Velocifero is the fourth studio album by English electronic music band Ladytron and their first to be released by Nettwerk. The album was first released digitally on 19 May 2008, followed by a physical release on 2 June in the United Kingdom and on 3 June elsewhere.
Velocifero peaked at number 75 on the UK Albums Chart, becoming the band's second highest-charting album to date in the UK (after Gravity the Seducer reached number 72 in 2011). It was also their first album to chart on the US Billboard 200, reaching number 131. Velocifero spawned three singles: "Ghosts", "Runaway" and "Tomorrow".
Background According to band member Reuben Wu, "velocifero" literally means "bringer of speed", and is also the name of a classic retro-styled scooter. "Black Cat" and "Kletva" are both sung entirely in Bulgarian. "Kletva" (which means "oath") is a cover of a song from a solo album by Kiril Marichkov of Bulgarian rock band Shturtzite. Daniel Hunt provided additional vocals on "Versus".
Singles "Ghosts" was released as the album's lead single on 12 May 2008. It reached number 106 on the UK singles chart. The song was included on the soundtrack to the video games Need for Speed: Undercover, The Sims 2: Apartment Life (Apartment Life featured the song as an instrumental version; both in 2008) The Sims 3 (2009) and LittleBigPlanet 2 (2011), as well as on the soundtrack to the 2009 slasher film Sorority Row. The track was also used in the TV advert for the 2010 Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. A remix of "Ghosts" by New York alternative rap collective Blestenation was released as a free download on 22 August 2008 by RCRD LBL.
Critical reception
Velocifero received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 73, based on 26 reviews.
Track listing
Velocifero (Remixed & Rare) On 6 April 2010, Nettwerk released a compilation of remixes, B-sides and rarities titled Velocifero (Remixed & Rare). The cover is the based on the black and white stripes artwork of the single "Runaway".
Personnel Credits adapted from the liner notes of Velocifero.
Musicians Daniel Hunt – additional vocals (uncredited) Semay Wu – cello Slic – drums Somekong (Peter Salmang and Javier Benitez) – additional musicians
Technical
Ladytron – production Michael Patterson – mixing Vicarious Bliss – additional production Alessandro Cortini – additional production Erwan "Eq" Quinio – engineering Daniel Woodward – engineering Alex Hasson – engineering assistance
Artwork Stéphane Gallois – photography Assume Vivid Astro Focus – design Pipa – design
Charts Chart (2008) Peakposition Australian Hitseekers Albums (ARIA) 9
Release history Region Date Format Label Sweden 19 May 2008 Digital download Playground Music Scandinavia Italy Nettwerk United Kingdom Australia 20 May 2008 Shock Sweden 28 May 2008 CD Playground Music Scandinavia Germany 30 May 2008 Major Australia 2 June 2008 CD Shock United Kingdom Nettwerk United States 3 June 2008 Italy 4 June 2008 CD Japan Sideout United States 28 September 2010 Digital download Nettwerk
+ Velocifero (Remixed & Rare) Region Date Format Label United Kingdom 6 April 2010 Digital download Nettwerk Australia 21 May 2010 Shock Germany Digital download Major United States 1 June 2010 CD Nettwerk United Kingdom United States 28 September 2010 Digital download
References