Isolation

### Producer(s)

Autumn Rowe • BadBadNotGood • David Sitek • DJ Dahi • Gorillaz • Greg Kurstin • Jairus Mozee • Jeff Gitty • Josh Crocker • Kali Uchis • Kevin Parker • Larrance Dopson • Midas Touch • Om'Mas Keith • Romil • Sounwave • Steve Lacy • The Rude Boyz • The Wlderness • Thundercat • Two Inch Punch • Wayne Gordon

## Singles

1. "Tyrant"
Released: May 22, 2017
2. "Nuestro Planeta"
Released: August 25, 2017
3. "After the Storm"
Released: January 12, 2018
4. "Just a Stranger"
Released: October 30, 2018

***Isolation*** is the debut studio album by Kali Uchis. It was officially released worldwide on April 6, 2018, through Rinse Recordings, Virgin EMI Records, and Universal Music Group.

## Background

Following the release of her extended play *Por Vida*, which received praise from professional critics, Uchis continued working on music in the studio for her first long-play release. On an interview with *The 405,* published on February 24, 2015, Uchis was asked about what she's been doing since the EP's release:

Uchis embarked on her first tour in the second half of 2015, performing concerts alongside Leon Bridges to promote the EP. On January 13, 2016, through a tweet she said "see you when my first album is done bye🌹" referring to performing live again.

The buzz single "Only Girl" which was released in April of 2016, was quickly considered by fans the lead single for the album. However, the song remained as a stand-alone single.

On February 27, 2017, Uchis finally announced that the album was done via Twitter and later, on March 28, during a Radar Radio interview with *DAZED*, she was asked about the release date:

She also revealed details about the album's sound and collaborators:

### Recording

In June 2018, Kali was concerned for her debut album's sound:

## Promotion

Uchis supported the album embarking on the In Your Dreams Tour which started on September 13, 2018, in Seattle and ended on November 10, 2018, in Los Angeles. She also made her television debut on *The Tonight Show* alongside Tyler, The Creator to perform the third single from the project "After the Storm".

## Critical reception

*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."

## Singles

"Tyrant""Nuestro Planeta""After the Storm""Just a Stranger"

## Credits

**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 (all tracks)

## Charts

Chart performance for *Isolation*
 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)
 Canadian Albums (*Billboard*)
 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
 New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)
 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)
 UK Albums (OCC)
 US *Billboard* 200 | 32

## References

1. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20150804170325/http://www.thefourohfive.com/music/news/article/kali-uchis-interviewed-142
3. ↑ https://www.vice.com/es/article/rnbg7x/escucha-el-primer-sencillo-del-nuevo-disco-de-kali-uchis-
4. ↑ http://lanaboards.com/topic/5908-kali-uchis/?do=findComment&comment=412642
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/35322/1/radar-radio-kali-uchis
7. ↑ Isolation by Kali Uchis reviews. *AnyDecentMusic?*.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Isolation by Kali Uchis Reviews and Tracks. *Metacritic*.
9. ↑ Kellman, Andy. Isolation – Kali Uchis. *AllMusic*.
10. ↑ Hernandez, Nina (April 6, 2018). Kali Uchis, Isolation. *The A.V. Club*.
11. ↑ Hussain, Shahzaib (April 9, 2018). Kali Uchis – Isolation. *Clash*.
12. ↑ Hughes, Kayleigh (April 6, 2018). Kali Uchis Joins the Neo-Soul Pantheon with Isolation. *Consequence of Sound*.
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Harmony, A. (April 11, 2018). Kali Uchis: Isolation. *Exclaim!*.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Album reviews: Manic Street Preachers, Kali Uchis, Eels, Hinds and Kylie Minogue. *The Independent* (April 4, 2018).
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Smith, Thomas (April 7, 2018). Kali Uchis – 'Isolation' Review. *NME*.
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Shepherd, Julianne Escobedo (April 11, 2018). Kali Uchis: Isolation. *Pitchfork*.
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Levy, Joe (April 5, 2018). Review: Kali Uchis' 'Isolation' Proves She's an Exciting Young Talent.
18. ↑ Desler, Madison (April 2, 2018). Kali Uchis: Isolation Review. *Paste*.
19. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Q`
20. ↑ Carr, Daphne (2018-12-11). The 50 Best Albums of 2018 (en).