# Bitte Orca > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bitte_Orca > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bitte_Orca.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitte_Orca > Source revision: 1341423125 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|2009 album by Dirty Projectors}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}} {{Infobox album | name = Bitte Orca | type = studio | artist = [Dirty Projectors](/source/Dirty_Projectors) | cover = DirtyProjectors-BitteOrca.jpg | alt = | released = June 9, 2009 | recorded = | studio = | genre = {{hlist|[Indie rock](/source/Indie_rock)|[art pop](/source/art_pop)|[prog pop](/source/prog_pop){{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/7744-the-top-50-albums-of-2009/?page=5|title=The Top 50 Albums of 2009|last=Harvell|first=Jess|date=December 17, 2009|website=[Pitchfork](/source/Pitchfork_(website))|access-date=March 6, 2023}}}} | length = 41:08 | label = [Domino](/source/Domino_Recording_Company) | producer = [David Longstreth](/source/David_Longstreth) | prev_title = [Rise Above](/source/Rise_Above_(Dirty_Projectors_album)) | prev_year = 2007 | next_title = [Mount Wittenberg Orca](/source/Mount_Wittenberg_Orca) | next_year = 2010 }} '''''Bitte Orca''''' is the fifth [studio album](/source/studio_album) by the American [rock](/source/Rock_music) band [Dirty Projectors](/source/Dirty_Projectors), released on June 9, 2009, by [Domino Recording Company](/source/Domino_Recording_Company). The word "bitte" is a German word for "please", and "orca" is another name for a [killer whale](/source/killer_whale). Frontman [David Longstreth](/source/David_Longstreth) states that he liked the way the words sounded together.{{cite web|last=Dahlen |first=Chris |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/7665-dirty-projectors/ |title=Interviews: Dirty Projectors | Features |publisher=Pitchfork |date=2009-07-06 |access-date=2012-01-16}} Longstreth notes that the music contained within the album "felt very [much] about colors, and their interaction," and that the music was written with the notion of the band, as a whole, in mind. Two of the album's tracks, "Temecula Sunrise" and "Cannibal Resource", appeared on the subsequent EP release, ''Temecula Sunrise'', alongside two new songs.{{cite web|url=http://exclaim.ca/music/article/dirty_projectors_prep_new_ep |title=Dirty Projectors Prep New EP |publisher=[Exclaim!](/source/Exclaim!) |date=2009-08-17 |access-date=2015-11-21}} The album peaked at number 65 on the [''Billboard'' 200](/source/Billboard_200) and number 12 on the [Independent Albums](/source/Independent_Albums) chart.{{Cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/dirty-projectors/|title=Dirty Projectors | Biography, Music & News|website=Billboard.com|access-date=June 5, 2025}} As of April 4, 2012, the album has sold 85,000 copies in the U.S.{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/498680/listen-dirty-projectors-unveil-new-track-gun-has-no-trigger|title=Listen: Dirty Projectors Unveil New Track, 'Gun Has No Trigger'|publisher=Billboard|date=March 30, 2012|access-date=April 4, 2012}} ''Bitte Orca'' is the only studio album by the group to feature [Angel Deradoorian](/source/Angel_Deradoorian) as a full-time member. ==Artwork== The album's artwork was designed by Rob Carmichael, who runs Catsup Plate Records and has created art for artists such as [Animal Collective](/source/Animal_Collective) and [Atlas Sound](/source/Atlas_Sound), with direction from Dave Longstreth. Carmichael believed "in some ways the idea was to evoke old-school European paintings and the female form." The artwork also strongly resembles their 2004 release, ''[Slaves' Graves and Ballads](/source/Slaves'_Graves_and_Ballads)'', but features band members [Amber Coffman](/source/Amber_Coffman) and [Angel Deradoorian](/source/Angel_Deradoorian). Regarding their role on this album, Longstreth states: {{cquote|One of my ideas for the album was to start, sort of, as a gift or homage to each one, to try to explode their temperaments into individual numbers. I was trying to widen the temperament of the band a little bit, to be Dirty Projectors but also have these new, different sort of flowers within the bouquet of the sound.}} The photoshoot that spawned the photo utilized in the artwork also produced the photo featured on the back (consisting of Longstreth facing [Friedrich Nietzsche](/source/Friedrich_Nietzsche)). ==Release== ''Bitte Orca'' is Dirty Projectors' first album for [Domino Records](/source/Domino_Recording_Company). The album was released in five different formats: [digital download](/source/MP3); [compact disc](/source/compact_disc); limited edition two-CD, which contains the original album plus the five-track "Stillness is the Move" single; [vinyl LP](/source/vinyl_LP); and a limited edition [cassette](/source/audio_cassette).{{cite web|url=http://www.dominorecordco.com/uk/albums/05-05-09/bitte-orca |title=Domino | Albums | Bitte Orca |publisher=Dominorecordco.com |access-date=2012-01-16}}{{cite web|url=http://www.prefixmag.com/news/dirty-projectors-to-release-ibitte-orcai-on-limite/28781/ |title=Dirty Projectors to Release Bitte Orca on Limited-Edition Cassette | Prefix |publisher=Prefixmag.com |date=2009-05-06 |access-date=2012-01-16}} All hard copy releases included a free digital download of the album. The album leaked to the internet two months before its official release.{{cite web |last1=Mulvey |first1=John |title=Dirty Projcectors: "Bitte Orca" |url=https://www.uncut.co.uk/features/dirty-projectors-bitte-orca-2-36692/ |website=Uncut |date=15 April 2009 |publisher=BandLab Technologies |access-date=9 October 2021}}{{cite web |last1=Bick |first1=Emily |title=Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca Review |url=https://thequietus.com/articles/01802-dirty-projectors-bitte-orca-album-review |website=The Quietus |date=8 June 2009 |access-date=9 October 2021}} An expanded edition of the album was released on September 28, 2010, featuring a bonus disc consisting of B-sides, an acoustic set recorded at New York's Other Music, and a cover of [Bob Dylan](/source/Bob_Dylan)'s "[As I Went Out One Morning](/source/As_I_Went_Out_One_Morning)." In 2020, the record club Vinyl Me, Please. released a limited edition [double album](/source/double_album) version on colored vinyl, which contained the original track listing on the first disc and selected bonus tracks from the 2010 expanded edition on the second.{{cite web |last1=Phillips |first1=Patrick |title=Vinyl Me, Please January Edition: Dirty Projectors 'Bitte Orca' |url=https://geekinsider.com/vinyl-me-please-january-edition-dirty-projectors-bitte-orca/ |website=geekinsider.com |date=13 January 2020 |publisher=Geek Insider, LLC |access-date=9 October 2021}} ==Reception== {{music ratings | ADM = 7.9/10{{cite web |url=http://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/136/Dirty-Projectors-Bitte-Orca.aspx |title=Bitte Orca by Dirty Projectors reviews |publisher=AnyDecentMusic? |access-date=January 8, 2020}} | MC = 85/100{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/bitte-orca/dirty-projectors |title=Reviews for Bitte Orca by Dirty Projectors |publisher=[Metacritic](/source/Metacritic) |access-date=May 16, 2015}} | rev1 = [AllMusic](/source/AllMusic) | rev1Score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/bitte-orca-mw0000818143 |title=Bitte Orca – Dirty Projectors |publisher=[AllMusic](/source/AllMusic) |access-date=April 24, 2020 |last=Deming |first=Mark}} | rev2 = ''[The A.V. Club](/source/The_A.V._Club)'' | rev2Score = A{{cite web |url=https://www.avclub.com/review/dirty-projectors-embitte-orcaem-28931 |title=Dirty Projectors: Bitte Orca |work=[The A.V. Club](/source/The_A.V._Club) |date=June 9, 2009 |access-date=August 20, 2015 |last=O'Neal |first=Sean}} | rev3 = ''[Entertainment Weekly](/source/Entertainment_Weekly)'' | rev3Score = A−{{cite magazine |url=https://www.ew.com/article/2009/06/03/bitte-orca |title=Bitte Orca |magazine=[Entertainment Weekly](/source/Entertainment_Weekly) |date=June 3, 2009 |access-date=August 20, 2015 |last=Vozick-Levinson |first=Simon |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118120549/http://ew.com/article/2009/06/03/bitte-orca/ |archive-date=January 18, 2017 |url-status=dead}} | rev4 = ''[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)'' | rev4Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/jun/05/dirty-projectors-bitte-orca |title=Dirty Projectors, Bitte Orca |work=[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian) |date=June 5, 2009 |access-date=August 20, 2015 |last=Hughes |first=Tom}} | rev5 =''[MSN Music](/source/MSN_Music)'' ([Consumer Guide](/source/Robert_Christgau)) | rev5Score = B+{{cite web |url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cg2010-02.php |title=Consumer Guide |work=[MSN Music](/source/MSN_Music) |date=February 2010 |access-date=August 20, 2015 |last=Christgau |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Christgau}} | rev6 = ''[NME](/source/NME)'' | rev6Score = 8/10{{cite journal |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/dirty-projectors/10532 |title=Album review: Dirty Projectors – 'Bitte Orca' |journal=[NME](/source/NME) |date=June 3, 2009 |access-date=August 20, 2015 |last=Parkin |first=Chris |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304063342/http://www.nme.com/reviews/dirty-projectors/10532 |archive-date=March 4, 2016}} | rev7 = ''[Pitchfork](/source/Pitchfork_(website))'' | rev7Score = 9.2/10{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13159-bitte-orca/ |title=Dirty Projectors: Bitte Orca |work=[Pitchfork](/source/Pitchfork_(website)) |date=June 9, 2009 |access-date=August 20, 2015 |last=Thompson |first=Paul}} | rev8 = ''[Q](/source/Q_(magazine))'' | rev8Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite journal |title=Dirty Projectors: Bitte Orca |journal=[Q](/source/Q_(magazine)) |issue=276 |date=July 2009 |page=121}} | rev9 = ''[Rolling Stone](/source/Rolling_Stone)'' | rev9Score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/28339878/review/28375671/bitte_orca |title=Bitte Orca: Dirty Projectors |magazine=[Rolling Stone](/source/Rolling_Stone) |date=May 26, 2009 |access-date=August 20, 2015 |last=Dolan |first=Jon |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090612235640/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/28339878/review/28375671/bitte_orca |archive-date=June 12, 2009}} | rev10 = ''[Spin](/source/Spin_(magazine))'' | rev10Score = 8/10{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dQNfU0m3UX0C&pg=PA90 |title=Dirty Projectors: Bitte Orca |journal=[Spin](/source/Spin_(magazine)) |volume=25 |issue=6 |date=June 2009 |access-date=August 20, 2015 |last=Beta |first=Andy |page=90}} }} ===Press=== Reviewing the version of ''Bitte Orca'' which leaked onto the internet two months before its official release date, [Stereogum](/source/Stereogum) called the album "stunning" and "pay-off for joining Dave Longstreth on his years of recorded self-discovery."[Stereogum](/source/Stereogum) article: "[https://stereogum.com/archives/premature-evaluation/premature-evaluation-dirty-projectors-bitte-orca_063902.html Premature Evaluation: Dirty Projectors - ''Bitte Orca''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100204024707/http://stereogum.com/archives/premature-evaluation/premature-evaluation-dirty-projectors-bitte-orca_063902.html |date=February 4, 2010 }}" ''Prefix'' called the album "a breakthrough, which filters their left-field avant aesthetics through more conventional song structures."{{cite web|url=http://www.prefixmag.com/reviews/dirty-projectors/bitte-orca/28043/ |title=Album Review: Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca | Prefix |publisher=Prefixmag.com |access-date=2012-01-16}} ''[Pitchfork](/source/Pitchfork_(website))'' awarded the album a 9.2 upon initial release, calling it "a testament to the leaps and bounds Longstreth has made as a songsmith and Dirty Projectors have made as a band." ''Pitchfork'' eventually ranked ''Bitte Orca'' at number 2 on its 2009 "Best Of" list (after ''[Merriweather Post Pavilion](/source/Merriweather_Post_Pavilion_(album))'' by [Animal Collective](/source/Animal_Collective)), and 56 on its list of the Top 200 Albums of the 2000s, as well as naming the track 'Stillness Is the Move' the second best track of 2009 (after '[My Girls](/source/My_Girls_(Animal_Collective_song))', also by Animal Collective).''[Pitchfork](/source/Pitchfork_(website))'' list: "[https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/7710-the-top-200-albums-of-the-2000s-20-1/?page=8 The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 100-51]" ''[Rolling Stone](/source/Rolling_Stone)'' ranked the same track at 85 in its 100 Best Songs of the Decade. ''[Time](/source/Time_(magazine))'' magazine listed the album as the "Number 2 Album of 2009" in the article "The Top 10 Everything of 2009", with writer [Josh Tyrangiel](/source/Josh_Tyrangiel) noting: "The job of a music critic is essentially to describe music. For the past few years, the job of Dirty Projectors mastermind Dave Longstreth has been to make the critic's job undoable." ''[Time](/source/Time_(magazine))'' list: "The Top 10 Everything of 2009" "[https://web.archive.org/web/20091213004642/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1945379_1943810_1943814,00.html]" The album placed 12th in ''[The Wire](/source/The_Wire_(magazine))''{{'}}s annual critics' poll.{{Cite magazine |title=2009 Rewind: Records of the Year 50–11 |date=January 2010 |magazine=The Wire |issue=311 |page=37 |location=London |url=https://reader.exacteditions.com/issues/6269/spread/36 |url-access=subscription |via=[Exact Editions](/source/Exact_Editions)}} {{subscription required}} [Rhapsody](/source/Rhapsody_(online_music_service)) ranked it number 25 on their list of the best albums of 2009.[http://blog.rhapsody.com/2009/12/best-albums-of-2009.html The 25 Best Albums of 2009] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100115060622/http://blog.rhapsody.com/2009/12/best-albums-of-2009.html |date=January 15, 2010 }} Referenced July 31, 2010 Review aggregator website AnyDecentMusic? correlated 19 reviews resulting in an ''ADM Rating'' of 8.0.{{cite web|url=http://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/136/Bitte-Orca.aspx |title=Bitte Orca by Dirty Projectors reviews |publisher=Any Decent Music |date=2011-12-20 |access-date=2012-01-16}} The album was also included in the 2011 edition of the book ''[1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die](/source/1001_Albums_You_Must_Hear_Before_You_Die)''.{{cite book |last1=Pattison |first1=Louis |editor1-last=Dimery |editor1-first=Robert |title=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die |date=2011 |publisher=Cassell Illustrated |location=London |isbn=9781844036998 |page=941}} ===Musicians=== Commenting on the notion of "genre", [Ed Droste](/source/Ed_Droste) of [Grizzly Bear](/source/Grizzly_Bear_(band)) discussed ''Bitte Orca'':{{cite web|last=Petrusich |first=Amanda |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/7670-grizzly-bear/ |title=Interviews: Grizzly Bear | Features |work=Pitchfork |date=2009-06-29 |access-date=2012-01-16}} {{cquote|Someone was asking me about what I was listening to and I was saying "Oh, Dirty Projectors, I love the new album," and they were like, "Well what kind of music is it?" and I just stopped dead in my tracks and literally didn't know how to describe it. At first I was embarrassed because I didn't know how to describe it, but then I was like, this is what's so amazing about a lot of music now. There are so many different things and there's so much going on and ''Bitte Orca'' is so distinctly Dirty Projectors that I didn't even know how to begin to describe what genre it is, you know? What would one categorize it as? So I find it hard lately to label things as indie or pop or folk or give it some sort of categorization.}} ==Videos== The music video from the first single from the album "Stillness is the Move" was directed by [Matthew Lessner](/source/Matthew_Lessner).{{cite web|last=Breihan |first=Tom |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/35813-directors-cut-dirty-projectors-stillness-is-the-move/ |title=Director's Cut: Dirty Projectors: "Stillness Is the Move" | News |publisher=Pitchfork |date=2009-07-16 |access-date=2012-01-16}} ==Track listing== {{Track listing | total_length = 41:08 | all_writing = [David Longstreth](/source/David_Longstreth), except where noted | title1 = Cannibal Resource | length1 = 3:55 | title2 = Temecula Sunrise | length2 = 5:05 | title3 = The Bride | length3 = 2:49 | title4 = Stillness Is the Move | writer4 = David Longstreth, [Amber Coffman](/source/Amber_Coffman) | length4 = 5:14 | title5 = Two Doves | length5 = 3:42 | title6 = Useful Chamber | length6 = 6:28 | title7 = No Intention | length7 = 4:17 | title8 = Remade Horizon | length8 = 3:55 | title9 = Fluorescent Half Dome | length9 = 5:45 }} ==Personnel== The following people contributed to ''Bitte Orca'':Bitte Orca liner notes. ===Band=== *David Longstreth *[Amber Coffman](/source/Amber_Coffman) *[Angel Deradoorian](/source/Angel_Deradoorian) *Brian McOmber *[Nat Baldwin](/source/Nat_Baldwin) (bass on tracks 2, 6) *Haley Dekle (additional vocal harmonies on tracks 1, 2, 3, 8, 9) ===Additional musicians=== *[Jordan Dykstra](/source/Jordan_Dykstra) – string quartet director, viola ("Stillness Is the Move", "Two Doves", "Remade Horizon", "Fluorescent Half Dome") *Caleb Russell – violin ("Stillness Is the Move", "Two Doves", "Remade Horizon", "Fluorescent Half Dome") *Andrew Todd – violin ("Stillness Is the Move", "Two Doves", "Remade Horizon", "Fluorescent Half Dome") *Anna Fritz – cello ("Stillness Is the Move", "Two Doves", "Remade Horizon", "Fluorescent Half Dome") ===Recording personnel=== *David Longstreth – producer, mixing, drum recording, *Robby Moncrieff – recording engineer *[Nicolas Vernhes](/source/Nicolas_Vernhes) – additional production, mixing *Brian McOmber – drum recording *Joe Lambert – mastering ===Artwork=== *Jason Frank Rothenberg – original cover photograph *Rob Carmichael – album layout ==References== {{Reflist}} {{Dirty Projectors}} {{Authority control}} Category:2009 albums Category:Dirty Projectors albums Category:Domino Recording Company albums Category:Albums produced by David Longstreth Category:Psychedelic pop albums Category:Experimental pop albums --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bitte Orca](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitte_Orca) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitte_Orca?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.