Tomorrow, in a Year

Tomorrow, in a Year is the studio version of the music commissioned by the Danish performance group Hotel Pro Forma for its opera based on Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species.[2] It is a collaboration between The Knife, Mt. Sims and Planningtorock. It was released digitally on 1 February 2010 through The Knife's own label Rabid Records prior to the physical release.

Tomorrow, in a Year
Studio album by The Knife in collaboration with Mt. Sims and Planningtorock
Released	1 February 2010
Recorded	2008–09; Berlin, Stockholm, Copenhagen
Length	92:22
Label	Rabid
Producer	The Knife Mt. Sims Planningtorock
The Knife chronology
Silent Shout (2006) Tomorrow, in a Year (2010) Shaking the Habitual (2013)
Planningtorock chronology
Have It All (2006) Tomorrow, in a Year (2010) W (2011)
Singles from Tomorrow, in a Year
"Seeds" Released: 7 December 2010[1]

The lyrics contain excerpts of Darwin's writings, particularly On the Origin of Species. These are often without context, though the meaning of some songs is clear, for example 'Seeds' refers to Darwin's experiments to determine why certain plants are found on the coasts of many continents, despite their separation, in which he demonstrated that seeds of some plants remain viable after weeks in cold seawater, and 'Annie's Box' refers to the pivotal moment when Darwin's daughter Annie died of tuberculosis, which damaged his Christian faith, helping him to overcome his fears about the church's reaction to On the Origin of Species.

The music appears to have been composed to reflect the long arc of evolution, with the first songs having a hard, noisy and simple quality, subsequent tracks building in beauty and complexity, and incorporating progressively more lyrics and musical sounds based on animal vocalisations. Choreography was also inspired by animal behaviour including the courtship dances of birds. The opera was completed in 2009 to mark the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species and toured Europe in 2010.

The album was recorded, mixed and produced in Berlin, Stockholm and Copenhagen between 2008 and 2009. Recording for the live percussion took place at Sounds Studio in Iceland, while outdoor sounds were recorded at the Mamori Artlab Workshop on the Amazon River, Brazil. Tomorrow, In a Year features guest appearances by mezzo-soprano Kristina Wahlin, Danish actress Lærke Winther Andersen and Swedish pop artist Jonathan Johansson.[3]

Track listing

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	67/100[4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
BBC Music	positive[6]
Drowned in Sound	10/10[7]
musicOMH	[8]
Pitchfork	6.9/10[9]
PopMatters	5/10[10]
Resident Advisor	3.5/5[11]
The Skinny	[12]
Slant Magazine	[13]
Sputnikmusic	4.5/5[14]

Disc one

No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"Intro"	The Knife	4:32
2.	"Epochs"	The Knife, Mt. Sims	5:43
3.	"Geology"	The Knife, Mt. Sims	4:24
4.	"Upheaved"	The Knife, Mt. Sims	3:03
5.	"Minerals"	The Knife, Mt. Sims	1:18
6.	"Ebb Tide Explorer"	The Knife, Mt. Sims	7:06
7.	"Variation of Birds"	The Knife, Mt. Sims	6:41
8.	"Letter to Henslow"	The Knife, Mt. Sims, Planningtorock	2:01
9.	"Schoal Swarm Orchestra"	The Knife, Planningtorock	8:36

Disc two

No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"Annie's Box"	The Knife	4:28
2.	"Tumult"	The Knife	3:28
3.	"Colouring of Pigeons"	The Knife, Mt. Sims	11:01
4.	"Seeds"	The Knife, Mt. Sims	9:00
5.	"Tomorrow in a Year"	The Knife, Mt. Sims	12:20
6.	"The Height of Summer"	The Knife	3:47
7.	"Annie's Box" (Alt. Vocal) (bonus track)	The Knife	4:54

Personnel

Credits for Tomorrow, In a Year adapted from album liner notes.[15]

• The Knife – engineering, live percussion re-editing, mixing, production (all tracks); halldorophone re-editing (1.6, 2.3); vocals (1.8, 2.3, 2.7)
• Mt. Sims – engineering, live percussion re-editing, mixing, production (all tracks); halldorophone re-editing (1.6, 2.3); vocals (1.7, 1.8, 2.5)
• Planningtorock – engineering, live percussion re-editing, mixing, production (all tracks); vocals (1.7, 1.8)
• Rashad Becker – mastering
• Johannes Berglund – vocal engineering (2.3)
• Bold Faces – artwork
• Kyle Gudmundson – live percussion engineering
• Hildur Guðnadóttir – halldorophone (1.6, 2.3); cello (2.1, 2.3, 2.7)
• Jonathan Johansson – vocals (1.6, 1.7, 2.3–2.5)
• Hjörleifur Jónsson – drums (2.3); live percussion (all tracks)
• Kristina Wahlin – vocals (1.2–1.5, 1.7, 2.1, 2.3–2.5)
• Lærke Winther – vocals (1.4, 1.7, 2.3, 2.5, 2.6)

Charts

Chart (2010)	Peak position
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[16]	79
Swedish Albums Chart[17]	24
US Dance/Electronic Albums[18]	10
US Heatseekers Albums[18]	32

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format
Germany[19]	1 February 2010	Cooperative Music	Digital download
Sweden[20]		Rabid Records
United States[21]	2 February 2010	Mute Records
Australia[22]	5 February 2010	Etcetc
Sweden[23]	26 February 2010	Rabid Records	2CD
Australia[24]	5 March 2010	Etcetc
Germany[25]		Cooperative Music
United Kingdom[26]	8 March 2010	Brille Records
United States[27]	9 March 2010	Mute Records
United Kingdom[28]	30 November 2012	Brille Records	Digital download

Critical Reception

Drownedinsound gave the studio album 10/10, describing it as "coldly overwhelming". Pitchfork reviewed the album 6.9/10, saying the album "either demands your full attention or invites you to turn it off".[29][30] BBC Music described the album as "complicated, esoteric and, yes, really quite bonkers".[31] The opera was rated 3/5 by the Guardian, with the reviewer criticising the harsh sound of the first several tracks, the very gradual introduction of vocals and the contextless way in which Darwin's writing was generally presented.[32]

References

1. "Seeds – EP (feat. Mt. Sims & Planningtorock) av The Knife, Mt. Sims & Planningtorock" (in Swedish). iTunes Store Sweden. Apple Inc. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
2. "The Knife in Collaboration with Mt. Sims and Planningtorock – Tomorrow, In a Year". theknife.net. Archived from the original on 13 February 2010. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
3. "The Knife – Tomorrow, in a year". Rabid Records. Retrieved 18 February 2010. Note: Select the "Credits" tab.
4. "Tomorrow, In A Year – Planningtorock". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
5. "Allmusic review".
6. "BBC review".
7. "Drowned in Sound review".
8. "MusicOMH review".
9. "Pitchfork Media review".
10. "Pop Matters review".
11. "Resident Advisor review".
12. "The Skinny review".
13. "Slant Magazine review".
14. "Sputnikmusic review".
15. Tomorrow, In a Year (CD liner notes). The Knife in collaboration with Mt. Sims and Planningtorock. Rabid Records. 2010. RABID044.CS1 maint: others (link)
16. "The Knife with Mt. Sims and PlanningtoRock – Tomorrow, In A Year" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
17. "The Knife with Mt. Sims and PlanningtoRock – Tomorrow, In A Year". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
18. "Tomorrow, In a Year – The Knife/Mt. Sims/Planningtorock". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
19. "Tomorrow, In a Year von The Knife" (in German). iTunes Store Germany. Apple Inc. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
20. "Tomorrow, In a Year av The Knife" (in Swedish). iTunes Store Sweden. Apple Inc. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
21. "Tomorrow, In A Year by The Knife". iTunes Store US. Apple Inc. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
22. "Tomorrow, In A Year by The Knife, Mt. Sims & Planningtorock". iTunes Store Australia. Apple Inc. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
23. "Tomorrow, in a Year (2CD) – Knife in Collaboration With Mt.Sims" (in Swedish). CDON.se. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
24. "Tomorrow, In A Year – Knife, The". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
25. "Tomorrow,in a Year" (in German). Amazon.de. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
26. "Knife in Collaboration With Mt Sims And Planningtorock: Tomorrow,In A Year: 2cd". HMV. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
27. "Tomorrow, In A Year: The Knife". Amazon.com. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
28. "Tomorrow in a Year by The Knife, Mt. Sims & Planningtorock". iTunes Store UK. Apple Inc. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
29. Drowned in Sound
30. Pitchfork
31. BBC Music Reviews Tomorrow, in a Year
32. The Guardian - Tomorrow in a Year