"Chimes" is a song by Scottish artist and producer Hudson Mohawke. The song gained attention after its appearance on the MacBook Air TV ad, as well as after Mohawke's success through the likes of

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

and with the TNGHT project. On 21 November an official remix of the song, featuring rappers Pusha T,

Future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ex ...

, Travis Scott and

French Montana Karim Kharbouch (Moroccan Arabic, Arabic: IPA pronunciation, æɾiːm χɑɾbuːʃ born November 9, 1984), better known by his stage name French Montana, is a Moroccan-American rapper. Born and raised in Morocco, he immigrated to New York ...

, was released as a single. The track was featured on a television advertisement called "Stickers" for the

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

MacBook Air The MacBook Air is a line of Mac (computer), Mac laptop computers developed and manufactured by Apple Inc., Apple since 2008. It features a thin, light structure in a machining, machined aluminum case and currently either a 13-inch or 15-inch ...

Background

The track was originally believed to be a collaboration with Canadian producer Lunice. TNGHT first premiered the unfinished version of the track during BBC Radio 1Xtra's '' Diplo & Friends'' in late 2012, a time which he said was before the EDM- trap trend. "That sound wasn't as prevalent then, and I just sort of made it... it wasn't really meant to be anything," he stated. After the duo went on hiatus in late 2013.

Composition

In contrast to its title, according to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', "there isn’t much that’s peaceful about he song" The "ominous" horn lines was also favorably compared to TNGHT's "Higher Ground" and Kanye West's " Blood on the Leaves", both of which Mohawke worked on.

Critical reception

Writing for ''

'', Hannah Jane Parkinson voted the song as the week's "Best New Track", stating "If the Grim Reaper and

Voldemort Lord Voldemort ( , in the films) is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the ''Harry Potter'' series of novels by J. K. Rowling. He first appears in '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' (1997) and returns either in pe ...

hooked up in a David Cronenberg film, this would be 'their song'."

Remix version

A remix version called "Chimes RMX", which features Pusha T, Travis Scott,

and

, was released on 21 November 2014. Mohawke soon after debuted an interactive video which has similarities to '' Super Mario 64s menu screen where you can play with the performers' faces.

Usage in media

After "Chimes" was already being mastered and going into manufacture, "by chance", Apple came along and decided that they wanted to use it for their campaign. In late 2019, the song was featured in the trailer for The Last Dance

Track listing

Charts

''Chimes'' EP

''Chimes'' is the eighth

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

by Hudson Mohawke on 29 September 2014 through Warp Records. The EP includes a 170 bpm Gammer remix of the track with UK hardcore influences, as well as two more new productions titled "Brainwave" and "King Kong Beaver".

Background

After finishing the title track, he decided to release an EP before the full-length album. In July 2015, while debuting the title track, he also announced the release of the album on 30 September and its track list.

Songs

Described by ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'', "Brainwave" is a "brooding

synth A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

" track that "haunted by soaring choir work", which reminiscent of M83. The last track from the EP was a remix of "Chimes" from DJ Gammer.

Critical reception

While ''

''s Jamieson Cox calling the title song the "most fleshed-out track", the other two were said to be "minor" but still do expand Mohawke's repertoire, with the EP "does a fine job of sustaining his momentum."

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes. * Hudson Mohawke – production (1–3) * Mervyn Bruge – horns (1) * Billy Ray Cunningsnatch – vocals (2) * Maury Ballstein – keyboards (3) * The Kissing Bandito – handclaps (3) * Gammer – edit (4), production (4) * Dick Astley – horns (4)

References

External links

* * {{authority control 2014 songs 2014 singles 2014 EPs Warp Records EPs