48:13 is Kasabian's fifth studio album. It was released on 9 June 2014 and peaked at #1 in the UK charts.
Background[]
Recording[]
Despite Kasabian's initial plans to take a year off after finishing the Velociraptor! Tour in November 2012, Serge mentioned writing songs as early as January 2013, and by April details about the new music were emerging, being described by Tom as sounding a "dirty remix thing" by The Prodigy, "electrocuted" and with "heavy drums."[1][2] Speaking to NME later that month Tom commented that they want to start working on the album as soon as possible and be done with recording by October 2013. "Maybe put a single out in November," he said, "and get on the road in January."[3] In an interview with ShortList in June 2013 Tom said everything was going well and they would be "recording something in the studio by July or August."[4]
In an interview with Hot Press in May 2013, Serge described the new material as "future psychedelia" and "a very tribal thing" but also commented that they're "far away from anyone hearing it."[5] Speaking to music streaming service Ampya in June, Serge described the sound of the album as "music for massive moshpits" and revealed that he was using a "secret weapon" that would help the band start a new era. "The new album will change everything," he said.[6] Following a number of gigs and festivals throughout the first half of the year, Serge revealed in the September issue of Q Magazine that he was working on the demos for the upcoming record together with the band's new guitarist Tim Carter.[7]
On 13 November 2013 two short videos showing Serge in and around his studio were posted on Kasabian's official YouTube channel, together with an announcement that he had been working on the new album for the past six months. One of the videos was later deleted for unknown reasons.[8] In November 2013 Kasabian spent three weeks recording at State of the Ark Studios in London.[9] In December they recorded with the London Metropolitan Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios.[10]
In an interview with Q Magazine published in late December, the band announced that the album would be released in June 2014 and revealed the first six song titles: Bumblebeee, Explodes, Eez-Eh, Glass, Kid and Scissor Paper Stone.[11] In January 2014 Treat was mentioned in an NME interview, as well as the fact that all of the 13 songs on the album would have one-word titles.[12]
Title[]
In January 2014 Serge explained that the title was still a secret because of the way it would be launched.[12] On 4 April 2014, Tom and Serge painted "48:13" on a pink wall outside Aitor Throup's office in London, which was later revealed to be the album's title, as well as its running time.[13] The band explained that it's the "sum of its parts" and that they chose the title because they are sick of having to explain their album titles, saying: "We just wanted it to be the most direct way of communicating what it is."[14] According to Aitor Throup, the title was also inspired by Serge's obsession with finding the perfect length for an album.[15] Serge later elaborated that he came up with the number first and had to edit the songs to fit.[16]
Artwork[]
The cover of 48:13 is a list of the running times of the individual songs on a plain pink background and was designed by Aitor Throup, who already worked as a creative director with Kasabian during the Velociraptor! era. In an interview with ShortList Magazine, Serge commented that the pink is not only a "nod to punk", it is also a reaction against the fact that Kasabian are still being seen as "lad rock" by people.[14] "The perception of our band is that we're really masculine, so people won't be expecting a pink cover," Serge told the BBC. "Pink is the ultimate way of saying 'I don't care what you think' - there's a very punk element to it."[17] The album sleeve contains lyrics to all songs and photographs of all four band members, also taken by Aitor Throup.
Promotion[]
Starting from 8 April 2014, the album's tracklisting was revealed on Kasabian's official Instagram account, posting one song title a day. On 28 April 2014, Eez-Eh, the first single off 48:13, was debuted on the radio and made available for streaming right afterwards. On 30 April 2014, Kasabian played the first gig of the tour in Paris, France, where they debuted Bumblebeee, Eez-Eh and the unreleased b-side Beanz.
In June 2014, after several warm up gigs in Ireland and Scotland and in between European festivals, Kasabian played a homecoming gig to 50,000 people in Leicester's Victoria Park and headlined Glastonbury Festival for the first time.
Between gigs in Australia, Asia and North America, the band performed their debut album in its entirety a day before its 10th anniversary at the iTunes Festival in September 2014. Following a short European tour, the UK arena tour started at the end of November in Glasgow and included a 5-day residency at Brixton Academy in London.[18]
2015 saw Kasabian returning to South America for the first time since they had to cancel several gigs there in 2012. The 48:13 tour finished Zurich on 29 August 2015 after a number of European and UK festivals and two brief stints in the Netherlands and Russia.
Release[]
On 4 March 2014, Kasabian's official Twitter posted a picture saying "16.06.2014", the release date of the record. The date was later changed to 9 June 2014 without explanation. On 28 April 2014, after having been made available for purchase by accident, Explodes was released as a preview track with the pre-order of the album.
On 28 May 2014, a video containing short samples of each track was uploaded online by Columbia, Kasabian's record label. On 2 June 2014, 48:13 was streamed in full on UK iTunes without having leaked before. The album was released in Germany, Ireland and The Netherlands on 6 June 2014, on 9 June 2014 in the UK, France and Spain, on 10 June 2014 in Italy and on 18 June 2014 in Japan. The album release was followed by Eez-Eh as the first official single on 1 June 2014. Bumblebeee was released as the second single on 3 August 2014. 48:13 was released on 7 October 2014 in the USA and Canada. After Stevie, the third and final single, on 10 November, a deluxe edition, including the two b-sides Beanz and Gelfling and a DVD of the Leicester gig, was released on 17 November 2014.
48:13 became Kasabian's fourth consecutive #1 album and was certified platinum in June 2017.[19]
Tracklisting[]
Personnel[]
Kasabian
- Tom Meighan (Vocal)
- Sergio Pizzorno (Guitars, bass, vocals, synthesisers, piano, drum programming)
- Chris Edwards (Bass)
- Ian Matthews (Drums, percussion)
- Tim Carter (Guitar, percussion, additional drum programming)
Additional musicians
- Ben Kealey (Wurlitzer on track 6, piano on track 10)
- Gary Alesbrook (Trumpet on tracks 3, 6 and 13)
- Andrew Kinsman (Saxophone on tracks 3, 6 and 13)
- Trevor Mires (Trombone on tracks 3, 6 and 13)
- London Metropolitan Orchestra (Strings)
- Suli Breaks (Additional vocals on track 7)
- Wilf Dillon (Track 4)
Technical staff
- Sergio Pizzorno (Production)
- Tim Carter (Engineering)
- Mark 'Spike' Stent (Mixing)
- Steve McLaughlin (Additional engineering, mixing)
- Manon Granjean
- Geoff Swan
- Joe Kearns
- Mike Marsh
- Jessica Dannheisser
- Andy Brown
- Toby Hulbert
- Aitor Throup (Design, art direction, photography)
Reception[]
Chart performance[]
| Country | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK | 1 |
| Ireland | 2 |
| The Netherlands | 28 |
| Belgium (Flanders) | 30 |
| Belgium (Wallonia) | 18 |
| Germany | 26 |
| Switzerland | 11 |
| Austria | 22 |
| Italy | 6 |
| Denmark | 40 |
| Poland | 12 |
| Spain | 44 |
| France | 46 |
| Australia | 11 |
| New Zealand | 20 |
| Japan | 21 |
Accolades[]
- Main article: Awards and Nominations
48:13 won Best Album at the NME Awards 2015 and was nominated at the Q Awards 2014.
Tour[]
- Main article: 48:13 Tour
The 48:13 tour started on 30 April 2014 in Paris, France and finished on 29 August 2015 in Zurich, Switzerland, covering 36 countries in between.
Quotes[]
- "I felt that we had the confidence to be more direct, more honest with this album. I started to strip away layers rather than to just keep adding."
- — Serge (NME.com, 28 April 2014)
Editions[]
- 48:13 CD Album
- 48:13 2x10" Vinyl Album
- 48:13 2x12" Vinyl Album
- 48:13 CD Album (Japan)
- 48:13 Album Promo CD
- 48:13 CD/DVD Album
References[]
- ↑ Fashion Scoops: Front Row at Versace
- ↑ MTV News at Snwobombing 2013: Kasabian's Tom Interview
- ↑ NME, 20 April 2013
- ↑ "Getting to Jagger's age would be a f*cking godsend"
- ↑ Hot Press meets Kasabian
- ↑ Kasabian-Gitarrist Sergio Pizzorno im Interview (German)
- ↑ Q Magazine, September 2013
- ↑ KASABIAN: THE SERGERY ...
- ↑ State of the Ark Studios on Facebook
- ↑ LMO record strings for Kasabian's new album
- ↑ Q Magazine, February 2014
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 NME, 18 January 2014
- ↑ Kasabian paint cryptic message on wall in east London
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 The Return of Kasabian
- ↑ NME, 24 May 2014
- ↑ Serge: we decided on the length of 48:13 before it was finished
- ↑ Think Pink: A clickable guide to Kasabian's album
- ↑ Kasabian kick off 'very special' five-night residency at London's O2 Academy Brixton
- ↑ BPI Awards