Butterfly 3000

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Butterfly 3000
A colorful autostereogram pattern made of butterflies, with "Butterfly 3000" written twice in alternating red and blue text.
Studio album by
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard
Released11 June 2021 (2021-06-11)
Genre
Length43:52
LabelKGLW
ProducerStu Mackenzie
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard chronology
L.W.
(2021) 		Butterfly 3000
(2021) 		Made in Timeland
(2022)

Butterfly 3000 is the eighteenth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, released on 11 June 2021. It is the band's first album not released on Flightless Records, instead being released on the band's own label KGLW. It is their second studio LP of 2021, following February's L.W.. The album was described as "melodic" and "psychedelic" upon its initial announcement on 10 May, along with the words "cross-eyed autostereogram", in reference to the album art.[4][5]

Background and recording[edit]

On 19 March 2021, the band released one of the live performances from their recent tour as a bootleg album, titled Live in Melbourne '21, as well as their 13th Gizzymail newsletter. In the mail, there was a statement that read, "We've been having heaps of fun cooking up NEW STUFF in the studio. Can't wait to share new music with you."[6] This suggested that the band had a new album in the works.

Recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, the album's origins stem from recording instrumental interludes for their 2020 live album, Chunky Shrapnel: "We wrote a couple of song in major key vibes and we knew it wouldn't work on Chunky Shrapnel, which we were putting together. We had the song "Dreams", a synth pop thing that was clearly wrong for it. We just accidentally made this music that felt like it warranted its own project. And "Shanghai" came then "Black Hot Soup" and "Ya Love", and it felt like enough to hold a record and we should explore this concept super deeply."[7] These early sessions were done as part of explorations for a follow-up to 2017's Polygondwanaland, before taking on an identity of its own.[8]

Frontman Stu Mackenzie's daughter, Minty, was born during the recording process, influencing his worldview: "I definitely felt like I was in a cocoon before Minty was born. A butterfly is just a beautifully easy, metaphorical creature with this bizarre and interesting life cycle. That was the central motif for the whole record. And we tried to use it in every song."[7]

On 11 May, the band revealed their next album: Butterfly 3000, due 11 June, and stated the album would have no singles leading to release.[9] Matthew Ismael Ruiz of Pitchfork reported on the album with additional news from the band; "that it would have 10 tracks, that it was built around modular synth loops and the album art would be a 'cross-eyed autostereogram' by long-time collaborator Jason Galea."[10]

The album was referred as "a suite of 10 songs" in the press release which suggested the songs were connected musically, and the final album's tracks all segue into another.[11] The press release also described it as "[possibly] their most fearless leap into the unknown yet." Multiple articles breaking down the press release suggested the album would be a psychedelic, Animal Collective-style dream pop/neo-psychedelia record.[3]

Release[edit]

On 10 June, the band announced a pre-order for 11 vinyl variants, each printed in a different language (the standard English variant, and the limited-edition Hindi, Dutch, French, German, Japanese, Latin, Mandarin, Russian, Spanish, Thai and Turkish variants). In addition, each individual record is a surprise color or "lucky dip of either Caterpillar Red Wax, Chrysalis Yellow Wax or Butterfly Blue Wax."[12] The band released the album digitally on 11 June as planned in Australia, but put the album online for all other territories early through Bandcamp.

No information was revealed other than the aforementioned attributes and a 15-second snippet[13] until its release, no singles were revealed, and unlike the band's last few albums, the album did not leak. In anticipation of the release, frontman Stu Mackenzie stated that it was his "favourite Gizzard album".[14]

Music videos[edit]

On 12 June, the band announced that every song on the album would get a music video.[15] The video for "Yours" was the first to be released, on 14 June. Directed by John Angus Stewart, the live-action video features the band in various local spots around Melbourne. The video is preceded by a "photosensitive seizure warning".[16] The video for "Shanghai" followed on 21 June, directed and animated by Amanda Bonaiuto.[17] The videos for "Dreams" and "Blue Morpho" were released on 28 June and 6 July, respectively, with both videos being directed and animated by Jamie Wolfe.[18][19] Released on 12 July, the video for "Interior People" was written and directed by Ivan Dixon, and produced and animated at Studio Showoff.[20] The music video is inspired by the works of French artist Moebius, and the films Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Heavy Metal.[21]

The live-action video for "Catching Smoke" was released on 26 July, and features the band members and additional dancers performing in suits and various intricate costumes. Stu Mackenzie is prominently featured, first appearing as a chrysalis/cocoon and ultimately transitioning into a butterfly, complete with large stylized wings and antennae. The video was written/directed by Danny Cohen and produced by both Cohen and Tessa Mansfield-Hung.[22] The video for "2.02 Killer Year" was released on 2 August. Directed and designed by Sophie Koko, the video features 3D animation by Jack Wedge and Will Freudenheim.[23] Released on 11 August, the video for "Black Hot Soup" was designed, directed and edited by Guy Tyzack. The video combines real footage and animation, as well as both digital and analog video processing techniques.[24] The videos for "Ya Love" and "Butterfly 3000" were the final to be released, on 24 August and 31 August, respectively. Both videos were created by Jason Galea, but feature different visual styles. The video for "Butterfly 3000" is also preceded by a seizure warning.[25][26]

Track listing[edit]

Vinyl releases have tracks 1–5 on Side A, and tracks 6–10 on Side B.

Butterfly 3000 track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Yours"Stu Mackenzie4:35
2."Shanghai"
  • Mackenzie
  • Ambrose Kenny-Smith
4:01
3."Dreams"Mackenzie4:04
4."Blue Morpho"Mackenzie3:51
5."Interior People"
5:15
6."Catching Smoke"
  • Mackenzie
  • Walker
6:28
7."2.02 Killer Year"
  • Mackenzie
  • Kenny-Smith
3:19
8."Black Hot Soup"Mackenzie5:12
9."Ya Love"
4:16
10."Butterfly 3000"Mackenzie2:51
Total length:43:52

Personnel[edit]

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard [27]

  • Stu Mackenzie – synthesiser; vocals (1-4, 6–10), Mellotron (1-4, 7, 10), acoustic guitar (1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9), bass guitar (1-6, 8, 9), drums (1, 4, 6, 9, 10), piano (2, 6), Wurlitzer (4), percussion (6-8, 10)
  • Joey Walker – acoustic guitar (5, 6), electric guitar (5, 6) vocals (5, 6), synthesiser (5, 6), keyboards (5), strings (6)
  • Cook Craig – synthesiser (2, 6, 8-10), electric guitar (6, 8), percussion (8), Mellotron (9), bass guitar (9, 10)
  • Michael Cavanagh – drums
  • Ambrose Kenny-Smith – percussion; vocals (1, 2, 6-9), harmonica (1), saxophone (4)

Production

  • Stu Mackenzie – production, mixing (tracks 1-4, 6-10)
  • Joey Walker – mixing (tracks 5, 6)
  • Joseph Carra – mastering
  • Jason Galea – artwork

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for Butterfly 3000
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[28] 2
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[29] 114
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[30] 11
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[31] 36
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[32] 48

Butterfly 3001[edit]

Butterfly 3001
A background of red, blue, and yellow butterflies oriented horizontally to the top left corner, with a KGLW label in the top right corner, and a vinyl disc label for the album in the middle.
Remix album by
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard
Released21 January 2022 (2022-01-21)
Length1:54:00
LabelKGLW
Singles from Butterfly 3001
  1. "Shanghai Dub by The Scientist"
    Released: 7 December 2021
  2. "Neu Butterfly 3000 Remix – Peaches"
    Released: 7 December 2021
  3. "Black Hot Soup (DJ Shadow "My Own Reality" Re-Write)"
    Released: 7 January 2022

On 7 December 2021, the band announced on their social media that they were releasing an album of remixes of songs from Butterfly 3000, titled Butterfly 3001, set to release on 21 January 2022. Alongside this announcement, they released two songs from the album - a dub remix of "Shanghai" by The Scientist, and remix titled "Neu Butterfly 3000" by Peaches.[33] A month later, on 7 January 2022, they released the remix of "Black Hot Soup" by DJ Shadow, referred to as the "My Own Reality" Re-write, alongside a music video.[34] On 21 January, the album released to Bandcamp and streaming platforms.[35]

Track listing[edit]

Vinyl releases have tracks 1–5 on Side A, tracks 6–9 on Side B, tracks 10-13 on Side C, and tracks 14-16 on Side D.[36]

Butterfly 3001 track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Black Hot Soup (DJ Shadow "My Own Reality" Re-Write)"3:36
2."Shanghai Dub by The Scientist"4:00
3."Shanghai (Deaton Chris Anthony Remix)"3:32
4."Dreams Yu Su Instrumental Mix"5:14
5."Blue Morpho (Donato Dozzy Remix)"4:57
6."Blue Morpho (VRIL Remix)"4:28
7."Blue Morpho (Ciel's Fluttering Dub)"5:49
8."Blue Morpho (ZANDOLI II remix)"3:57
9."Catching Smoke DāM-FunK Instrumental Re-Freak"6:37
10."Ya Love (Flaming Lips' Fascinating Haircut Re-Do)"2:56
11."Ya Love (Geneva Jacuzzi Remix)"4:28
12."Ya Love (Héctor Oaks playing w/ Fire Mix)"6:33
13."2.02 Killer Year (Bullant's Fuck Mike Love Remix)"8:10
14."Yours (Fred P Journey Mix)"11:54
15."Butterfly 3000 (Terry Tracksuit Remix)"2:30
16."Neu Butterfly 3000 Remix – Peaches"5:44
17."Catching Smoke (4am Wack Rmx By Hieroglyphic Being)"11:28
18."Blue Morpho Mall Grab Remix"4:07
19."Dreams – Peaking Lights Trancedellic Macrodosing Mix"5:25
20."Interior People Confidence Man Remix"5:54
21."Catching Smoke remix by Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith"2:54
Total length:1:54:00

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for Butterfly 3001
Chart (2022) Peak
position
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[30] 41
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[37] 6

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Rogers, Becky (10 June 2021). "King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard – 'Butterfly 3000' review: sun-kissed psych positivity". NME. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  2. ^ Coney, Brian (10 June 2021). "King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: Butterfly 3000 Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  3. ^ a b Redfern, Mark. "King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Announce Second New Album of 2021". www.undertheradarmag.com. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  4. ^ @kinggizzard (10 May 2021). "Butterfly 3000 - June 11 - No singles - Melodic + psychedelic - Cross-eyed autostereogram" (Tweet). Retrieved 23 May 2021 – via Twitter.
  5. ^ Gallagher, Alex (11 May 2021). "King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard announce new album 'Butterfly 3000'". NME. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Gizzymail 13: LIVE in Melbourne '21". Gizzymail Archive. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  7. ^ a b Cahill, Mikey (16 December 2021). "King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard on the return of live music: "I cried walking off stage – just a little bit"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  8. ^ "KING GIZZARD AMA - GATHERUM ALL". Reddit. 12 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022. that's actually how butterfly started, but it turned into something else entirely. I wanna make something that's straight up prog again one day -stu
  9. ^ "Butterfly 3000". Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  10. ^ Ruiz, Matthew Ismael (11 May 2021). "King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Announce New Album". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  11. ^ Broerman, Michael. "King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Announce Secretive New Album, 'Butterfly 3000'". Live For Live Music. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  12. ^ "BUTTERFLY 3000 pre-order drops in 24 hours! Here's everything you need to know..." Instagram. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  13. ^ King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Live In Sydney '21, retrieved 2 June 2021
  14. ^ @kinggizzard (20 May 2021). "Butterfly 3000 is my favourite gizzard album - stu" (Tweet). Retrieved 23 May 2021 – via Twitter.
  15. ^ @kinggizzard (12 June 2021). "Every song on BF3K has a music video" (Tweet). Retrieved 14 June 2021 – via Twitter.
  16. ^ Gallagher, Alex (15 June 2021). "King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard explore Melbourne in new 'Yours' video". NME. Archived from the original on 15 June 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  17. ^ wookubus (21 June 2021). "King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Debut Animated "Shanghai" Video". Theprp.com. Archived from the original on 21 June 2021.
  18. ^ "King Gizzard & The Wizard Lizard - Dreams (Official Video)". YouTube. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  19. ^ wookubus (8 July 2021). "King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Debut "Blue Morpho" Music Video". Theprp.com. Archived from the original on 8 July 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  20. ^ "King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Interior People (Official Video)". 21 July 2021. Archived from the original on 13 July 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  21. ^ Broerman, Michael (13 July 2021). "King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Go 'Heavy Metal' In New "Interior People" Video [Watch]". Live For Live Music. Archived from the original on 13 July 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  22. ^ "King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Catching Smoke (Official Video)". YouTube. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  23. ^ "King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - 2.02 Killer Year". YouTube. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  24. ^ "King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Black Hot Soup (Official Video)". YouTube. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  25. ^ "King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Ya Love". YouTube. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  26. ^ "King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Butterfly 3000". YouTube. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  27. ^ "Butterfly 3000, by King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard".
  28. ^ "Australiancharts.com – King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard – Butterfly 3000". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  29. ^ "Ultratop.be – King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard – Butterfly 3000" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  30. ^ a b "King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  31. ^ "King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  32. ^ "King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  33. ^ @kinggizzard (6 December 2021). "🦋Butterfly 3001🦋" (Tweet). Retrieved 21 January 2022 – via Twitter.
  34. ^ King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Black Hot Soup (DJ Shadow "My Own Reality" Re-Write), retrieved 21 January 2022
  35. ^ "Butterfly 3001, by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard". King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  36. ^ "Butterfly 3001". Gizzverse. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  37. ^ "King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
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