Child of the Sea (mixtape)
| Child of the Sea | ||||
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| Mixtape by | ||||
| Released | December 7, 2011 | |||
| Recorded | July 2010–October 2011 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 52:54 | |||
| Label | Diving Bell LLC | |||
| Producer |
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| Child of the Sea chronology | ||||
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Child of the Sea is the eponymous debut mixtape by Sierrian music project Child of the Sea. It was released on December 7, 2011 in Sierra. Entirely written by Dorian Robertson with producer Martin Oliver, the mixtape was primarily recorded at Clipping Recording Studios in San Francisco City from April to October 2011, though writing and early recordings of the mixtape were made as far back as July 2010.
Physical copies of the mixtape were released on vinyl and CD, with Robertson selling the copies from the trunk of his car in San Francisco City after his small-venue performances. Though the mixtape would under-perform, it would receive positive local reviews and get casual radio-play, leading to Child of the Sea securing a recording contract with Avocado Records in February 2012. In January 2016, alongside the project's debut album Glass Valleys, the mixtape would be re-released onto all streaming platforms and would feature two bonus songs, "This Is What You Get" and "Trench".
Background and recording
After the release of Glass Valleys, Dorian Robertson would officially form the music project Child of the Sea. After dropping out of the University of Sierra, Robertson held a minimum-wage job that involved cooking and washing dishes at Shirley's restaurant in San Francisco City for some time. Inspired by an intense experience from The Landing's Dark Side of the Moon album while on LSD, Robertson would begin writing music for the mixtape. Other inspirations included music by Living Still Lives, namely their debut album Obscured Revenant Contacts, along with books by Jed Fletcher. Child of the Sea is the first release that would feature long-time collaborator Martin Oliver, who'd produce the record alongside Robertson as well as master it. Robertson has said that "what Martin provided to Child of the Sea were those very ecclectic and visceral soundscapes", and that they would strike a friendship during the recording process that led to future collaborations on future Child of the Sea albums.
Recording sessions for the mixtape were primarily completed at the Clipping Recording Studios and at Robertson's house. Robertson would state in an interview with TBD, "I'd write the songs and the melodies at home, and then when I had a good amount of material, I'd go into Clipping and I'd record maybe 2-3 songs each hour." Robertson, in later years however, as criticized his work ethic during the creation of the mixtape, citing it as "unproductive" and elaborating that he had been suffering from depression and would often self-medicate in hopes of performing better. After a near-fatal car incident in July 2011 due to drunk driving, Robertson would scrap nearly 140 hours of recorded music and began recording new material. From this sobriety, Robertson has said that he felt "a new wave of emotions I had never felt before", and has stated that he had recorded nearly fifty songs for the mixtape.
Artist Laura Cunningham, a close friend of Robertson, would compose the mixtape's cover after listening to the first song, "Off The Wall And Into The Sea".
Composition and lyrics
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Child of the Sea incorperates elements indie rock, neo-psychedelia, and progressive rock, and explores themes of depression and lonliness, betrayal, self-doubt, and anti-capitalism. Robertson cites The Landing's Dark Side of the Moon album as the mixtape's reference point, though elaborated that he "wasn't trying to re-create the direction entirely, but to use the direction to make [his] own kind of sound and frequency [for the record]". The mixtape incorporates Robertson's falsetto, as well as a vocoder. The mixtape is often believed to be a concept album, though Robertson has denied that as the intent.
The first song, "Off The Wall And Into The Sea", is rock song that builds to a loud climax. Roberton explained that he recorded the song when he was in a period of "hyperactive mania". "Submersion" is a song Roberton claims he does not remember making it, stating that the early recording sessions for the mixtape were done while he was heavily intoxicated, and after a car accident nearly killed him in July 2011, he decided to change his recording style and 'restart' the recording process, with "Submerson" being the only song from those original sessions.
The third song, "Lover", features a short piano solo, with Robertson's lyrics depicting the feelings of betrayal after being cheating on. The fourth song "Way Too Long" continues lyrics of lonliness and depravity in a typical rock structure, and transitions into the following song, "Ghost", which sees Robertson expressing self-doubt and an anti-capitalist sentiment. "Wondervisions" contains multilayered arpeggiated guitars and electric piano, and is a transition point in the mixtape, lyrically and instrumentally, with the second half of the record exploring featuring elements of neo-psychedelia and progressive rock. The song "Flying High" features a looped sample from Forrest Jackson's song "Boy", as well Robertson incorperating an old Roland SH-2 synthesizer onto the track. The song "Brink", released previously on the Lucid Dreams EP, would be the eighth song on the mixtape. The song "Dead Water", eschews a traditional verse-chorus-verse structure, with the song being split into three sections. The song was written when Robertson's "hit rock bottom", and is auto-biographical. Backed with a looped string arrangement and guitar, it is among the band's longest songs and has been described as 'pure psychedelia'. "Dead Water" would later peak at number 24 on the Sunset Hot 100 upon the mixtape's re-release in 2016. "Dead Water" transitions into the tenth song "Redeemer", which Robertson described as "Sort of a love song", with the song retroactively be seen as having one of Robertson's best vocal performances.
The eleventh song, "One", predominantly features acoustic guitar and piano, featuring lyrics that point to his dissatisfaction with capitalism. The song transitions into the final song, "Paranoia", which features moments of backmasking along with electric keyboards, with Robertson stating that the song's abstract lyrics and layered metaphors were "up for interpretation", but has described it as "a happy ending... moving on from where I was to where I am now".
Release and reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 79/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Billboard |  
|
| Sierra Media | 8.00/10 |
| Newstar | 
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| La Brea Times | B |
| The Porciúncula Times | 7.8/10 |
On December 7, 2011, Child of the Sea was released by Robertson's independent record label, Diving Bell. Despite receiving locally positive reviews on release and getting occassional radio-play in San Francisco City, the record would underperform, with Robertson stating the mixtape sold "50 or so" copies. In February 2012, a song from the mixtape, "Brink", would catch the attention of Avocado Records A&R Damian Lawson on the local radio SANFC 98.2, leading to the project later securing a recording contract. Following this, Child of the Sea would go on to perform at numerous festivals throughout summer 2012 that would be the project's big break.
Upon the re-issue of the mixtape in January 2016, the mixtape would receive critical acclaim, with many praising Robertson's ability to put a modern spin on elements of 1960s psychedelic rock, creating a new and original sound. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 79 based on ten reviews. Zach Atkinson of Sierra Media gave the mixtape a 8.0/10, stating, "Nearly every proper song on the project's self-titled mixtape is a revelatory statement of Robertson's range and expertise as a producer, arranger, songwriter, and vocalist", highlighting the mixtape's production and "raw aesthetic" though iterating that "Certain tracks here may remind listeners of U2". The Porciúncula Times Herb Wells criticised the presence of certain tracks he deemed "forgettable", noting that "Flying High" "breaks the momentum... horribly", but nonetheless called the mixtape "a satisfying debut which showcased an early sense of Robertson's talents that would blossom later on."
In retrospect, Robertson has referred to the mixtape as "inconsistent" but that it was a "compilation of [the project's] best material at the time".
Track listing
All tracks are written by Dorian Robertson except where noted.
| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Off The Wall And Into The Sea" |
| 5:21 |
| 2. | "Submersion" | 4:46 | |
| 3. | "Lover" | 0:57 | |
| 4. | "Way Too Long" | 4:12 | |
| 5. | "Ghost" |
| 5:20 |
| 6. | "Wondervisions" |
| 3:44 |
| 7. | "Flying High" | 4:25 | |
| 8. | "Brink" | 3:41 | |
| 9. | "Dead Water" |
| 6:13 |
| 10. | "Redeemer" |
| 4:57 |
| 11. | "One" | 4:17 | |
| 12. | "Paranoia" |
| 5:01 |
| Total length: | 52:54 | ||
| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "This Is What You Get" |
| 3:06 |
| 14. | "Trench" |
| 3:48 |
| Total length: | 59:48 | ||
Personnel
Child of the Sea
- Dorian Robertson – recording, production; all instruments
Production
- Martin Oliver – production, mastering
- Laura Cunningham - artwork