Alison Goldfrapp
Encyclopedia
Alison Elizabeth Margaret Goldfrapp (born 13 May 1966) is an English singer-songwriter and record producer, best known as the lead singer of the electronic music
duo Goldfrapp
. Goldfrapp has a soprano
vocal range.
, Middlesex, England, the youngest of six children. Her father, Nick, had been an army
officer, and subsequently worked for Scope and English Heritage
. Her mother, Isabella, was a nurse. While Goldfrapp was growing up, her family moved frequently, eventually settling in Alton
, Hampshire, where Goldfrapp attended the independent Alton Convent School
.
Alison Goldfrapp was introduced to composer Will Gregory
in 1999 after he had listened to her vocal contribution to trip hop
artist Tricky
's 1995 song "Pumpkin". Gregory felt a connection with Goldfrapp and invited her to record a demo for the film soundtrack he was composing, to see if they could work together. The demo was never completed, but the recording session had been pleasant. Following several months of phone calls, they decided to form a band and began performing under Goldfrapp's last name.
The pair began recording their debut album over a six-month period, beginning in September 1999, in a rented bungalow
in the Wiltshire
countryside. The recording process was difficult for Alison, who often found herself alone and disturbed by the mice and insects in the bungalow. The band's debut album Felt Mountain
was released in 2000 and featured Goldfrapp's synthesised vocals over cinematic soundscape
s. The lyrics on Felt Mountain were written by Alison and are abstract obsessional tales inspired by films, her childhood, and the loneliness she felt while recording the album.
Goldfrapp released their second album Black Cherry in 2003. The band recorded the album in a darkened studio in Bath, England. The studio's walls were covered in neon light
s and Goldfrapp used them to write down her song ideas. The album focused more heavily on dance music
and glam rock
-inspired synths than its predecessor. Black Cherry peaked at number nineteen on the UK Albums Chart
and sold 52,000 copies in the US. Supernature
, Goldfrapp's third album, was released in 2005. The album comprises pop and electronic dance music
prominently featured on Black Cherry, but focuses more on subtle hooks instead of the large choruses that made up its predecessor. It has sold one million copies worldwide and earned the duo two nominations at the 2007 Grammy Awards for Best Electronic/Dance Album
and Best Dance Recording
for the song "Ooh La La". Seventh Tree
, Goldfrapp's fourth album, was released in 2008 and debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart. The album is a departure from the pop and electronic dance music featured on Supernature, featuring ambient
and downtempo
music. The band were inspired by an acoustic
radio session they had performed, which led the duo to incorporate acoustic guitars into their music to create "warm" and "delicate" sounds.
, T.Rex, Donna Summer
and Iggy Pop
and discovered Serge Gainsbourg
while working in Belgium. While travelling through Europe in the early 1990s, she also began listening to Polish disco
music and cabaret
music from the Weimar Republic
. Other media, including film, have had an impact on Goldfrapp who cites Roman Polanski
's 1966 psychological thriller
Cul-de-sac, the 1973 cult film
The Wicker Man and the James Bond
franchise as influences. She also draws inspiration from surrealism
and nature, all of which appear in Goldfrapp's album artwork, which Alison designs in collaboration with Big Active
.
Goldfrapp believes that "music is a visual experience" and therefore visualises her lyrics before writing them. While writing, Goldfrapp uses her vocals to create melodies and drumbeats. Her songwriting is characterised by its use of animals to describe human emotions and status.
-inspired look to that of a New Wave
diva
. The reinvented image included false eyelashes, customised T-shirts, military uniforms and fishnet stockings. While touring in 2004, sections of the group's stage show featured Goldfrapp in a white dress wearing a horse tail and dancers with deer heads, which were inspired by her interest in animals and mythology.
In 2008, Goldfrapp again reinvented her image, this time as a circus performer. The artwork for Goldfrapp's album Seventh Tree featured her dressed as a clown
because it is an "iconic image" with "so many different connotations." For the album she chose to tone down her overtly sexual image because she felt that it was taking over the music. Her new image, inspired by paganism, featured her dressed in white or natural-coloured flowing gowns with loose, curly blond hair.
During 2010, Goldfrapp took on several new images once again, to fit with their then-forthcoming album Head First
. The music on this album was more '80s-influenced, reflected in the artwork featured on the album's first single, "Rocket
", which features Goldfrapp in a pink jumpsuit. For their live shows, she would wear spangly black leggings and a jacket covered in glitter-spangled black plastic strips which would be blown about violently by two electric fans placed at front centre-stage. The glitter and the shine of the plastic reflected the colourful stage lighting and, caught in the gale of the electric fans, created the impression of flurries of multicoloured sparks.
, the singer confirmed she was dating film editor Lisa Gunning, but rejected being defined as a lesbian, saying, "I think of everything as being about a person and a relationship, and I am in a wonderful relationship with a wonderful person. It just happens to be with a lady... It’s something I’ve thought about for a long time and it concurs with my philosophy on life and sexuality. I don’t think it can or should be pigeonholed. I’ve thought about this since I was a teenager. I’ve always found it claustrophobic to think about having to put things into categories like that. My sexuality is the same as my music and my life. Why does it need a label?"
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
duo Goldfrapp
Goldfrapp
Goldfrapp are an English electronic music duo, formed in 1999 in London, England, that consists of Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory ....
. Goldfrapp has a soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
vocal range.
Early life
Alison Goldfrapp was born in EnfieldLondon Borough of Enfield
The London Borough of Enfield is the most northerly London borough and forms part of Outer London. It borders the London Boroughs of Barnet, Haringey and Waltham Forest...
, Middlesex, England, the youngest of six children. Her father, Nick, had been an army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
officer, and subsequently worked for Scope and English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
. Her mother, Isabella, was a nurse. While Goldfrapp was growing up, her family moved frequently, eventually settling in Alton
Alton, Hampshire
Alton is a historic market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of the English county of Hampshire. It had a population of 16,584 at the 1991 census and is administered by East Hampshire district council. It is located on the source of the River Wey and is the highest town in...
, Hampshire, where Goldfrapp attended the independent Alton Convent School
Alton Convent School
Alton Convent School is an independent Catholic day school on the outskirts of Alton, Hampshire. It has approximately 450 pupils of all faiths...
.
Career
Goldfrapp's interest in music began in Alton, where she sang briefly in a band called Fashionable Living Death, formed with anarchist friends, and was involved in other bands, including Demented Children and Waste Product.Alison Goldfrapp was introduced to composer Will Gregory
Will Gregory
William Owen Gregory is best known as a songwriter, and the lead keyboards/synthesizer player & producer of the electronic music group Goldfrapp. Originally a classical music student at the University of York, Gregory is the son of an actress and an opera chorus-line singer...
in 1999 after he had listened to her vocal contribution to trip hop
Trip hop
Trip hop is a music genre consisting of downtempo electronic music which originated in the early 1990s in England, especially Bristol. Deriving from "post"-acid house, the term was first used by the British music media and press as a way to describe the more experimental variant of breakbeat which...
artist Tricky
Tricky
Tricky is an English musician and actor. As a producer and a musician, he is noted for a dark, rich and layered sound and a whispering sprechgesang lyrical style. Culturally, Tricky encourages an intertwining of societies, particularly in his musical fusion of rock and hip hop, high art and pop...
's 1995 song "Pumpkin". Gregory felt a connection with Goldfrapp and invited her to record a demo for the film soundtrack he was composing, to see if they could work together. The demo was never completed, but the recording session had been pleasant. Following several months of phone calls, they decided to form a band and began performing under Goldfrapp's last name.
The pair began recording their debut album over a six-month period, beginning in September 1999, in a rented bungalow
Bungalow
A bungalow is a type of house, with varying meanings across the world. Common features to many of these definitions include being detached, low-rise , and the use of verandahs...
in the Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
countryside. The recording process was difficult for Alison, who often found herself alone and disturbed by the mice and insects in the bungalow. The band's debut album Felt Mountain
Felt Mountain
Felt Mountain is the debut album by English electronic duo Goldfrapp. It was released in the United Kingdom on 11 September 2000 by Mute Records...
was released in 2000 and featured Goldfrapp's synthesised vocals over cinematic soundscape
Soundscape
A soundscape is a sound or combination of sounds that forms or arises from an immersive environment. The study of soundscape is the subject of acoustic ecology...
s. The lyrics on Felt Mountain were written by Alison and are abstract obsessional tales inspired by films, her childhood, and the loneliness she felt while recording the album.
Goldfrapp released their second album Black Cherry in 2003. The band recorded the album in a darkened studio in Bath, England. The studio's walls were covered in neon light
Neon lamp
A neon lamp is a miniature gas discharge lamp that typically contains neon gas at a low pressure in a glass capsule. Only a thin region adjacent to the electrodes glows in these lamps, which distinguishes them from the much longer and brighter neon tubes used for signage...
s and Goldfrapp used them to write down her song ideas. The album focused more heavily on dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
and glam rock
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
-inspired synths than its predecessor. Black Cherry peaked at number nineteen on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
and sold 52,000 copies in the US. Supernature
Supernature (Goldfrapp album)
Supernature is the third studio album by English electronic duo Goldfrapp. It was released in the United Kingdom on 22 August 2005 by Mute Records, and received mostly favourable reviews. Most critics complimented its blend of pop and electronic music, while others called it uninspiring...
, Goldfrapp's third album, was released in 2005. The album comprises pop and electronic dance music
Electronic dance music
Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
prominently featured on Black Cherry, but focuses more on subtle hooks instead of the large choruses that made up its predecessor. It has sold one million copies worldwide and earned the duo two nominations at the 2007 Grammy Awards for Best Electronic/Dance Album
Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album
The Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronica Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the dance music and electronica genres...
and Best Dance Recording
Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording
The Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for works containing quality vocal performances in the dance music genre...
for the song "Ooh La La". Seventh Tree
Seventh Tree
Seventh Tree is the fourth studio album by English electronic duo Goldfrapp, released in the United Kingdom on 25 February 2008 by Mute Records and the day after in the United States....
, Goldfrapp's fourth album, was released in 2008 and debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart. The album is a departure from the pop and electronic dance music featured on Supernature, featuring ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
and downtempo
Downtempo
Downtempo is a laid-back electronic music style similar to ambient music, but usually with a beat or groove unlike the beatless forms of Ambient music. The beat is sometimes made from loops that have a hypnotic feeling...
music. The band were inspired by an acoustic
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
radio session they had performed, which led the duo to incorporate acoustic guitars into their music to create "warm" and "delicate" sounds.
Lyrics and musical style
Goldfrapp draws inspiration from a range of artists and musical genres. As a teenager she listened to Kate BushKate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
, T.Rex, Donna Summer
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...
and Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
and discovered Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg, born Lucien Ginsburg was a French singer-songwriter, actor and director. Gainsbourg's extremely varied musical style and individuality make him difficult to categorize...
while working in Belgium. While travelling through Europe in the early 1990s, she also began listening to Polish disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
music and cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
music from the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
. Other media, including film, have had an impact on Goldfrapp who cites Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
's 1966 psychological thriller
Psychological thriller
Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the broad ranged thriller with heavy focus on characters. However, it often incorporates elements from the mystery and drama genre, along with the typical traits of the thriller genre...
Cul-de-sac, the 1973 cult film
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
The Wicker Man and the James Bond
James Bond (film series)
The James Bond film series is a British series of motion pictures based on the fictional character of MI6 agent James Bond , who originally appeared in a series of books by Ian Fleming. Earlier films were based on Fleming's novels and short stories, followed later by films with original storylines...
franchise as influences. She also draws inspiration from surrealism
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
and nature, all of which appear in Goldfrapp's album artwork, which Alison designs in collaboration with Big Active
Big Active
Big Active is a London based design studio.The company was founded in 1990 by Gerard Saint, Paul Heatherington and Mark Watkins. Only Saint now remains but the company went through a major transition in the mid 90's with the addition of Greg Burne, who now heads the illustration roster and Mat...
.
Public image
Goldfrapp is often identified by her unique appearance. She first modified her image in 2003, from a sophisticated Marlene DietrichMarlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
-inspired look to that of a New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
diva
Diva
A diva is a celebrated female singer. The term is used to describe a woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, and, by extension, in theatre, cinema and popular music. The meaning of diva is closely related to that of "prima donna"....
. The reinvented image included false eyelashes, customised T-shirts, military uniforms and fishnet stockings. While touring in 2004, sections of the group's stage show featured Goldfrapp in a white dress wearing a horse tail and dancers with deer heads, which were inspired by her interest in animals and mythology.
In 2008, Goldfrapp again reinvented her image, this time as a circus performer. The artwork for Goldfrapp's album Seventh Tree featured her dressed as a clown
Clown
Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...
because it is an "iconic image" with "so many different connotations." For the album she chose to tone down her overtly sexual image because she felt that it was taking over the music. Her new image, inspired by paganism, featured her dressed in white or natural-coloured flowing gowns with loose, curly blond hair.
During 2010, Goldfrapp took on several new images once again, to fit with their then-forthcoming album Head First
Head First (Goldfrapp album)
Head First is the fifth studio album by English electronic duo Goldfrapp. It was released in the United Kingdom on 22 March 2010 by Mute Records. The album's lead single, "Rocket", was released on the iTunes Store on 5 March 2010...
. The music on this album was more '80s-influenced, reflected in the artwork featured on the album's first single, "Rocket
Rocket (Goldfrapp song)
"Rocket" is a synthpop song by English duo Goldfrapp from their fifth studio album, Head First. Written and produced by Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory, with additional production by Pascal Gabriel, the song was released as the album's lead single on 8 March 2010. To promote the single release,...
", which features Goldfrapp in a pink jumpsuit. For their live shows, she would wear spangly black leggings and a jacket covered in glitter-spangled black plastic strips which would be blown about violently by two electric fans placed at front centre-stage. The glitter and the shine of the plastic reflected the colourful stage lighting and, caught in the gale of the electric fans, created the impression of flurries of multicoloured sparks.
Personal life
In a February 2010 interview with The Sunday TimesThe Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
, the singer confirmed she was dating film editor Lisa Gunning, but rejected being defined as a lesbian, saying, "I think of everything as being about a person and a relationship, and I am in a wonderful relationship with a wonderful person. It just happens to be with a lady... It’s something I’ve thought about for a long time and it concurs with my philosophy on life and sexuality. I don’t think it can or should be pigeonholed. I’ve thought about this since I was a teenager. I’ve always found it claustrophobic to think about having to put things into categories like that. My sexuality is the same as my music and my life. Why does it need a label?"