Water Colours

Water Colours is the debut studio album by the American electronica band, Swimming With Dolphins. It was released on May 13, 2011 on iTunes and in physical CD format on May 17, 2011. On May 25, 2011, the band released a trailer for the album's release on YouTube.

Background and release
Swimming With Dolphins with Tooth & Nail Records in June 2010. Recording for the album began in the summer of 2010 where it was produced by Aaron Sprinkle in Seattle. 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 YouTube. 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 praised the single "Sleep To Dream" for its "hooky, synth riff" and compared it to Owl City. He also complimented the writing flexibility on the track "Diplomat" that showcases Tofte's mature lyrical approach. William Ruhlmann of AllMusic 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".

Personnel
Credits for Water Colours adapted from AllMusic.
 * Swimming With Dolphins
 * Austin Tofte - lead vocals, keyboards, piano, drums, synthesizers, programming, engineer, audio mixer
 * 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

Music videos

 * Lyric videos
 * Lyric videos