Alison Elizabeth Margaret Goldfrapp (born 13 May 1966) is an English musician and record producer, known as the vocalist of English

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electro ...

duo

Goldfrapp Goldfrapp are an English electronic music duo from London, formed in 1999. The duo consists of Alison Goldfrapp (vocals, synthesiser) and Will Gregory (synthesiser). Despite favourable reviews and a short-listing for the Mercury Prize, their ...

Early life

Goldfrapp was born on 13 May 1966, in

Enfield Enfield may refer to: Places Australia * Enfield, New South Wales * Enfield, South Australia ** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb ** Enfield High School (South Australia) ...

, London, the youngest of six children. Her mother, Isabella Barge, was a nurse. Her father, Nicholas Goldfrapp, had been an

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

officer, and worked in advertising. Goldfrapp's surname is of German origin. While Goldfrapp was growing up, her family moved frequently, eventually settling in

Alton, Hampshire Alton ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England, near the source of the River Wey. It had a population of 17,816 at the 2011 census. Alton was recorded in the Domesday Survey of 1086 as ''Aoltone' ...

, where Goldfrapp attended the independent Alton Convent School. She sang in a choir at the school and has said that she loved being in a school with nuns. However, she was forced to leave at age 11 after failing the senior exam, and attended the local comprehensive school, Amery Hill School. She moved into a squat in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

aged 16. At 24 years old, she attended

Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated MDX) is a public research university in Hendon, northwest London, England. The name of the university is taken from its location within the historic county boundaries ...

where she studied fine art and mixed media.

Career

In 1994, she featured on the Orbital album '' Snivilisation'' and recorded songs "The Good" and "The Bad" with trip reggae outfit

Dreadzone Dreadzone are a British electronic music group. They have released eight studio albums, two live albums, and two compilations. Career Dreadzone were formed in London, England in 1993 when ex-Big Audio Dynamite drummer Greg Roberts teamed up ...

, for their 'best of' album ''The Best of Dreadzone – The Good The Bad and the Dread''. Performing with them live resulted in two songs on the limited edition ''Performance'' album released in 1994. In the same year, Goldfrapp featured on

trip hop Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with " downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic fusion of hip hop and electronica with slow tem ...

artist Tricky's 1995 song "Pumpkin" and collaborated with Stefan Girardet on two songs on the soundtrack to the 1995 film ''

The Confessional ''The Confessional'' (french: Le Confessionnal) is a 1995 mystery-drama film directed by Robert Lepage. The film is set in Quebec City, in two distinct time periods. In the present day, Pierre Lamontagne (Lothaire Bluteau) searches for his estran ...

''. Goldfrapp was introduced to composer

Will Gregory William Owen Gregory (born 17 September 1959) is an English musician and record producer. He is best known as the lead keyboardist, producer, and composer of the electronic music duo Goldfrapp. Early life Gregory was born in Bristol, the son ...

in 1999 after he had listened to her vocal contribution for "Pumpkin"; they then formed Goldfrapp and signed to Mute Records. In 2000, she was a featured vocalist on the songs "The Time Of The Turning" and "The Time of the Turning (Reprise)/The Weaver's Reel" from the release '' OVO'', Peter Gabriel's soundtrack album to the London

Millennium Dome Show The Millennium Dome Show was a multimedia theatrical performance created to commemorate the year 2000 in the Millennium Dome in London, England. The show was directed by Pixar executive Pete Docter, who wrote the show alongside English musician ...

. The pair began recording their debut album over a six-month period, beginning in September 1999, in a rented bungalow in the

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

countryside. The band's debut album ''

Felt Mountain ''Felt Mountain'' is the debut studio album by English electronic music duo Goldfrapp. It was released on 11 September 2000 by Mute Records. The album takes influence from a variety of music styles such as 1960s pop, cabaret, folk and electro ...

'' was released in 2000 and featured Goldfrapp's synthesized vocals over cinematic

soundscape A soundscape is the acoustic environment as perceived by humans, in context. The term was originally coined by Michael Southworth, and popularised by R. Murray Schafer. There is a varied history of the use of soundscape depending on discipline, ...

s. Goldfrapp released their second album ''

Black Cherry ''Prunus serotina'', commonly called black cherry,World Economic Plants: A Standard Reference, Second Edition'. CRC Press; 19 April 2016. . p. 833–. wild black cherry, rum cherry, or mountain black cherry, is a deciduous tree or shrub of the ...

'' in 2003. The band recorded the album in Bath, England. This album focused more heavily on

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. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded da ...

and

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...

-inspired synths than its predecessor. ''Black Cherry'' peaked at number nineteen on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

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 The Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards — a ceremony that was established in 1958 — to recording artists for quality albums in the dance music and electronica genres. Honors in several cate ...

and

Best Dance Recording The Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Recording (formerly known as 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 f ...

for the song " Ooh La La". ''

Seventh Tree ''Seventh Tree'' is the fourth studio album by English electronic music duo Goldfrapp, released on 22 February 2008 by Mute Records. It was named after a dream Alison Goldfrapp had about a "very large tree". Taking inspiration from paganism and ...

'', 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 Downtempo (or downbeat) is a broad label for electronic music that features an atmospheric sound and slower beats than would typically be found in dance music. Closely related to ambient music but with greater emphasis on rhythm, the style may b ...

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. In 2009, she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Music degree by the University of Portsmouth. Goldfrapp have released seven albums, most recently ''

Silver Eye ''Silver Eye'' is the seventh studio album by English electronic music duo Goldfrapp, released on 31 March 2017 by Mute Records. The album's first single, " Anymore", was released to digital music retailers on 23 January 2017 after its premiere on ...

'' in 2017. Hits include "

Strict Machine "Strict Machine" is an electronic dance song written by British electronic music duo Goldfrapp and Nick Batt for Goldfrapp's second studio album, '' Black Cherry'' (2003). It was produced by Goldfrapp and describes laboratory rats in neuroscienc ...

", " Ooh La La", "

Lovely Head "Lovely Head" is an electronic song performed by British group Goldfrapp. The song was written and produced by Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory for the duo's debut album '' Felt Mountain'' (2000). It was released as the album's first single in M ...

" and " A&E". The multi-platinum selling band have been nominated for the

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

, multiple

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

s and won an Ivor Novello for "Strict Machine". Goldfrapp scored the films ''

My Summer of Love ''My Summer of Love'' is a 2004 British drama film directed by Paweł Pawlikowski and co-written by Pawlikowski and Michael Wynne. Based on the 2001 novel of the same name by Helen Cross, the film explores the romantic relationship between two ...

'' and ''

Nowhere Boy ''Nowhere Boy'' is a 2009 British biographical drama film, directed by Sam Taylor-Wood in her directorial debut. Written by Matt Greenhalgh, it is based on Julia Baird's biography of her half-brother, the musician John Lennon. ''Nowhere Boy'' i ...

''. In recent years, Goldfrapp has dedicated more time to her role as a photographer and director. She created and photographed the album artwork for ''Silver Eye'' and directed videos for singles " Systemagic", "

Everything Is Never Enough "Everything Is Never Enough" is a song performed by English group Goldfrapp, taken from their seventh studio album, ''Silver Eye'' (2017). It was released as the album's third single on 22 September 2017 by Mute Records. The song was written and p ...

" and "

Ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...

". In September 2021, Goldfrapp were awarded the Ivor Novello 'Inspiration Award' which celebrates "peer recognition for the excellence of the Goldfrapp songwriting catalogue and in particular how it has inspired the creative talent of other creators".

Artistry

Voice

Goldfrapp has an expansive soprano vocal range. She is noted for her operatic abilities, particularly on the group's debut album ''

'' and prominently on the songs "

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island societ ...

" and " Pilots". Her delivery in a more contemporary voice has been described as "breathy", "sultry", "ethereal" and "startling". GoldfrappWirelessBnW

Goldfrapp has been commended for her vocal versatility, morphing her voice to fit various genres such as

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

, pop, classical, dance,

and electronica throughout her career. Goldfrapp has used a Korg MS20 Audio Envelope follower to manipulate her vocals, such as the song "

" in which her voice is altered to resemble a theremin. Vocally, Goldfrapp has been compared to

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

Siouxsie Sioux Susan Janet Ballion (born 27 May 1957), known professionally as Siouxsie Sioux, is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. She was the lead singer of the rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees (1976–1996). They released 11 ...

, Björk,

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single " Wuthering Heights", becoming the first female ...

and Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins.

Compositions

Goldfrapp produces and writes most of her material alongside bandmate

. She draws inspiration from a range of artists and musical genres. As a teenager she listened to

, T. Rex, Donna Summer,

Joan Jett Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin, September 22, 1958) is an American singer, guitarist, record producer, and actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and per ...

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan was posthumously inducted in ...

David Cassidy David Bruce Cassidy (April 12, 1950 – November 21, 2017) was an American actor, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was best known for his role as Keith Partridge, the son of Shirley Partridge (played by his stepmother, Shirley Jones), in t ...

, and Iggy Pop and The Stooges, and discovered Serge Gainsbourg while working in Belgium. While travelling through Europe in the early 1990s, she began listening to Polish disco music and

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining o ...

music from the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...

. Other media, including film, have influenced Goldfrapp who cites

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a ( né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, tw ...

's 1966

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting. In terms of context and c ...

'' Cul-de-sac'', the 1973 cult film ''

The Wicker Man ''The Wicker Man'' is a 1973 British folk horror film directed by Robin Hardy and starring Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt, and Christopher Lee. The screenplay by Anthony Shaffer, inspired by David Pinner's 1967 ...

'' and the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

franchise as influences. She draws inspiration from surrealism and nature, all of which appear in Goldfrapp's album artwork, which she 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.

Public image

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. The artwork for Goldfrapp's album ''Seventh Tree'' featured her dressed as a

Pierrot Pierrot ( , , ) is a stock character of pantomime and '' commedia dell'arte'', whose origins are in the late seventeenth-century Italian troupe of players performing in Paris and known as the Comédie-Italienne. The name is a diminutive of ''Pi ...

. Her new image, inspired by paganism, featured her dressed in white or natural-coloured flowing gowns with loose curly blonde hair. During 2010, Goldfrapp took on several new images to fit with their forthcoming album ''

Head First Head First or Headfirst may refer to: Music * ''Head First'' (The Babys album) (1979) * ''Head First'' (Badfinger album) (recorded 1974, released 2000) * ''Head First'' (Goldfrapp album) (2010), or its title track * ''Head First'' (Uriah Hee ...

''. The music on this album was more '80s-influenced, reflected in the artwork featured on the album's first single, "

Rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...

", which features Goldfrapp in a pink jumpsuit. For their live shows, she wore spangly black leggings and a jacket covered in VHS tape which was blown about by two electric fans placed at front centre-stage. The shine of the plastic reflected the colourful stage lighting. In 2013, Goldfrapp was invited by

the Lowry The Lowry is a theatre and gallery complex at Salford Quays, Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is named after the early 20th-century painter L. S. Lowry, known for his paintings of industrial scenes in North West England. The complex ope ...

, Salford, to curate an exhibition as part of their ‘Performer as Curator’ annual series. The exhibition was a collection of photography and paintings inspired by ideas of metamorphosis and fairytales.

Personal life

Goldfrapp confirmed she was dating film editor

Lisa Gunning Lisa Gunning is an English film director, editor and writer. She began her career in 1990s, following her graduation from University College London, where she studied English. In 1998, she met director Anthony Minghella while working on a spot f ...

in a February 2010 interview with ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...

'' 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?" Goldfrapp's relationships before this were with men. In November 2020, it was announced that Goldfrapp was dating architect Peter Culley. Goldfrapp is dyslexic.

References

External links

Goldfrapp's official website
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Goldfrapp, Alison 1966 births Living people Alumni of Middlesex University Ambient musicians English electronic musicians English people of German descent English pop pianists English record producers English women singer-songwriters English sopranos British trip hop musicians Goldfrapp members Ivor Novello Award winners LGBT composers LGBT musicians from England LGBT producers LGBT singers from the United Kingdom LGBT songwriters LGBT writers from England Musicians from Bath, Somerset Mute Records artists People from Alton, Hampshire People from Enfield, London Singers from London Sony BMG artists Synth-pop singers Tambourine players Writers from London English women in electronic music 20th-century English women singers 20th-century English singers 21st-century English women singers 21st-century English singers British women record producers People with dyslexia Squatters 20th-century women pianists 21st-century women pianists