Dark, seductive, beguiling, shimmering, and deeply cinematic, this is the essence of the esoteric music created by the singular Goldfrapp. A blessed collaboration between composer, vocalist, whistler, and keyboardist Alison Goldfrapp and composer Will Gregory, Goldfrapp has forged one of the most remarkable debut albums in recent yearsΓÇöFelt Mountain.
Taking some inspiration from classical music, movie soundtracks, '60s French pop, and decadent Weimar Republic cabaret, Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory have fashioned a thrilling and unique 21st century noir vision. Conventional instruments mix with fractured left-field electronic frequencies to form Goldfrapp's sumptuous, passionate reinvention of popular music. Bittersweet melodies blend with eruptions of noise, all to heighten the tension of the unfolding emotional drama. In essence a rural soundscape that deliberately avoids the vagaries of passing musical fads, Goldfrapp's ambiguous wide screen songs seem to evoke metaphorical images of mad love, seemingly beautiful yet terrifying future societies, half-remembered dreams/conversations, and sinister androids in human form.
Goldfrapp and Gregory's intoxicating music veers always between overwhelming elation and shattering heartbreak, as any great romance should. Imbued with a tone of childlike wonder, Goldfrapp's Felt Mountain is an exhilarating yet defiantly indefinable experience that quickens the pulse and inflames the senses. Violence, loneliness, and danger are ever near in the mix, as are love, tenderness, and the hope of redemption.
Alison Goldfrapp studied fine art painting at Middlesex University, and during the course of her work began to experiment, combining music with extravagant performance, visual, and sound installation pieces. Though these experiences were rewarding and liberating, she knew music was her only real vocation. Before she had even left college, Alison was already working with Tricky on his album Maxinquaye.
Having successfully collaborated with various artists throughout the '90s, including her friends Orbital on their album Snivilisation, and touring extensively with Tricky, Alison desperately felt that her own unadulterated personal creative urges needed to be fully expressed. She wanted to create music that was timeless, focused, and truly epic in scope.
During the late '90s a mutual friend played a tape of Alison's compositions for Will Gregory, a film composer (the British football hooligan picture ID is among his credits) was deeply impressed with Alison's distinctive voice, music, and lyrics. They talked, then exchanged tapes containing some of their favorite musical pieces and songs by other artists. The two soon realized that they shared so much common ground in their musical tastes and their own songwriting that joining forces for the duo Goldfrapp was simply inevitable.
A demo by Alison and Will immediately attracted the attention of Mute's founder, Daniel Miller, who instantly recognized and embraced the objectives of the music, while Alison and Will acknowledged that no other label could offer the renowned artistic freedom of the fiercely independent Mute.
Retreating from any urban distractions, in the late summer of 1999, Alison and Will created a studio in an old bungalow near Bath deep in the leafy Wiltshire countryside. The pair would write, record, and mix their album for the next five months. This was the sound of their collective musical dream, both avant-garde and traditional, acknowledging no boundaries.
