DSVII

DSVII
Studio album by
M83
Released20 September 2019 (2019-09-20)
Recorded2017–2018
Studios
  • Anthony Gonzalez's home studio (Los Angeles, California)
  • Justin Meldal-Johnsen's home studio (Glendale, California)
GenreNew-age
Length56:40
Labels
Producers
M83 chronology
Junk
(2016)		 DSVII
(2019)		 Fantasy
(2023)
Singles from DSVII
  1. "Temple of Sorrow"
    Released: 5 September 2019
  2. "Lune de Fiel"
    Released: 13 September 2019
  3. "Feelings"
    Released: 19 September 2019

DSVII (short for Digital Shades Vol. II) is the eighth studio album by the French electronic music band M83, released on 20 September 2019 through Naïve and Mute Records. It is a sequel album to Digital Shades Vol. 1, released in 2007.

Background

Anthony Gonzalez, member of the band, said that the album was inspired by playing 1980s video games while in Cap d'Antibes in France in 2017, calling the "old-school games" "naive and touching" as well as "simple and imperfect"; the musician also mentioned as an inspiration the soundtrack of the games, as well asscience fiction and fantasy films from the 1980s, and the synthesizer music of Suzanne Ciani, Mort Garson, Brian Eno and John Carpenter.

Recording

Gonzalez recorded the album between 2017 and 2018 using only analog equipment, splitting sessions between both his Los Angeles studio and producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen's studio in Glendale, California. Band member Kaela Sinclair contributed vocals and arrangements.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic68/100
Review scores
SourceRating
Pitchfork7.4/10
Slant MagazineStarStarStar

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album earned a score of 68, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Hell Riders"6:47
2."A Bit of Sweetness"3:36
3."Goodbye Captain Lee"2:25
4."Colonies"4:37
5."Meet the Friends"3:02
6."Feelings"3:55
7."A Word of Wisdom"1:42
8."Lune de Fiel"3:43
9."Jeux d'enfants"2:08
10."A Taste of the Dusk"3:51
11."Lunar Son"2:45
12."Oh Yes You're There, Everyday"5:05
13."Mirage"2:46
14."Taifun Glory"3:14
15."Temple of Sorrow"7:04
Total length:56:40

Personnel

M83

Additional musicians

Charts

Chart performance for DSVII
Chart (2019) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)111
French Albums (SNEP)98
Scottish Albums (Official Charts)81
US Independent Albums (Billboard)24
US Top Dance Albums (Billboard)14

References

  1. 1 2 Slingerland, Calum (11 July 2019). "M83 Returns with New Album 'DSVII'". Exclaim!. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  2. ↑ Yoo, Noah (11 July 2019). "M83 Announce New Album DSVII". Pitchfork. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  3. ↑ Roberts, Christopher (11 July 2019). "M83 Announces New Album Inspired by Early Video Game Soundtracks". Under the Radar. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  4. ↑ "Kaela Sinclair About". 14 May 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Reviews for DSVII by M83". Metacritic. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  6. ↑ Yoo, Noah (23 September 2019). "M83: DSVII Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  7. ↑ Wilson, Seth (27 September 2019). "Review: M83's DSVII Traffics in Nostalgia But Not Much Else". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  8. ↑ "Ultratop.be – M83 – DSVII" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  9. ↑ "Lescharts.com – M83 – DSVII". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  10. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart on 27/9/2019 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  11. ↑ "M83 Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  12. ↑ "M83 Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 October 2019.