The Experiment is the first solo studio album by New Zealand singer-songwriter Dane Rumble. Released by Rumble Music and Warner Music on 29 March 2010, it follows two years after the split of his hip hop group Fast Crew. Rumble found it difficult to write music for himself, and therefore deviated to the pop rock genre. The Experiment includes elements of dance-pop and pop rap, and lyrically focusses on personal issues. Rumble produced the album with Jonathan Campbell. In July 2010 Rumble embarked on The Edge Winter Jam: The Experiment Tour, which had him perform in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

The Experiment received mixed to positive reviews from music critics; some praised its catchiness while others labelled it "chart fodder". The record received nominations in four categories at the 2010 New Zealand Music Awards, and won the Rumble the award for Best Male Solo Artist. The Experiment debuted at number one on the New Zealand Albums Chart, and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ). Five singles were released from the album: top-ten hits "Don't Know What to Do" and "Cruel", and "Always Be Here", "Everything (Take Me Down)" and "What Are You Waiting For?".

Rumble's hip hop group, Fast Crew, released their second studio album, Truth, Lies & Red Tape, in 2008.^[1] The band split soon afterwards,^[2] and Rumble decided to pursue a solo musical career, and taught himself to play the guitar.^[3] He began writing material for his album, but he found that he could no longer write hip hop. "Hip hop was just wearing really thin for me because it's really quite macho. 'I'm wicked because of this. I'm the best because of that'. It's a lot of talking yourself up," Rumble said.^[4] He began to write songs inspired by his own experiences and emotions, which allowed him to explore other musical genres.^[4] He explained that when he wrote songs for the album, he began by creating a chord progression using his guitar, which evolved into the tune's basic melody, after which he would determine its theme.^[5] Other songs were conceived by Rumble humming a tune during everyday activities, then recording it onto his iPhone so as to not forget it. The tune would later be refined to a full-fledged song.^[6] According to Rumble, writing music was the hardest component of the album's making. "Always Be Here" was the first song Rumble completed,^[4] which he sent to record label Warner Music NZ, thereby commencing his solo career.^[5]

Rumble organised a band of his friends, rather than the standard practice of contracting out to professional studio musicians.^[5] Scott Nicholls played drums, Ben White played guitar, Alistair Wood played keyboard instruments and Rumble's brother Josh played bass. White and Wood had previously played music with Fast Crew.^[2] The band spent three months recording the album's music; drums were recorded at York Street Studio, Auckland, while the remainder of the recording took place at Beaver Studios, Auckland.^[5] Rumble co-produced The Experiment with Jonathan Campbell, who also engineered the record.^[5] Rumble said he put a lot of time and effort into the album; "I really wanted to write a world class record, I didn't want to come out with some half-pie thing."^[5]

"Cruel"

The album's third single features synth riffs, creating a dance-pop environment.

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The Experiment is a pop rock album,^[7] featuring guitar and synth riffs,^[5] and incorporates elements of dance-pop, pop rap and power pop.^[3][8][9] Some parts of the album contain auto-tuned vocals,^[3] and the record has been described as having an "international" feel. Rumble said that this was because he and Campbell made sure that the album "sounded big [so that] it could compete on the world stage".^[10] Thematically, The Experiment is "about love, heartbreak, getting what he wants and knowing he is in charge of his own destiny", although "Let You Down" is "quite dark and weighty".^[9] Many of the song's discuss Rumble's own life experiences; some are reflective while others "just try to get other people enthused about what they're doing with their lives".^[6] "Always Be Here" discusses maintaining a romantic relationship while constantly travelling, and "What Are You Waiting For?" is "about being motivated and assessing your own life, which is exactly what happened to [Rumble]".^[4]

On 26 March 2010, Rumble performed a free album launch concert at the Sky Tower in Auckland.^[11] The Experiment was released in New Zealand on 29 March 2010 by Rumble Music—Rumble's own record label^[12]—and Warner Music New Zealand.^[13] An Australian release followed on 1 April 2011, by Rumble Music and Hussle Recordings.^[14] Rumble embarked on The Edge Winter Jam: The Experiment Tour. Sponsored by radio station The Edge, it also featured appearances by J.Williams, Kidz in Space and Ivy Lies; it was later announced that American rapper B.o.B would join the line-up. The tour commenced on 15 July 2010 at Telstra Events Centre, Auckland. The second stop was at TSB Bank Arena, Wellington on 16 July, while the final show was on 17 July at Christchurch's Westpac Arena.^[15] The Wellington and Christchurch dates were rescheduled; the shows were originally booked for 8 and 9 July, respectively.^[16]

Credits for The Experiment, adapted from Allmusic:^[7]

• List of number-one albums in 2010 (New Zealand)