Mayhem (Imelda May album)
| Mayhem | ||||
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| Studio album by Imelda May | ||||
| Released | 3 September 2010 | |||
| Recorded | May 2010–June 2010 at Embassy Studios in Basingstoke, United Kingdom | |||
| Genre | Rockabilly | |||
| Length | 51:23 | |||
| Label | Decca | |||
| Producer | Imelda May, Andy Wright, Gavin Goldberg | |||
| Imelda May chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Imelda May | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |
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| The Guardian |
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| The Telegraph |
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| BBC Music | Positive |
| RTÉ | |
Mayhem is the third studio album by Irish rockabilly musician Imelda May, released on 3 September 2010 on Decca Records.
Three years prior to the release of Mayhem, in 2007, Imelda May received a recording contract with Ambassador Records, a sublabel of Universal Music Ireland, and recorded her second studio album, the highly acclaimed Love Tattoo. Reaching No.1 in Ireland, the album caught the attention of Jools Holland, whom she later supported on tour, which led him to request that she appear on his well-known music show Later... with Jools Holland. Performing to an audience that included Jeff Beck, Elbow and Roots Manuva, May gained further recognition in the United Kingdom. The following year also saw May release her first two singles, "Johnny Got a Boom Boom" and "Big Bad Handsome Man", appear on several talk shows, win Female Artist of the Year 2009 at the 2009 Meteor Awards and also tour the United States.
After touring throughout the world promoting Love Tattoo, May took a short break before entering the studio to record Mayhem. Choosing Embassy Studios, a sixteen-track analogue recording studio in a converted cow shed, May's record label Decca were "freaking out" and "drove all the way to the middle of nowhere to have a look" after hearing the studio was a cowshed. The recording of the album took two weeks in total and production was completed in late summer 2010 at Electric Mastering.
Speaking of about the recording and production of the album, May said in an interview with RTÉ:
"This new album, I didn't feel any pressure on it. People have been saying to me, 'Oh it must've been hard doing another album' [but] it's what I do and it's what I love to do. The only stress I'd say that I had was convincing the record company to let me produce it, because that's unusual. I'd done quite a decent job on 'Love Tattoo' but it was very basic. I wanted it to be basic; I wanted to capture a live sound. On this one I wanted to do a bit more production on it but I didn't want to lose the charm of the last one. I wanted just to have a bit more fun with it and maybe get better mics in or better equipment in - you can hear the slap of the bass, that kind of stuff. I wanted it to be a step up but [to] not lose the plot either. So that was my only stress, trying to convince them [the label] because they were trying to set up meetings with big shot producers and I wasn't into it at all. When they heard what I was doing - because I secretly went in and started working on it! - they were happy with it and then they backed me."
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