''I Didn't Mean to Haunt You'' is the third studio album by the American musician

Quadeca Benjamin Fernando Barajas Lasky (born October 2, 2000), better known by his stage name Quadeca (formerly QuadecaX8), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Lasky began on the Internet by uploading rap songs, music videos ...

, released on November 10, 2022, through

DeadAir Records deadAir Records is an American independent record label founded by Jesse Taconelli, Billie Bugara and Quinn Dupree in 2021. In addition to physical media, deadAir also designs and sells merchandise for its artists. History Quinn and Taconelli ...

and

AWAL AWAL (shortened from Artists Without A Label) is a global recording business that claims to serve as an alternative to the traditional record label, offering deal structures that provide artists with the resources and expertise of a global label ...

. Following his second album ''From Me to You'' in 2021, Quadeca came up with the concept for ''I Didn't Mean to Haunt You'' and contacted DeadAir, offering them to release his new album. Inspired by numerous musicians and music genres, it is a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

written in the sounds of

folktronica Folktronica is a genre of indie electronic music comprising various elements of folk music and electronica, often featuring uses of acoustic instruments—especially stringed instruments—deploying hip hop, electronic or dance rhythms, and ...

. Its concept revolves around a ghost in a

purgatory In Christianity, Purgatory (, borrowed into English language, English via Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman and Old French) is a passing Intermediate state (Christianity), intermediate state after physical death for purifying or purging a soul ...

-like state, defying typical expectations of the afterlife. Quadeca decided to keep the songs minimal to avoid overcomplicating the music, allowing the listener to connect with the album's character's journey. The album was promoted by two singles, "Born Yesterday" and "Tell Me a Joke". It was positively received by publications; the online music critic

Anthony Fantano Anthony Nicholas Fantano ( ; born October 28, 1985) is an American Music journalism, music critic and internet personality who runs ''The Needle Drop'', a YouTube channel with a tie-in website and Twitch (service), Twitch streaming channel. Self ...

considered "Born Yesterday" one of the best songs of 2022.

Background

released his second studio album ''From Me to You'' in 2021. It received an average rating from

; he thought it was ambitious and praised its production, though he disliked the vocals and lyrics. It contained elements of

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...

and

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

. The following year, Quadeca announced that he was "sitting on the greatest ever posthumous album". The announcement garnered speculation from fans that it was an album by Quadeca's late friend Sad Frosty. Instead, it was a reference to ''I Didn't Mean to Haunt You'' being written from the perspective of a ghost who took his own life. After he had created the album's concept, he contacted Jesse Taconelli of

, fascinated by this record label, and offered them to release it.

Production

In an interview with ''Paper'', Quadeca stated that creating ''I Didn't Mean to Haunt You'' was "less of a pivot and more like an evolution" for himself as an artist. He also dismissed his older material, commenting on how he made his debut album ''Voice Memos'' (2019) in high school with hopes of fitting in. Throughout his career, he has had multiple ideas for music to create, though he did not always have the means to realize them. As he grew up, he expanded his music taste; as he first listened to the

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band

the Microphones The Microphones were an American indie folk, indie rock, and experimental project from Olympia, Washington. The project was founded in 1996 and ended in 2003, with a short reunion following in 2007 and revivals in 2019 and 2020-22. Across ever ...

, he thought to himself, "Oh shit, you can do that?". He was also inspired by numerous other musicians, such as

Luiz Bonfá Luiz Floriano Bonfá (17 October 1922 – 12 January 2001) was a Brazilian guitarist and composer. He was best known for the music he composed for the film '' Black Orpheus''. Biography Luiz Floriano Bonfá was born on October 17, 1922, in Ri ...

, Duster,

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...

Jane Remover Jane Remover (born September 26, 2003) is an American musician. They made their debut with ''Teen Week'' in 2021, a progressive pop and digicore EP with themes of adolescence. The same year, they released their debut studio album, ''Frailty (Jan ...

Simon & Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo comprising the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music acts of the 1960s. Their most famous recordings include three US number-one sing ...

Caroline Polachek Caroline Elizabeth Polachek (born June 20, 1985) is an American singer, producer, and songwriter. Raised in Connecticut, Polachek cofounded the indie pop band Chairlift while studying at the University of Colorado. The duo emerged from the late- ...

Lingua Ignota A ''lingua ignota'' (Latin for "unknown language") was described by the 12th-century abbess Hildegard of Bingen, who apparently used it for mystical purposes. It consists of vocabulary with no known grammar; the only known text is individual ...

the Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, vocals), Derek Brown ...

Viper Vipers are snakes in the family Viperidae, found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, New Zealand, Ireland, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipe ...

, and Virtual Dream Plaza. Other influences include the music of

King Krule Archy Ivan Marshall (born 24 August 1994), also known by his stage name King Krule, among other names, is an English singer, songwriter, musician, rapper and record producer. He began recording music in 2010 under the moniker Zoo Kid. The foll ...

Slauson Malone Standing on the Corner is an American avant-garde music collective led by Gio Escobar. Emerging from the New York underground art and music scene, they have been referred to as a post-genre band and praised for their use and blends of differe ...

FKA Twigs Tahliah Debrett Barnett (born 16 January 1988), known professionally as FKA Twigs (stylized as FKA twigs), is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and dancer. She was a backup dancer for numerous musicians, and made her musica ...

, and

Sevdaliza Sevda Alizadeh (; born 1 September 1987), known professionally as Sevdaliza, is an Iranian-Dutch singer, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and director. In 2015, she released two EPs, ''The Suspended Kid'' and ''Children of Silk''. Whil ...

. He would also listen to music in the

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie rock, indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion (music), distortion and effects, a ...

genre, such as My Bloody Valentine's 1991 album ''Loveless''. When making ''I Didn't Mean to Haunt You'', he was focused on

worldbuilding Worldbuilding is the process of constructing an imaginary world or setting (narrative), setting, sometimes associated with a fictional universe. Developing the world with coherent qualities such as a history, geography, culture and ecology is a k ...

and reminded himself to "stay in the world of the album". He had a story and concept in mind for it, and did not want to overcomplicate the music. He treated each song as if they were fragile, forcing him to not overcomplicate the album's minimal moments. As work on the album progressed, he focused on making it more about feeling rather than being superficial. Abbey Road studios - geograph

The album's concept of being written from the perspective of a ghost was inspired by many things in Quadeca's life, including

suicidal ideation Suicidal ideation, or suicidal thoughts, is the thought process of having ideas or ruminations about the possibility of dying by suicide.World Health Organization, ''ICD-11 for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics'', ver. 09/2020MB26.A Suicidal i ...

. Although it did not affect the album's story, he felt that death "was in the air" after one of his close friends died. He was drawn to soundscapes that felt both heavenly and unsettling, often listening to music that gave a sense of ascension while creating the album. On "House Settling", he wanted the song to have a guest appearance so it could sound "abrasive". He sent a pitch to

Danny Brown Daniel Dewan Sewell (born March 16, 1981), better known as Danny Brown, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Detroit, Michigan. He was described by MTV in 2011 as "one of rap's most unique figures in recent memory". After amassing ...

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

, believing nobody else could execute the verse correctly, and 10 minutes after Brown responded: "Yeah, I'm gonna kill this for you. Don't worry." The album was recorded at Trend Def Studio in Los Angeles, and was

mastered Mastering is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source from which all copies will be ...

by Christian Wright at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

in London.

Composition

Overview

''I Didn't Mean to Haunt You'' is a

album that is influenced by elements of

art pop Art pop (also typeset art-pop or artpop) is a loosely defined style of pop music influenced by art theory, art theories as well as ideas from other art mediums, such as fashion, fine art, film, cinema, and avant-garde literature. The genre dra ...

indietronica Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

, and

alternative R&B Alternative R&B (also referred to as alt-R&B, indie R&B, and originally known as PBR&B, hipster R&B, emo R&B, or R-Neg-B) is a term used by music journalists to describe a stylistic alternative to contemporary R&B that began in the mid 2000s and ...

. Fred Thomas of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

called it "genre-bending" and ''Spill Magazine'''s Ljubinko Zivkovic mentioned its "huge vocal harmonies and

rap Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...

interludes". Thomas further acknowledged the album trading in Quadeca's "hard beats and loud rap flows" for "softer textures and intricate arrangements". It is a

about being a ghost in a

-like state, defying typical expectations of the afterlife. Quadeca described it as "an album about grief for a ghost", and stated that the core idea behind the album is that the ghost merely wants to be noticed. The album was entirely produced by Quadeca and contains guest appearances from Brown, the

Sunday Service Choir The Sunday Service Choir (commonly referred as Sunday Service) is an American gospel group led by rapper Kanye West and conducted by choir director Jason White. Beginning in January 2019, and initially produced by Jack and Michael Skolnick, the g ...

, and

Thor Harris Thor Harris (born February 7, 1965) is an artist, sculptor, musician, painter, carpenter and handyman. He was the percussionist for Swans (2010–2016). He has performed with Shearwater (2001–2010), Bill Callahan, The Angels of Light, Li ...

Songs

The opening track of ''I Didn't Mean to Haunt You'' is "Sorry4Dying", a song that mixes together elements of piano

ballads A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

, hip-hop, and alternative R&B. Its shimmering keyboards are followed by

ambient Ambient or ambiance or ambience may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Ambiancé'', an unreleased experimental film * ''Ambient'' (novel), a novel by Jack Womack Music and sound * Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgr ...

and industrial passages. "Tell Me a Joke" displays Quadeca singing over ambient-textured layers; Jade Gomez from ''Paper'' described it as sounding "reminiscent of a ghost peering into the other world, begging for someone to hear". "Don't Mind Me" was written about a ghost witnessing people sort through their belongings. Fantano compared the "

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

appeal" of the track to the music of

Porter Robinson Porter Weston Robinson (born July 15, 1992) is an American DJ, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, and raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Robinson began producing electronic music during his adolescence. He sign ...

. "Picking Up Hands" is the only track that Quadeca decided to only feature guitar-playing and singing because he felt it was right to do so. A

glitch A glitch is a short-lived technical fault, such as a transient one that corrects itself, making it difficult to troubleshoot. The term is particularly common in the computing and electronics industries, in circuit bending, as well as among pl ...

, folktronica, and rap ballad, "Born Yesterday" was written from the ghost's point of view. During the song's climax, Quadeca raps, "It gets so bright, I disappear". "The Memories We Lost in Translation" serves as an extension of the previous track's instrumental interlude. Quadeca described "House Settling" as one of the album's most desperate points. It is after a

story arc A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of a plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing narrative, storyline in episode, episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strip ...

where the ghost wants to be noticed after being dispirited. The track presents experimental arrangements that intensely build up to "

horror movie Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include monsters, apocalyp ...

pianos", as described by Fantano. He also said Brown's verse "reinforce the nightmarish imagery of the song". "Knots", which was compared by Fantano to the rock band Liars, contains an influence of

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

, as well as electronic and glitch elements. "Fantasyworld" begins with two to three minutes of piano and vocals. The writing sees non-existence as a form of escape, with the lyrics depicting a "fantasy world" and the choice to enter it. The track builds up to a chaotic climax of saturation and distortion which was compared to the Microphones by Fantano. The penultimate track "Fractions of Infinity" contains a guest appearance from the Sunday Service Choir. The final track, "Cassini's Division", is about the idea that humans exist against their own will, striving for nothingness, and finding beauty in the void.

Promotion and release

The

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

of ''I Didn't Mean to Haunt You'', "Born Yesterday", was released on September 19, 2022, alongside its music video. The album was officially announced alongside the release of its second and final single, "Tell Me a Joke", on October 25. Though its release date was scheduled for November 11, Quadeca's distributor accidentally released the album early, leading it to be released by DeadAir and

on November 10. Taconelli originally thought the album should have been released in February 2023, though Quadeca told him it needed to come out in 2022. Following the album's release, people online had thought Quadeca was "trying too hard to appeal to music lovers", to which Quadeca responded: "I'm just trying to make a good album". Though, he described the reception as "overwhelmingly positive".

Critical reception

''I Didn't Mean to Haunt You'' was positively received. In a positive review for ''Spill Magazine'', Zivkovic believed that the album's risks and concept "all meshes together" and called the album's concept "a tricky proposition in itself". Fantano deemed it Quadeca's best album, though he felt the second half of the album was inferior to the first. Jordan Darville of ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' is a magazine established in 1999 as an outlet for Cornerstone Agency, a marketing and public relations firm established by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. History and work It is owned by T ...

'' believed "Born Yesterday" represented a "significant leap forward" from Quadeca's previous work. Danny Brown's verse on the song "House Settling" was described by Mike Lesuer of ''Flood Magazine'' as pushing the song "into the realm of the goosebump-inducing" and further praised the track and album as a whole. Fantano named "Born Yesterday" as the seventh best track of 2022. He called it a "mind-blowing song" and lauded its constant changes, emotions, vocals, and guitars.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

of ''I Didn't Mean to Haunt You''. *

– lead vocals,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

* Christian Wright – mastering * Paige Prier – artwork * Digiyams – design

Release history

Notes

References

Video sources

* * * {{Authority control 2022 albums Quadeca albums AWAL albums DeadAir Records albums 2020s concept albums