ISAM (album)

ISAM is the seventh full-length studio album by Brazilian electronic musician Amon Tobin, released on 19 April 2011 on Ninja Tune.

ISAM
Studio album by
Amon Tobin
Released19 April 2011 (digital)
23 May 2011 (physical)
Genre
Length49:57 (standard)
56:11 (+ bonus tracks)
LabelNinja Tune Records (ZEN168)
ProducerAmon Tobin
Amon Tobin chronology
Foley Room
(2007)		 ISAM
(2011)		 Boxset
(2012)
Alternative cover
Physical release artwork
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic link
Pitchfork Media(5.9/10) link
Sputnikmusic link
The Skinny link

Background and composition

ISAM, its title being an acronym for "Invented Sounds Applied to Music", marked a significant evolution in Amon Tobin's sound due to the absence of vinyl samples and trademark jazz-oriented breaks. Extending from his stylistic experimentation on Foley Room, prominent elements of ISAM include complex sound design and heavily processed field recordings obtained from a variety of sources. Several tracks also feature computer-processed androgynous vocals. Tobin described the album as a "sound sculpture" and said that his intent was to move forward from the aesthetics of his previous work.[1]

Release

ISAM was initially slated to be released on both physical and digital media on 23 May 2011, but following the leak of a promotional copy the previous month, the digital release was moved forward to 19 April.[2] The physical release included a limited edition CD artbook featuring images from Control Over Nature, an installation conceived by Amon Tobin and Saatchi collection artist Tessa Farmer, which is thematically related to the music of ISAM.[3] Farmer's work also features on the cover of the album.

Track listing

All tracks written by Amon Tobin.

No.TitleLength
1."Journeyman"6:38
2."Piece of Paper"2:40
3."Goto 10"4:20
4."Surge"2:05
5."Lost & Found"4:54
6."Wooden Toy"2:25
7."Mass & Spring"4:16
8."Calculate"1:33
9."Kitty Cat"4:16
10."Bedtime Stories"3:44
11."Night Swim"5:58
12."Dropped from the Sky"7:10
13."Morning Ms Candis" (limited edition CD and digital-only bonus track)3:34
14."One Last Look" (digital-only bonus track)2:40
Total length:56:11

Charts
Chart performance for ISAM
Chart (2012) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[4] 86


References
  1. "'ISAM' – Full album with track-by-track commentary from Amon Tobin" – Soundcloud
  2. "Amon Tobin – 'ISAM' Available Digitally Now" – Ninja Tune website
  3. "Amon Tobin & Tessa Farmer present: ISAM - Control Over Nature" – ISAM microsite, Installation section
  4. "Ultratop.be – Amon Tobin – Man ISAM" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
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