Maps of Music

Blue Electric Light (2024)

Where the lyrics of Blue Electric Light take you, and where it was really made.

The album was first set for 15 March 2024, but Kravitz moved the release to 24 May 2024 out of his commitments to honoring the legacy of Bayard Rustin.

Key places

Recording at Gregory Town Sound, Eleuthera (2024)

Recording site Gregory Town Sound — The album was recorded at Gregory Town Sound on Eleuthera in the Bahamas, with Craig Ross and other musicians. The point marks the island, not the exact studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Blue Electric Light is the twelfth studio album by American rock musician Lenny Kravitz
• Released 24 May 2024 by Roxie Records, with distribution handled by BMG Rights Management
• Preceded by the lead single 'TK421', released in October 2023 together with its music video
• The album is Kravitz's first since Raise Vibration (2018)

Background

• Originally scheduled for release on 15 March 2024
• Release moved to 24 May 2024 because of Kravitz's commitments to honoring the legacy of Bayard Rustin
• Title song 'Road to Freedom' came out in November 2023, written for the film Rustin
• 'Human' released 22 March 2024 and premiered on The Tonight Show
• 'Paralyzed', 'Honey' and 'Let It Ride' were also released as singles to keep promoting the album during the first legs of the accompanying tour

Recording

• Recorded in Kravitz's studio in the Bahamas
• Kravitz played most of the instruments himself, with frequent collaborator Craig Ross contributing
• Recording credited to Gregory Town Sound on Eleuthera, Bahamas
• Mixed by Craig Ross and Lenny Kravitz; mastered by Bernie Grundman
• Alex Alvarez handled programming and engineering
• Harold Todd and Michael Sherman played saxophone; Trombone Shorty played trombone and trumpet on track 10

Cover

• The dark violet cover shows Kravitz lying on a tiger-striped couch, head toward the viewer
• He wears black sunglasses, four necklaces and dreadlocks, with his leather shirt unzipped to the navel

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · de.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• Born May 26, 1964 in New York City; American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, and actor.
• Debut album Let Love Rule (1989) blends rock, funk, reggae, hard rock, soul, and R&B.
• Hit singles include "It Ain't Over 'til It's Over" (1991) and "Again" (2000), both top ten on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Won four consecutive Grammy Awards for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance from 1999 to 2002, a category record.
• Has sold over 40 million albums worldwide.
• Acted in Precious (2009) and the first two Hunger Games films (2012–13).
• Founded the creative studio Kravitz Design Inc.

Early life

• Raised partly in New York and partly in Los Angeles; began playing drums at age three.
• Introduced to rock music in Los Angeles, listening to the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and Jimi Hendrix.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Louder Sound's Paul Moody called it a typically diverse collection full of positive energy
• AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine said Kravitz may not be trying anything new, but his focus on good vibes made an unusually satisfying record
• WYSO's Greg Simms Jr. called it the funkiest album he had heard from Kravitz, and noted that it is a dedication to Prince
• The Daily Illini's Nina Athanasopoulos called it a generally predictable but fun project that lacks some self and social awareness

Reappraisal

• laut.de's Philipp Kause found the production over-polished and the album pleasant, but nothing more
• plattentests.de's Jochen Reinecke found the lyrics unambitious but the music mostly fresh and surprisingly sparkling
• ndr.de's Marcel Anders found the lyrics especially convincing
• Aachener Zeitung's Michael Loesl said the album lacks originality despite the usual versatility
• Der Spiegel named it album of the week and gave it 7.5 out of 10, describing Kravitz's return to a nostalgic yet energetic blend of rock, funk and soul

Records

• Germany: peaked at number 5 on the album chart
• Switzerland: peaked at number 2
• Austria: peaked at number 4
• United Kingdom: peaked at number 73
• None of the singles charted

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · de.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The release was moved from 15 March to 24 May 2024 to honour the legacy of Bayard Rustin
• Ten of the twelve tracks were written by Kravitz alone; two were composed with Craig Ross, and two are covers of Tony LeMans
• The album has twelve tracks and runs 55:34 in total
• The 'TK421' video drew attention because of Kravitz's nudity

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · de.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org

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