Shadow Works

Shadow Works is the second studio album by Estonian singer and songwriter Kerli. It was released on 22 February 2019 via Seeking Blue.[3] It was preceded by the singles "Savages", "Better", and "Legends". The album reached number 24 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart in the United States.[4]

Shadow Works
Studio album by Kerli
Released	22 February 2019
Genre	Electropop[1]
Length	42:21
Label	Seeking Blue
Producer	AFSHeeN Crash Cove Josh Cumbee EvanS Kerli Kill Dave Said the Sky Ago Teppand Varien
Kerli chronology
Deepest Roots[2] (2016) Shadow Works (2019)
Singles from Shadow Works
"Savages" Released: 30 November 2018 "Better" Released: 18 January 2019 "Legends" Released: 8 February 2019

Background

Following the cancellation of the release of Utopia as her second studio album instead of an EP, Kerli left Island Records and joined Ultra Music, in which she released some songs as a featured artist. Kerli eventually left Ultra and decided to become an independent artist. During this time she released her third EP Deepest Roots. This EP was released only as limited signed CDs as she wanted to please the fans who had pledged for the project after its delay. Deepest Roots featured all the singles released so far from the project ("Feral Hearts", "Blossom" and "Diamond Hard") as well as remixes, audio commentaries and the instrumental track Journey Through the Elven Kingdom. The original version of the album was intended to be released around 2016-2017, but this version ended up being scrapped.

In 2018 she joined the label Seeking Blue, which ended up publishing the album. Kerli considers Shadow Works as her third studio album, as she also still considers Utopia as the second.

Composition

Shadow Works is a relative return to Kerli's first album Love Is Dead and her EP Kerli, which has a gothic sound deeply rock-inspired sound, however, the album features more electronic sounds, akin to her EP's Utopia and Deepest Roots.

Kerli described the album as “an exploration of (her) own shadow, it’s a collection of music designed to connect the listener to their own disowned parts and to honor their hidden self. I explore the feelings of victim-hood, co-dependence, lust, guilt and defeat. There are also frequencies that symbolize the eventual triumph over darkness. The vocal scapes that start, part and end the collection are designed to bring the listener into a meditative state so that Shadow Work can be performed.” [5]

Singles and promotion

The first single "Savages" was released on 30 November 2018 along the announcement and cover of the album.[6][7] It reached the fourth position as one of the most successful songs of 2018 by Estonian artists on Raadio 2.[8] The song's music video was released on Kerli's YouTube channel on 21 March 2019.[9] The second single "Better" was released on 18 January 2019[10] and the third and final before the album's release, "Legends", on 8 February 2019.[11] The day before its official released, the album was premiered via livestream on YouTube channel MrSuicideSheep.[12]

Track listing

Credits taken from Spotify.

Executive Producer: Cyrus Saidi[13]

A&R: Cyrus Saidi

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Opening of the Way" (intro)	Kerli Kõiv	Kerli	1:51
2.	"Mimicry"	Kõiv Even Sarucco	EvenS	4:34
3.	"Everybody Bleeds the Same"	Kõiv Andrew Richard Burns	Crash Cove	4:02
4.	"Savages"	Kõiv David Dahlquist Sarucco	Kill Dave	3:11
5.	"One"	Kõiv Ago Teppand Afshin Salmani	Teppand AFSHeeN	3:20
6.	"Purification" (interlude)	Kõiv	Kerli	1:04
7.	"Legends"	Kõiv Marcello Pagin Josh Cumbee Salmani Gennesse Lewis Christian Buettner Caitlin Morris	Cumbee AFSHeeN	2:58
8.	"Where the Dark Things Are"	Kõiv Nicolas Karl Pittsinger	AFSHeeN Varien	3:40
9.	"Better"	Kõiv Burns	Crash Cove	3:44
10.	"Giving Up the Ghost"	Kõiv	Said the Sky	4:12
11.	"Tuleloits / The Invocation of Fire"	Kõiv	Kerli	6:08
12.	"Shadow Works" (outro)	Kõiv	Kerli	3:43
Total length:				42:32

Charts

Chart (2019)	Peak position
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[14]	24

Release history

List of release dates, showing region, edition(s), format(s), label(s) and reference(s)

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label	Ref.
Various	22 February 2019	Digital download streaming	Seeking Blue	[3]
	15 March 2019	CD (limited edition)		[15]
Estonia	28 March 2019			[16]

References

1. Rachel Woods (5 March 2019). "KERLI RELEASES INTRICATE LP, SHADOW WORKS". EDM.com. Retrieved 28 March 2019. Fulfill all of your dark electro pop and electro bass dreams as Kerli takes you into the shadows
2. "Kerli – Deepest Roots". Discogs.
3. "Shadow Works by Kerli". iTunes Store.
4. "Heatseekers Albums (The week of March 9, 2019)". Billboard. Archived from the original on 16 March 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
5. http://www.thenocturnaltimes.com/estonian-artist-kerli-shares-insight-on-newest-album-shadow-works-more-interview/
6. Britten Torstenberg (29 November 2018). "ELU24 INTERVJUU: Kerli Kõiv ei lase end lörtsida: jorss, pane oma asjad kokku, sest ma avan sulle siin kosmilisi väravaid ja sa ei saa üldse asjast aru". ELU24 (in Estonian). Postimees.
7. Ariana O'Keefe (5 December 2018). "Kerli Releases "Savages" Ahead of New Album". The Nocturnal Times.
8. "Nublu noppis koore! R2 Aastahiti hääletusel ei olnud mõminaräpparile vastast (88)". Kroonika (in Estonian). 30 December 2018.
9. "Kerli - Savages (Official Music Video)". Retrieved 23 March 2019 – via YouTube.
10. "Better (Original Mix) by Kerli". Beatport. 18 January 2019.
11. "Legends (Original Mix) by Kerli". Beatport. 8 February 2019.
12. "KERLI Announces YouTube Livestream of New Album 'Shadow Works'". BroadwayWorld. 19 February 2019.
13. https://www.discogs.com/Kerli-Shadow-Works/release/13422672
14. "Kerli Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
15. "Shadow Works (Limited Edition Compact Disc)". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
16. "Kerli - Shadow Works CD". Apollo. Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2019.