Sheep (mixtape)

Sheep was released a few weeks after Arca's cover of Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" for Dazed after being placed at #3 on the Dazed 100, a list of the hundred most influential people shaping youth culture.{{cite web|url=http://www.dummymag.com/new-music/arca-sheep|title=Arca debuts new material at Hood By Air's FW 2015 show|publisher=Dummy Mag}}{{cite web|url=http://www.dummymag.com/new-music/arca-hips-dont-lie-stream-new-track-shakira-cover|title=Stream Arca's twisted retake on Shakira's Hips Don't Lie|publisher=Dummy Mag}} On the same week of the mix's release, it was revealed that Arca would be co-producing Björk's Vulnicura record.{{cite magazine|url=http://exclaim.ca/music/article/arca-sheep_original_score|title=Arca 'Sheep' (original score)|magazine=Exclaim!}} The mix served as the soundtrack to the 2015 Hood By Air fashion show for Pitti Uomo 87 in Florence, Italy. She shared the mix on SoundCloud after performing it at the event.{{cite web|url=http://grungecake.com/arca-shares-sheep-original-music-for-hood-by-air-fw15/articles/20408|title=Arca shares "Sheep," Original Music for Hood By Air FW15|date=15 January 2015 |publisher=GrungeCake}}

In an early press release, "Sifter" was titled "Faggot", but was renamed "Sifter" on the final track list. Similarly, downloading Sheep reveals that the file is titled "Pity the Homo". Arca confirmed via Twitter that these were her working titles, and that she changed them herself to be "more subtle." Some of the tracks on Sheep were later reprised on to Arca's second studio album Mutant, which was released later that year.{{cite web|url=http://www.drunkenwerewolf.com/reviews/arca-mutant/|title=Mutant Album Review, Arca|publisher=DrunkenWerewolf}}

{{Album ratings

| rev1 = Tiny Mix Tapes

| rev1Score = {{rating|4|5|full=TMT full.svg|half=TMT half.svg|empty=TMT empty.svg|rating=mark}}

| rev2 = Sputnikmusic

| rev2Score = 3.5/5

}}

Sheep was featured as Pitchfork{{'}}s "Best New Track", stating that "Arca is still setting the trends."{{cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/17283-arca-sheep/|title="Sheep" by Arca Review|website=Pitchfork}} Tiny Mix Tapes wrote: "The mix splendidly downplays the melodic nuances that worked so well on Xen; those interjecting high tones and bass-heavy counterpoints bleed into each other here to provide an unwavering soundscape. It's like a scrapbook of equally lavish and boisterous ideas that leap out of the page; though not fully formed, they make up a remarkable whole. These ideas bridge each "stage" in a fashion so dissimilar to the clearly defined &&&&& or anything at all from the Stretch EPs, forcing Arca's aesthetic to sound more debauched than ever. Sheep works as a platform (or even a catwalk), then, for Arca to celebrate [her] most off-kilter preferences."{{cite web|url=https://www.tinymixtapes.com/music-review/arca-sheep-hood-by-air-fw15|title=Arca - Sheep (Hood By Air FW15) Music Review|publisher=Tiny Mix Tapes}} Sputnikmusic said that "Sheep is fascinating in that it makes a complete stylistic detour from Xen while retaining the latter's core-aesthetic, manipulating it in such a way that the two become polar opposites, atmospherically. The extra-terrestrial vibe that appears to be something of a signature for Arca remains, but [her] characteristically warm, endearing, nonchalant approach has shifted towards something more deliberate and maddening."{{cite web|url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/66000/Arca-Sheep/|title=Review: Arca - Sheep|website=Sputnikmusic}} Consequence of Sound said "the mix runs the sonic and emotional gamut, from moments of pounding aggression and galactic wooziness to pulsating sensuality and even hymnal meditation."{{cite magazine|url=https://consequenceofsound.net/2015/01/arca-premieres-new-mix-called-sheep-listen/|title=Arca premieres new mixt called Sheep|magazine=Consequence of Sound}} Dummy Mag said the mix "builds and releases in waves of terrifying and angelic sounds."

{{Track listing

| all_writing = Arca

| headline = Sheep track listing

| title1 = Matriarch

| length1 = 0:44

| title2 = Pity

| length2 = 2:26

| title3 = Drowning

| length3 = 2:31

| title4 = EN

| length4 = 1:10

| title5 = Sifter

| length5 = 0:38

| title6 = Submissive

| length6 = 1:30

| title7 = Umbilical

| length7 = 1:38

| title8 = Hymn

| length8 = 1:36

| title9 = Don't / Else

| length9 = 1:07

| title10 = At Last I Am Free (interlude)

| length10 = 0:37

| title11 = Immortal

| length11 = 3:01

| total_length = 16:55

}}

Sample credits{{cite web|url=https://soundcloud.com/arca1000000/arca-sheep-hood-by-air-fw15-1|title=Sheep (Hood By Air FW15) by arca|publisher=SoundCloud}}

• "Sifter" contains a sample of "Yayo Ha /W Lana Del Rey" by Beek.
• "At Last I Am Free (interlude)" contains a sample of "At Last I Am Free" by Robert Wyatt.
• "Immortal" contains a sample of "Enjoy" by Björk.

• Arca – production
• Matt Colton – mastering
• Jesse Kanda – artwork

{{Reflist|40em}}

• {{Discogs release|6529238|Sheep}}

{{Arca}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:2015 mixtape albums

Category:Arca (musician) albums

Category:Albums produced by Arca (musician)

Category:Self-released mixtape albums

Category:Albums free for download by copyright owner

Category:Ambient albums