Case Study 01 (stylized in all caps) is the second studio album by Canadian singer and songwriter Daniel Caesar, released on June 28, 2019, through Golden Child Recordings. It features guest appearances from Brandy, Pharrell Williams, John Mayer, Sean Leon and Jacob Collier.[1]

Case Study 01
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 28, 2019 (2019-06-28)
Recorded2018–2019
Studio
  • Shangri-La Recording, Henson Recording, Brandon's Way Recording (California)
  • Abbey Road, Metropolis (London)
  • An Airbnb
  • The Cube (Toronto, Canada)
  • Conway Recording (Hollywood, California)
  • Paramount (Los Angeles)
GenreR&B
Length43:01
LabelGolden Child
Producer
Daniel Caesar chronology
Freudian
(2017)
Case Study 01
(2019)
Never Enough
(2023)
Singles from Case Study 01
  1. "Love Again"
    Released: July 5, 2019

Promotion

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Caesar held a listening party in Los Angeles in the week leading up to the album's release. Along with invited music industry figures, the event was also open to the first 200 guests that arrived. Caesar also teased the album on social media, including with a video of a person walking across a desert set to a "muted keyboard melody" and a quote from scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer.[2]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Exclaim!8/10[3]
Highsnobiety3.0/5[4]
Pitchfork6.7/10[5]

Jacob Carey of Exclaim! noted the "experimental nature" of the album, concluding: "Although Case Study 01 may not receive the same critical reception as Freudian, it's a solid effort by an artist who is, more or less, still a rookie, attempting to diversify his sound early on in order to avoid cementing himself into gospel music for the entirety of his career."[3] Aaron Williams of Uproxx stated: "Even with Caesar's newfound physicality, Case Study 01 is still a thoughtful, beautiful-sounding album. If nothing else, it proves he's still a smart, intriguing songwriter who could wring twice as much romance out of a couplet as any of his contemporaries. But there's also a sense that maybe he's trying a little too hard here as well."[6]

The album was longlisted for the 2020 Polaris Music Prize.[7]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Entropy"
Daniel Caesar4:21
2."Cyanide"
  • Burnett
  • Evans
3:14
3."Love Again" (with Brandy)
  • Evans
  • Burnett
3:34
4."Frontal Lobe Muzik" (featuring Pharrell Williams)
The Neptunes3:49
5."Open Up"
  • Simmonds
  • Paxton-Beesley
  • Evans
  • Burnett
  • Leon
  • Burnett
  • Evans
4:26
6."Restore the Feeling" (featuring Sean Leon and Jacob Collier)
  • Evans
  • Burnett
3:34
7."Superposition" (featuring John Mayer)
4:23
8."Too Deep to Turn Back"
  • Simmonds
  • Paxton-Beesley
  • Evans
  • Burnett
  • Cocup
  • Findlay
  • Jeffrey
  • Rothrock
  • Milton Yakus
  • Burnett
  • Evans
  • River Tiber[a]
5:18
9."Complexities"
  • Leon
  • Alex Ernewein
  • Ethan Ashby
  • Liza Yohannes
  • Liam Mitro
  • Ernwein
  • Ashby[a]
3:50
10."Are You OK?"
6:32
Total length:43:01

Notes

  • All track titles are stylized in all caps
  • ^[a] signifies an additional producer
  • "Cyanide" contains additional vocals by River Tiber and Kardinal Offishall
  • "Entropy" and "Frontal Lobe Muzik" contains additional vocals by Sean Leon
  • "Too Deep to Turn Back" contains additional vocals by Arainna Reid
  • "Complexities" contains additional vocals by Liza Yohannes

Sample credits

Personnel

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Credits adapted from Daniel Caesar's Instagram.[8][9]

Musicians

  • Daniel Caesar – production ("Entropy", "Are You OK?"); recording, programming ("Entropy")
  • Alex Ernewein – production ("Complexities")
  • Arianna Reid – additional vocals ("Too Deep to Turn Back")
  • Boi-1da – production ("Are You OK?")
  • DJ Camper – additional keys ("Love Again")
  • Ethan Ashby – additional production ("Complexities")
  • John Mayer – production, additional vocals ("Superposition"); electric guitar ("Are You OK?")
  • Jordan Evans – production ("Cyanide", "Love Again", "Open Up", "Restore the Feeling", "Too Deep to Turn Back"); additional production, drums ("Superposition")
  • Kardinal Offishall – additional vocals ("Cyanide")
  • Liam Mitro – saxophone, flute ("Complexities")
  • Liza Yohannes – additional vocals ("Complexities")
  • Matthew Burnett – production ("Cyanide", "Love Again", "Open Up", "Restore the Feeling", "Too Deep to Turn Back"); electric bass ("Frontal Lobe Muzik")
  • River Tiber – additional vocals ("Entropy", "Cyanide"), additional production ("Too Deep to Turn Back", "Are You OK?"), recording ("Complexities"), strings ("Superposition"); additional music ("Entropy")
  • Sean Leon – additional vocals ("Entropy", "Frontal Lobe Muzik")
  • The Neptunes – production ("Frontal Lobe Muzik")

Technical

  • Alex Ernewein – recording ("Complexities")
  • Ben "Bengineer" Sedano – assistant recording ("Frontal Lobe Muzik")
  • Chad Franscoviak – recording ("Superposition")
  • Gabriel Placentia – assistant recording ("Love Again")
  • Jordan Evans – recording ("Entropy", "Cyanide", "Love Again", "Frontal Lobe Muzik", "Open Up", "Restore the Feeling"), additional drum programming ("Frontal Lobe Muzik"), programming ("Love Again")
  • Matthew Burnett – programming ("Love Again")
  • Mikalai Skrobat – ("Frontal Lobe Muzik")
  • Mike Larson – recording ("Frontal Lobe Muzik")
  • Morning Estrada – recording ("Love Again")
  • Paul Boutin – recording ("Love Again")
  • Riley Bell – mixing, mastering (all tracks); recording ("Cyanide", "Frontal Lobe Muzik", "Open Up", "Too Deep to Turn Back", "Restore the Feeling")
  • Rob Bisel – recording ("Are You OK?")

Charts

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Chart (2019) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[10] 26
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[11] 186
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[12] 6
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[13] 39
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[14] 57
UK Albums (OCC)[15] 89
US Billboard 200[16] 17

References

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  1. ^ Zidel, Alex (June 27, 2019). "Daniel Caesar Announces "CASE STUDY 01" Album With Pharrell & More". HotNewHipHop. Archived from the original on June 27, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  2. ^ Slingerland, Calum (June 26, 2019). "Daniel Caesar Will Release New Music This Week". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on June 27, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Carey, Jacob (June 29, 2019). "Daniel Caesar Case Study 01". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on July 1, 2019. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  4. ^ Hobbs, Thomas (July 1, 2019). "Daniel Caesar Struggles to Find His Footing on 'CASE STUDY 01'". Highsnobiety. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  5. ^ Kim, Michelle (July 15, 2019). "Daniel Caesar: CASE STUDY 01 Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on July 15, 2019. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  6. ^ Williams, Aaron (July 2, 2019). "Daniel Caesar Throws Humility Out Of The Window On 'Case Study 01'". Uproxx. Archived from the original on July 2, 2019. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  7. ^ Lau, Melody (June 15, 2020). "Daniel Caesar, Jessie Reyez, Caribou and more make the 2020 Polaris Music Prize long list". CBC Music. Archived from the original on June 16, 2020.
  8. ^ "Daniel Caesar (@danielcaesar) · Instagram photos and videos". June 27, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2019 – via Instagram.
  9. ^ "Daniel Caesar (@danielcaesar) · Instagram photos and videos". June 27, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2019 – via Instagram.
  10. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Daniel Caesar – Case Study 01". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  11. ^ "Ultratop.be – Daniel Caesar – Case Study 01" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  12. ^ "Daniel Caesar Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  13. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Daniel Caesar – Case Study 01" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  14. ^ "Savaitės klausomiausi (TOP 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. July 5, 2019. Archived from the original on October 9, 2019. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  15. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  16. ^ "Daniel Caesar Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 9, 2019.