''Water Colours'' is the debut studio album by the American

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

band, Swimming With Dolphins. It was released on May 13, 2011 on

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and in physical CD format on May 17, 2011. On May 25, 2011, the band released a trailer for the album's release on

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Background and release

Swimming With Dolphins with

Tooth & Nail Records Tooth & Nail Records is a record label founded by Brandon Ebel in California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle where it is today. History Brandon Ebel and Michael Knott conceived the label as a joint venture, before Knott backe ...

in June 2010. Recording for the album began in the summer of 2010 where it was produced by Aaron Sprinkle in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. The album finished production in Atlanta with help from producers Zack Odom and Kenneth Mount. Sarah Beintker provided additional vocals on the songs "Holiday" and "Sleep To Dream". The album also featured the artists Sunsun and Mod Sun. The album was set to be released in March 2011 but was pushed two months back. It was officially released on May 17, 2011. "Sleep To Dream" was the first and only single off the album. It was made available on April 26, 2011, a few weeks in advance of the album's debut. On August 5, 2011, Swimming With Dolphins uploaded the official music video for the song, via

. The video was shot along the Northern California Coast side.

Reception

The album received overall positive reviews from multiple professional music sites. Theo Bowyer of ''

Cross Rhythms Cross Rhythms is a Christian media organisation based in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It operates an FM and online radio station, produces radio shows sent internationally, and its website has resources about contemporary Christian music. His ...

'' praised the single "Sleep To Dream" for its "hooky, synth riff" and compared it to

Owl City Owl City is an American electronic music project created in 2007 in Owatonna, Minnesota. It is one of several projects by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adam Young (American musician), Adam Young, who created the project while exp ...

. He also complimented the writing flexibility on the track "Diplomat" that showcases Tofte's mature lyrical approach. William Ruhlmann of

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called the album, "party music." Scott Fryberger of Jesus Freak Hideout called "Holiday" the highlight of album, praising the track for its emotional and thoughtful lyrics. He also added, "The synthpop is fun and reminiscent of the 80s... The lyrics and vocals are pretty good, but mostly find themselves taking a back seat to the music." However, he was criticized the track "Diplomat" for its "unfortunate profane use of 'hell'." A mixed review came from Kaj Roth of Melodic as he stated, "Tofte needs better songs because only a few lift up his debut album ''Water Colours''." He was critical on the tracks such as "Happiness" and "Good Times" calling them "quite boring." However, he praised the tracks "Diplomat" and "Sleep to Dream".

Accolades

Track listing

Personnel

Credits for ''Water Colours'' adapted from

. ;Swimming With Dolphins * Austin Tofte -

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

, keyboards,

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

synthesizers 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 and ...

, programming,

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

audio mixer A mixing console or mixing desk is an electronic device for mixing audio signals, used in sound recording and reproduction and sound reinforcement systems. Inputs to the console include microphones, signals from electric or electronic instr ...

;Additional musicians and production *Sarah Beintker - additional vocals on track 1 & 3 * Sunsun - additional vocals on track 9 * Mod Sun (Derek Smith, formerly of Four Letter Lie) - additional vocals on track 10 *Bobby Parker - horn instruments on track 8 * Brandon Ebel - executive producer * Aaron Sprinkle - producer on track 1, 3, 7 & 8 *Zack Odom - co-producer on track 2, 4, 5, 6, 9 & 10 *Kenneth Mount - co-producer on track 2, 4, 5, 6, 9 & 10 *Troy Glessner - mastering *Micah Dean Johnson - A&R production *Will Stevenson - management *Andrew Smith - photography

Charts

Music videos

* ;Lyric videos * *

Notes

*"Sleep To Dream" was added as a track to two of Tooth & Nail's 2011 compilation releases: ''Tooth & Nail Records Summer Sampler 2011'' and ''A Very Tooth & Nail Christmas Sampler''. *The song "Jacques Cousteau" is based on the oceanographer of the same name. According to Tofte, the band's name was inspired by the 1980s documentaries that Cousteau filmed and starred in.

References

{{Authority control 2011 debut albums Swimming With Dolphins (band) albums