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Dig Your Own Hole

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Dig Your Own Hole
Studio album by
the Chemical Brothers
Released7 April 1997 (1997-04-07)
Recorded1996–1997
StudioOrinoco, London, UK
Genre
Length63:27
Label
Producer
  • Tom Rowlands
  • Ed Simons
The Chemical Brothers chronology
Exit Planet Dust
(1995) 		Dig Your Own Hole
(1997) 		Surrender
(1999)
Singles from Dig Your Own Hole
  1. "Setting Sun"
    Released: 30 September 1996
  2. "Block Rockin' Beats"
    Released: 24 March 1997
  3. "Elektrobank"
    Released: 8 September 1997

Dig Your Own Hole is the second studio album by the English electronic music duo the Chemical Brothers. It was released on 7 April 1997 in the United Kingdom by Freestyle Dust and Virgin Records and in the United States by Astralwerks. It was recorded between 1996 and 1997, and features Noel Gallagher of Oasis and Beth Orton as guest vocalists.

Dig Your Own Hole was the first Chemical Brothers album to reach number one on the UK Albums Chart. Five singles were released, two of which reached number one in the UK: "Setting Sun", "Where Do I Begin", "Block Rockin' Beats", "Elektrobank", and "The Private Psychedelic Reel". The album has been included in several British magazines' lists of the best albums ever. The success of the album led the Chemical Brothers to be much sought-after remixers, and they released a mix album in 1998, Brothers Gonna Work It Out.

Background

[edit]

After the Chemical Brothers' successful debut album, Exit Planet Dust, released in June 1995, the duo continued to tour but quickly sought to record new material. Following the release of "Life Is Sweet", the final single from that album, the duo had changed labels from Junior Boy's Own to Virgin, with Virgin getting credit on their album Exit Planet Dust as well under the liner notes. The duo released an EP, Loops of Fury in January 1996, consisting of new material and a remix of one of the band's earliest and signature tracks, "Chemical Beats".

The songs "It Doesn't Matter" and "Don't Stop the Rock" were released in June 1996 on vinyl as "Electronic Battle Weapon 1" and "Electronic Battle Weapon 2" respectively as promos for DJs to test in clubs. The duo met up with Noel Gallagher. They were interested in collaborating for a track. The Chemical Brothers had reportedly given him an instrumental track and he then wrote lyrics for the track.[citation needed] The song was released as the single "Setting Sun" on 30 September 1996.[4] The song entered the UK Singles Chart at number one. Stereogum said that "the combination of rave sirens and psych-rock far-outness [on Exit Planet Dust] was probably what convinced people like Noel Gallagher and Mercury Rev to jump onboard".[3]

"Where Do I Begin" was released as a promotional single in early 1997. "Block Rockin' Beats" was released on 24 March 1997[5] and reached number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the duo's second number one single.[6]

Release

[edit]

Dig Your Own Hole was released on 7 April 1997 by record labels Virgin and Freestyle Dust.

"Elektrobank" was released on 8 September 1997 and reached number 17 in the UK Singles Chart.[6] "The Private Psychedelic Reel" was released on 1 December 1997.[7] A numbered release, it was ineligible for the UK Singles Charts. Further physically released promotion for the album include a DJ mix and interview set.

The album was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on 21 January 2000.[8] In 2004, the album was packaged with 1995's Exit Planet Dust in a limited edition box set as part of EMI's "2CD Originals" collection.

Dig Your Own Hole was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album, at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards.[9]

Critical reception and legacy

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Chicago Tribune[10]
Entertainment WeeklyA[11]
The Guardian[12]
NME8/10[13]
Pitchfork8.4/10[14]
Q[15]
Rolling Stone[16]
Spin8/10[2]
The Village VoiceA−[17]

In Rolling Stone, David Fricke wrote that Dig Your Own Hole "burns the whole rock vs. techno argument into a fine, white ash", calling it "a wild beauty of a record" that "rocks, rolls and surges without factionalist prejudice or fear of genre."[16] Entertainment Weekly reviewer David Browne found that the Chemical Brothers manage to turn sounds and "recycled voice snippets" into "alluring hooks in and of themselves, bringing the record as close to pop as techno has come so far",[11] while The Village Voice's Robert Christgau attributed the album's effectiveness to the duo's "spirit—generous, jubilant, unfazed by industrial doom, in love with energy and sound."[17]

In 1998, Q readers voted Dig Your Own Hole the 49th greatest album of all time, and was also included in Q TV's "Top 100 Albums of All Time" list in 2008. In 2000, the same magazine placed it at number 42 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever.[citation needed] NME ranked it at number 414 in its 2014 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[18] Rolling Stone included it in their list of the "100 Best Albums of the Nineties",[19] as did Spin.[20]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons, except where noted

No.TitleLength
1."Block Rockin' Beats" (Rowlands, Simons, Jesse Weaver)5:14
2."Dig Your Own Hole"5:27
3."Elektrobank"8:18
4."Piku"4:54
5."Setting Sun" (Rowlands, Simons, Noel Gallagher)5:29
6."It Doesn't Matter" (Rowlands, Simons, Paul Conly, John Emelin, Tom Flye, Rusty Ford, Kim King)6:14
7."Don't Stop the Rock"4:50
8."Get Up on It Like This" (Rowlands, Simon, Quincy Jones)2:47
9."Lost in the K-Hole"3:52
10."Where Do I Begin"6:56
11."The Private Psychedelic Reel" (Rowlands, Simons, Jonathan Donahue)9:22
Total length:63:22

Sample credits[21]

Personnel

[edit]

Credits for Dig Your Own Hole adapted from album liner notes.[21]

Charts

[edit]

Certifications and sales

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[45] Platinum 70,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[46] Platinum 100,000^
Italy — 30,000[47]
Japan (RIAJ)[48] Platinum 200,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[49] Platinum 15,000^
Spain — 35,000[47]
United Kingdom (BPI)[8] Platinum 308,000[50]
United States (RIAA)[52] Gold 756,000[51]
Summaries
Europe — 775,000[47]
Worldwide — 2,000,000[53]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Dig Your Own Hole – The Chemical Brothers". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  2. ^ a b Aaron, Charles (May 1997). "The Chemical Brothers: Dig Your Own Hole". Spin. Vol. 13, no. 2. p. 109. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  3. ^ a b Tully, Gabriela (26 June 2015). "Exit Planet Dust Turns 20". Stereogum. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  4. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 28 September 1996. p. 57.
  5. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 22 March 1997. p. 45.
  6. ^ a b "Chart Log UK: Chris C. – CZR". Zobbel.de. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  7. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 29 November 1997. p. 35.
  8. ^ a b "British album certifications – The Chemical Brothers – Dig Your Own Hole". British Phonographic Industry.
  9. ^ "No Spice, Plenty of Age in Grammy Announcement". MTV. 6 January 1998. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  10. ^ Kot, Greg (11 April 1997). "Chemical Brothers: Dig Your Own Hole (Astralwerks)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  11. ^ a b Browne, David (18 April 1997). "Dig Your Own Hole". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  12. ^ Bennun, David (11 April 1997). "A Chemical reaction". The Guardian.
  13. ^ Mulvey, John (5 April 1997). "The Chemical Brothers – Dig Your Own Hole". NME. Archived from the original on 12 April 2000. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  14. ^ Schreiber, Ryan. "Chemical Brothers: Dig Your Own Hole". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 19 November 2001. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  15. ^ Collins, Andrew (May 1997). "Whistlable". Q. No. 128. pp. 116–117. Archived from the original on 1 November 2004. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  16. ^ a b Fricke, David (3 April 1997). "The Chemical Brothers: Dig Your Own Hole". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 19 April 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
  17. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (15 April 1997). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  18. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time: 500–401". NME. 25 October 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  19. ^ The Chemical Brothers, 'Dig Your Own Hole' | 100 Best Albums of the Nineties | Rolling Stone
  20. ^ SPIN (September 1999). "The Chemical Brothers Dig Your Own Hole". SPIN. SPIN Media LLC. p. 123.
  21. ^ a b Dig Your Own Hole (liner notes). The Chemical Brothers. Virgin Records. 1997. 724384295028.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  22. ^ "Australiancharts.com – The Chemical Brothers – Dig Your Own Hole". Hung Medien.
  23. ^ "Austriancharts.at – The Chemical Brothers – Dig Your Own Hole" (in German). Hung Medien.
  24. ^ "Ultratop.be – The Chemical Brothers – Dig Your Own Hole" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  25. ^ "Ultratop.be – The Chemical Brothers – Dig Your Own Hole" (in French). Hung Medien.
  26. ^ "The Chemical Brothers Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard.
  27. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Chemical Brothers – Dig Your Own Hole" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  28. ^ "The Chemical Brothers: Dig Your Own Hole" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  29. ^ "Lescharts.com – The Chemical Brothers – Dig Your Own Hole". Hung Medien.
  30. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Chemical Brothers – Dig Your Own Hole" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  31. ^ "Charts.nz – The Chemical Brothers – Dig Your Own Hole". Hung Medien.
  32. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – The Chemical Brothers – Dig Your Own Hole". Hung Medien.
  33. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  34. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  35. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – The Chemical Brothers – Dig Your Own Hole". Hung Medien.
  36. ^ "Swisscharts.com – The Chemical Brothers – Dig Your Own Hole". Hung Medien.
  37. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  38. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  39. ^ "The Chemical Brothers Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  40. ^ "Official Dance Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  41. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1997". Ultratop. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  42. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1997". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  43. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 1997". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  44. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1997". Billboard. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  45. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2023 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  46. ^ "Canadian album certifications – The Chemical Brothers – Dig Your Own Hole". Music Canada.
  47. ^ a b c Sexton, Paul (18 March 2001). "Travis doubles up on new IFPI Platinum list". Billboard.
  48. ^ "Japanese album certifications – The Chemical Brothers – Dig Your Own Hole" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved 27 August 2019. Select 1998年12月 on the drop-down menu
  49. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – The Chemical Brothers – Dig Your Own Hole". Recorded Music NZ.
  50. ^ "Album Factlife" (PDF). Music Week. 9 February 2002. p. 17. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  51. ^ Basham, David (2 July 2002). "Got Charts?". Mtv. Archived from the original on 4 November 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  52. ^ "American album certifications – The Chemical Brothers – Dig Your Own Hole". Recording Industry Association of America.
  53. ^ Shank, Jenny (16 September 1999). "Gold/Platinum". Miami New Times. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
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