Changa is the fifth studio album by Australian electronic trio Pnau. It was released on 10 November 2017 by the independent label etcetc.[2] It follows their 2012 remix album in collaboration with Elton John, Good Morning to the Night,[3] and is their first studio album since Soft Universe (2011).[4] It is also their first album as a trio, with vocalist and co-founder Nick Littlemore's brother Sam Littlemore joining in 2016.[5]

Changa
Studio album by
Released10 November 2017
Length44:25
Labeletcetc
ProducerPnau
Pnau chronology
Good Morning to the Night
(2012)
Changa
(2017)
Hyperbolic
(2024)
Singles from Changa
  1. "Chameleon"
    Released: 4 November 2016
  2. "Go Bang"
    Released: 27 October 2017
  3. "Changa"
    Released: 11 May 2018[1]

The album was preceded by the lead single "Chameleon" in November 2016,[5] which reached number four on the ARIA Singles Chart,[6] and number 11 on the Triple J Hottest 100, 2016.[7] It features vocals by Kira Divine.[4] It has received over 85 million streams on Spotify and been certified double platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association.[8] On 25 August, Pnau released three more tracks in promotion of the album: "Into the Sky", "Young Melody" featuring Vera Blue, and "Control Your Body",[2] with "Into the Sky" debuting on Triple J.[9] Divine also lent vocals to "Control Your Body".[4] "Into the Sky" was accompanied by a video of Nick Littlemore as a floating head set against psychedelic visuals.[4] "Go Bang" was released as a single on 27 October.[10]

In the lead-up to the album's release, the trio embarked on an Australian tour,[8] performing at the Listen Out festival in Sydney on 30 September, and at the Adelaide dance event Oh Yes.[9]

At the ARIA Music Awards of 2018, Changa was nominated for Album of the Year.[11]

Music and themes

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Upon its release, Mixmag compared "Young Melody" to the "smooth lounge vibes of PNAU's sublime debut LP Sambanova".[3] Pnau said of "Into the Sky": "It is a song that wrote itself. We like to think that it captures the ambition, angst and ambivalence we held as teenagers."[2] Nick Littlemore commented that the trio had been influenced by Happy Mondays for the song.[4] Al Newstead of ABC called "Into the Sky" a "fuzzy, distorted drum heavy track that [...] tak[es] inspiration from the 'Madchester' '90s dance scene".[4] He also labeled "Young Melody" a "blissful dance" track, and noted the "4am rave vibes" of "Control Your Body".[4] Amnplify described "Control Your Body" as having "enigmatic instrumentation and vocals before settling into a deep rhythmic groove – a true acid workout and a nostalgic homage to the bands [sic] formative rave days".[12]

"Chameleon" was additionally called a "festival favourite and dance floor anthem".[12]

Album title

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The album is named after Changa, the DMT-infused smokeable form of ayahuasca.[3]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Save Disco" (with The Two Leaves)Pnau3:54
2."Chameleon"
  • N. Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • S. Littlemore
Pnau3:18
3."Go Bang"
Pnau3:09
4."Changa"
  • N. Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • S. Littlemore
Pnau3:25
5."In My Head"
  • N. Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • S. Littlemore
Pnau3:07
6."Into the Sky"
  • N. Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • S. Littlemore
Pnau2:57
7."Please Forgive Me"
  • N. Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • S. Littlemore
Pnau3:02
8."Young Melody" (featuring Vera Blue)
Pnau3:41
9."Nothing in the World"
  • N. Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • S. Littlemore
Pnau3:12
10."Control Your Body"
  • N. Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • S. Littlemore
Pnau4:06
11."La Grenouille"
  • N. Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • S. Littlemore
Pnau4:52
12."Changes" (vs. Faul & Wad Ad)
  • N. Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • S. Littlemore
Faul & Wad Ad5:42
Total length:44:25
2018 tour edition bonus tracks[13]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Embrace"
  • N. Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • S. Littlemore
  • P. Brown
5:29
13."Wild Strawberries"
  • N. Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • S. Littlemore
3:55
14."Baby"
  • N. Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • S. Littlemore
2:45
15."No More Violence"
  • N. Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • S. Littlemore
  • K. Moyes
4:54
16."With You Forever"
3:34
17."Come Together"
  • N. Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • S. Littlemore
  • M. Di Francesco
5:01
Total length:64:20

Notes

  • Tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9 and 10 feature vocals by Kira Divine.
  • The bonus tracks from the 2018 tour edition came from their previous album Pnau.

Charts

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Chart performance for Changa
Chart (2017) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[14] 11
Australian Dance Albums (ARIA)[15] 1
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)[16] 5

References

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  1. ^ "Changa – EP by PNAU on iTunes". iTunes Store (AU). 11 May 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  2. ^ a b c Williams, Tom (25 August 2017). "Pnau Just Dropped Three New Songs From Their New Album 'Changa'". Music Feeds. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Carbines, Scott (25 August 2017). "PNAU embrace 'Changa' on new album". Mixmag. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Newstead, Ad (25 August 2017). "First listen: PNAU announce new album with Madchester raver 'Into The Sky'". Triple J. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  5. ^ a b Cashmere, Paul (4 November 2016). "PNAU Premiere First Song In Four Years 'Chameleon'". Noise11. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  6. ^ "australian-charts.com – Pnau – Chameleon". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  7. ^ "1–100 | Hottest 100 2016 | triple j". ABC. 11 November 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  8. ^ a b Pezeshki, Ariana (11 September 2017). "PNAU Announce Upcoming Australian Tour & Album Release". MTV. Archived from the original on 16 September 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  9. ^ a b Lefevre, Jules (25 August 2017). "Pnau just dropped the new music you've been waiting for". Junkee. Archived from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  10. ^ "Go Bang – Single by PNAU". iTunes Store (AU). Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  11. ^ Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) (28 November 2018). "And the ARIA Award Goes To..." Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  12. ^ a b "PNAU Share Three New Tracks + Announce Fifth Studio Album 'CHANGA'". Amnplify. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  13. ^ "Changa (2018 Tour Edition) by Pnau on Apple Music". iTunes Store (AU). 6 July 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  14. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Pnau – Changa". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  15. ^ "ARIA Dance – Week Commencing 20th November 2017" (PDF). ARIA Charts (1447): 17. 20 November 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 November 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  16. ^ "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 20 November 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.