar vein, but is set apart with backing vocals by Dorval. "Disruptr" and "Gato" continue the musical theme; each song builds in intensity toward the end but "stops and takes a deep breath" before proceeding. The album then fades into "Terminal", an atmospheric track with quiet vocals that was co-written by keyboardist Young.

Townsend's restraint reaches a breaking point on "Heaven's End", which Jon Wiederhorn of Revolver magazine described as "a groovy pop song that morphs into a violent, acid-drenched nightmare." It is followed by "Ain't Never Gonna Win", a live studio jam by the album's four musicians which was described by David E. Gehlke of the online magazine Blistering as "trippy". "Trainfire", a classic country–style song inspired by Elvis Presley's cover of "Mystery Train", addresses Townsend's former addiction to pornography, which he described as "this crazy, crack cocaine on the internet that nobody wants to talk about." The song continues the album's theme of honesty and self-acceptance, both about pornography and musical tastes. Townsend explained the song's musical style, saying "yes, I like heavy music and am good at making it, but that is not all that I listen to, and that is not all that I want to play."

The album's climax is found in the title track, described by the artist as "a personal breakthrough" that is initially born out of a Grey Skies demo, "Soft," previously released on *Ass-Sordid Demos II*. "Ki" builds into a cyclical progression of arpeggios which Popoff described as the album's "proggiest" moment. It leads into "Quiet Riot", an acoustic cover of "Cum On Feel the Noize" with new lyrics. "Quiet Riot", Townsend explained, "basically sums up the idea that, although I am 'damaged,' I'm fine, and have chosen to make my life better."

## Release and artwork

*Ki* was released on Townsend's independent record label HevyDevy Records on May 25, 2009, in Canada. It was released May 22, 2009, in Germany, May 25, 2009, in the rest of Europe, and June 16, 2009, in the United States by distributor InsideOut Music. A Japanese release on Marquee/Avalon was released on August 26, 2009 with the slipcase cover art replacing the DTP logo with the Japanese character of "ki." When all four albums in the series were completed, Townsend released an eight-disc special edition box set, including a DVD and various bonus material, called *Contain Us*.

The album art was created by artist Konrad Palkiewicz, who created the art for Townsend's ambient album *The Hummer* (2006) and directed the video for SYL's "Almost Again". The album art was designed to be viewed with a pair of 3D glasses. The album cover is an image of "two faces in one". Though "not authentic", it is based on Native American and Chinese art. Palkiewicz directed a video for "Coast", which was released on Townsend's website on July 28, 2009. The InsideOut releases come with an extra lyrics sheet and feature a green-brown slipcase bearing the Devin Townsend Project logo, designed by Travis Smith, that would become a common approach for the quadrology albums.

### Bonus Materials

Townsend posted three outtakes from the *Ki* recording sessions online: "Synchronicity Freaks," "Oodles of Noodles (Ki Jam)," which were later released on *Contain Us*, and "Testing Fender Gear." The download came with a .txt file called "A Word from Devin":

> *Hey folks!  Dev here...here's three tracks for ya. I think they're cool, but theyre just 'bonus' stuff for Ki...take em, love em, hate em, burn a disk and enjoy...(or not)*
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> *Track 1) SYNCHRONICITY FREAKS: This is the first song I wrote for Ki, didn't end up quite right though...I like it and it's cool to hear (I think) It's unmastered.*
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> *Track 2) KI JAM: This is Me, Jean and Duris kind of jamming in between takes while we were recording the album...yup. It's unmastered too.*
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> *Track 3) TESTING SOME FENDER TOYS: This was a sunny afternoon and I'm just messing around with clean sounds and different pickups. It was a Fender 57 Twin reissue with some Mullards, My EJ strat, and a Keeley compressor. Echos were after the fact. Aaaand, unmastered. Get yer wank on.*
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> *Theres lots more stuff I'll put up here in the next month or so. Music is life, thanks for letting me continue to do it!*
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> *Devin.*
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## Sales and critical reception

*Ki* reached number 26 on the Finnish Top 40 and number 179 on the French Top 200, and appeared on the UK Indie and UK Rock charts. It sold 800 copies in its first week of release in the United States, and debuted at number 69 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart.

Critical reception of the album was generally positive. Jon Wiederhorn of Revolver said the album is "well worth a listen" and praised the heavier tracks such as "Disruptr" and "Heaven's End", saying, "Townsend mostly contains his rage, but he's at his best when he loses it." Popoff found the album to have an "odd identity", with "all sorts of things going on just under the surface" that rewarded multiple listens. David E. Gehlke of Blistering was less impressed, and found the album inconsistent. Gehlke described "Winter" as "lush and gorgeous", but felt that the album "fails to hit the mark" at other points, such as "Ain't Never Gonna Win" and "Trainfire". Tyler Munro of Sputnikmusic said *Ki* showed Townsend "at his loosest and most dynamic", and praised Townsend's and Dorval's vocals, but felt the album was held back by musical repetition and its extended guitar jams. Greg Prato of Allmusic gave the album a moderate review, admiring Townsend's unpredictability but feeling the album was not "the most gripping or groundbreaking album" in Townsend's collection. Daniel Cairns of Chronicles of Chaos (webzine) praised *Ki* as "a difficult, unusual collection of music" that "also might just be Townsend's best yet."

## Track listing

All songs written by Devin Townsend except where noted.

1. "A Monday" (1:43)
2. "Coast" (4:36)
3. "Disruptr" (5:49)
4. "Gato" (5:23)
5. "Terminal" (6:58) [Townsend, Young]
6. "Heaven's End" (8:54)
7. "Ain't Never Gonna Win" (3:17) [Townsend, Maxwell, Savoie, Young]
8. "Winter" (4:48)
9. "Trainfire" (5:59)
10. "Lady Helen" (6:05)
11. "Ki" (7:21)
12. "Quiet Riot" (3:02)
13. "Demon League" (2:55)

## Personnel

### Musicians

* Devin Townsend – vocals, guitar, fretless bass guitar, ambience, programming, production, mixing, engineering
* Duris Maxwell – drums
* Jean Savoie – bass guitar
* Dave Young – keys, piano, ambience

### Additional musicians

* Ché Aimee Dorval – additional vocals
* Ryan Dahle – additional vocals ("Gato")
* Bjorn Strid, Peter, Christopher, Grant, Corey, Jeremy, Ryan – additional vocals

### Production

* Adrian Mottrim – recording assistance
* Mike St. Jean – preproduction assistance
* Brennan Chambers – mixing assistance
* Sheldon Zaharko – recording
* Ryan Dahle – production, mixing ("Quiet Riot")
* T-Roy – mastering

### Release

* Konrad J. Palkiewicz – visual consulting, layout, artwork
* Erich Saide – photography
* Omer Cordell – photography
* Jeff Cohen – legal, management
* Mike Mowery – legal, management

## Charts

 French Albums Chart | SNEP
 UK Indie Chart | OCC
 UK Rock Chart | OCC
 U.S. Top Heatseekers Chart | Billboard

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Devin Townsend Project – Ki review at Chronicles of Chaos
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Munro interview with Devin Townsend at Sputnikmusic
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Genghis Podcast #80 - Idol
4. ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 Devin Townsend to return this summer with 'Ki'
5. ↑ Question About Deconstruction!
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Jeff Treppel review of *Ki* for Decibel magazine, August 2009
7. ↑ *Ki* liner notes
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Review: Devin Townsend Project – *Ki* (Revolver magazine)
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Greg Prato Allmusic review, Ki
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Martin Popoff Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles review
11. ↑ [http://hevydevyforums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=8141&p=193702#p193702 *Ki* – Official Thread at HevyDevy Forums
12. ↑ Raush interview with Devin Townsend
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 Sputnikmusic Devin Townsend Project – *Ki* Review
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 Gehlke Review: Devin Townsend Project – Ki
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Cowan interview with Devin via Blistering
16. ↑ InsideOut release page
17. ↑ ～氣～/デヴィン・タウンゼント・プロジェクト
18. ↑ Devin Townsend Project: 'Coast' video released
19. ↑ InsideOut shop release page
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Devin Townsend Project: *Ki* First-Week Sales Revealed
21. ↑ Musiikkituottajat - Tilastot - Suomenvirallinen lista - Artistit
22. ↑ Devin Townsend Les charts français
23. ↑ BBC Top 30 Indie Albums
24. ↑ BBC Top 40 Rock Albums

## External links

* *Ki* (InsideOut)
* Devin Townsend (MySpace)
* *Ki* at Discogs