The steps taken to get from 2000s lush orchestral Felt Mountain to Supernature have been huge both artistically and commercially for Goldfrapp, who have become one of the more successful electronic pop acts in the world. Led by the divine Alison Goldfrapp, whos backed by her music-making partner Will Gregory, the duo made their biggest transition in 2003, switching to a synth-heavy, beat-driven sound for Black Cherry. While Supernature doesnt impose another drastic makeover, Goldfrapp certainly sound more comfortable and confident with their music on their third album. The changes are subtle; instead of pushing more S&M-friendly electro pop, Alisons taken her love for disco and glam (including lifting their ban on guitars) and painted tunes like "Ooh La La and "Fly Me Away with strokes of Roxy Music and mid-70s era Eno, while extracting inspiration from Bowies Lodger to construct "Slide In. Alisons vocals have again progressed, taking on other forms and moving between sexy mistress modulations ("Lovely 2 C U), Kylie-esque pop patters ("Satin Chic) and ethereal Kate Bush-isms ("Koko) to present just how boundless the music of Goldfrapp is and will continue to be. Dripping in stardust, sex and sophistication, Supernature is Goldfrapps finest moment yet, and a testament to their magnitude in the world of pop music.
The album was originally scheduled to come out last summer. What caused the delay? Goldfrapp: Well, Im not a record company, so I dont know the politics, but basically we were on tour and certain that we couldnt promote it.
On your first two albums you put a ban on using guitars, but on Supernature you decided to use them. Why did you avoid them in the first place? We didnt want to start from there. We wanted to make a different sound and we thought the best way to do that was to not use guitars. We decided to use guitars [on Supernature] because of their human sound and human feel that they have. Even though we use synths that often sound like guitars, theres a human element that you get out of a guitar, like when you bend a string.
Visuals seem to play a major role in the music of Goldfrapp, from the videos to the artwork to your fashion. To me music is visual and the visual side is something that develops when were writing. Music has a narrative, lyrics have a narrative and they have images, so thats something that works together. Its only natural to want to take those ideas and present them when doing the artwork, videos, etc.
(Mute)The album was originally scheduled to come out last summer. What caused the delay? Goldfrapp: Well, Im not a record company, so I dont know the politics, but basically we were on tour and certain that we couldnt promote it.
On your first two albums you put a ban on using guitars, but on Supernature you decided to use them. Why did you avoid them in the first place? We didnt want to start from there. We wanted to make a different sound and we thought the best way to do that was to not use guitars. We decided to use guitars [on Supernature] because of their human sound and human feel that they have. Even though we use synths that often sound like guitars, theres a human element that you get out of a guitar, like when you bend a string.
Visuals seem to play a major role in the music of Goldfrapp, from the videos to the artwork to your fashion. To me music is visual and the visual side is something that develops when were writing. Music has a narrative, lyrics have a narrative and they have images, so thats something that works together. Its only natural to want to take those ideas and present them when doing the artwork, videos, etc.
