Infections of a Different Kind - Step 1

## Album Chronology

***Infections of a Different Kind - Step 1*** is the second album by Norwegian singer AURORA. It was released on September 28, 2018.

## Background

On the day of releasing her debut *All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend*, Aurora said that it was "the first album of many" that she has planned. As of May 12, 2016, after coming back from her European tour, she announced that she was ready to begin writing and producing more material. On October 16, during a Facebook live stream, she stated that she had 15 demo songs and had written around 1,000 songs to that date. In March 2018, Aurora said that her new album was done and that a possible release date was fall 2018.

Between April and August 2018, the singer released two singles, "Queendom" and "Forgotten Love", which were to be included on her second studio album. Aksnes recorded most of the album during her stay in France in January of that year, and the production involved AURORA herself, Askjell, Roy Kerr and Tim Bran. Some of the new material was performed live ahead of release, including at festivals like Lollapalooza and Coachella.

While maintaining some of the themes and stories of the previous album, this production would mark the first time that Aksnes included political and sexual themes in her songs. She drew inspiration from the interaction she had with her fans and the places she visited while touring. The music video for Queendom saw its release in May 2018, and it included a message to her LGBT fans; such message was portrayed by Aksnes herself kissing one of her female dancers, during what was described as a "big kissing party" that shows that "every type of love is accepted and embraced" in the singer's "queendom".

In the days leading up to the album release, Aurora posted snippets of each song on her social media, these snippets are not taken from the final album tracks. A promotional video with footage from Once Aurora was also published.

On September 28, 2018, AURORA surprise-released *Infections of a Different Kind - Step 1*. The album features eight songs, including its title track, track 8, which Aurora declared as "the most important song I've ever written". The choice for little to no promotion was made because Aurora wanted her fans to hear the album first.

Initially only available in digital and streaming formats, the album was released on CD and LP in November 2019.

## Tracklist

### Possible outtakes

* "Animal" (Confirmed)
* "Cocoon"
* "Feeling"
* "In Bottles" (Confirmed)
* "Kindness in the Glass"
* "Ocean Rose"
* "Perfume of Love"
* "Storm Manifesto"
* "The Medicine I Need"
* "The Secret Garden" (then titled "The Strange Paper Garden")
* "The Seed" (Confirmed)
* "The Storm"
* "The Wave"
* "Wavelength"
* "Witches"

## Gallery

### Photoshoot

The album artwork features photos by Morgan Hill-Murphy, the photo shoot can be seen **here**.

## Trivia

* Aurora initially said the album would have 11 songs, but confirmed in a later interview changing it.
	+ She then confirmed on July 22, 2018 that the album would have 8 songs.
* The songs on the album address issues such as domestic abuse, global warming, connection/connectivity, and fear of intimacy.
* The songs are mostly piano-driven with some harp touches. Overall, the initial goal was to use organic instruments.
* Aurora once said that she wanted to include some of her old songs and that she wanted to put a song that includes her native language.
* Her favourite song on the album is the title track.
* She also stated in an interview in 2017 that she did not know whether "Feeling", "In Bottles", and "Soft Universe" would be on the album since she had recorded many songs and it was hard enough to choose the ones that will make it.
	+ "Soft Universe" made it onto the album, while "In Bottles" made it onto *A Different Kind of Human - Step 2*.
* Aurora wrote 40 songs for the album and chose the best of them.
* The album was originally expected to be released in November 2017.
* "Animal" was originally going to be the album's second single, but ended up being held for *A Different Kind of Human - Step 2*.
* A leaked album trailer showed that the album's title was originally *Infections of a Different Kind - Vol. 1*.
	+ Part of the original tracklist is also shown: "Queendom", "Animal", "Beauty in Forgotten Love".
	+ Another clip was used for various promotion.
* The title and a release date for the album were prematurely published in an interview with *The Independent*. These were later removed from the article and the mentioned date of September 14 turned out to be incorrect.
* On some of the album's releases from label Glassnote, "Forgotten Love" is slightly different from the version appearing elsewhere, most notable in the backing vocals.

## References

1. ↑ https://aurora.lnk.to/AURIOADKPartI
2. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1KuqBlKWiQ&t=652s
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSot1kNFCIM&t=161s (~March 18, 2018)
4. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbPg6B2nhG8&t=127s
5. ↑ https://www.standard.co.uk/go/london/music/aurora-interview-i-want-to-fight-for-everything-that-can-t-fight-for-itself-a3831146.html
6. ↑ https://jenesaispop.com/2018/04/17/327078/aurora-adelanta-disco-queendom-busca-sea-lugar-todos/
7. ↑ https://capricho.abril.com.br/famosos/aurora-fez-um-show-mistico-e-cheio-de-amor-no-lollapalooza-2018/
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 http://www.idolator.com/7678380/coachella-2018-aurora-interview-queendom-sophomore-lp
9. ↑ https://i-d.vice.com/en\_uk/article/ywxym5/norway-aurora-watch-queendom-music-video
10. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/317009472406686/
11. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/295249114636798/
12. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/268229067233030/
13. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/274300639879561/
14. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/174123256810463/
15. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/421107248419877/
16. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/338134793400281/
17. ↑ File:AURORA - Infections Of A Different Kind - Step 1
18. ↑ https://www.nme.com/news/music/aurora-infections-of-a-different-kind-step-1-new-album-interview-2384198
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 http://www.liveinlimbo.com/2018/06/04/interviews/an-interview-with-aurora.html
20. ↑ https://scanmagazine.co.uk/aurora-music-is-the-one-language-we-can-all-understand/
21. ↑ https://twitter.com/AuroraFranceOff/status/1176882529451872256
22. ↑ https://twitter.com/PetroleumRec/status/1197784249727963136
23. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20210801210211/https://www.nopartynodisco.com/single-post/2018/07/25/interview-aurora (archived from original)
24. ↑ https://www.augustman.com/sg/culture/music/5-minutes-with-aurora-aksnes/
25. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGRv-zHlXjY&t=262s
26. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20170523185953/http://www.vg.no/rampelys/aurora-aksnes/aurora-aksnes-jeg-har-saa-mye-gnist-inni-meg-jeg-holder-paa-aa-sprenges/a/23654594/ (archived from original)
27. ↑ https://aurora-daily.tumblr.com/post/171528457287/interview-with-aurora-aksnes-in-paris-2018-audio
28. ↑ https://capricho.abril.com.br/famosos/aurora-sobre-tour-no-brasil-vou-testar-cancoes-mais-intimistas/
29. ↑ https://www.lofficielusa.com/music/norwegian-pop-star-aurora
30. ↑ https://www.erlik.no/aurora-synes-musikkbransjen-er-vakker-og-forferdelig/
31. ↑ https://de.buddemusic.com/track/MTM5NTY3MjQtNTc3YTUx/ (now defunct)
32. ↑ https://nippyshare.com/v/11d71e
33. ↑ https://twitter.com/t4f/status/1073155817539436547
34. ↑ https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/aurora-interview-singer-new-album-infections-of-a-different-kind-release-date-tour-a8534271.html
35. ↑ https://warriorsweirdos.proboards.com/thread/1393/
36. ↑ https://music.apple.com/us/album/1641673702