When Goldfrapp performs, one can distinctly tell that she loves what she does at every moment. She puts her all into her music and her performing. She gets into the music and lets it carry her away. She hits every single note with such perfection that one would think the CD is playing rather than her, but she adds to the songs when performing live. She makes the song more than it appears when you listen at home. This is what people look for when they go to a concert. This is what people hope for when they pay money to attend. This is what Goldfrapp does, and it would seem there is no thought involved in such a task with her.
Formed in 1999 in lovely London, England, the band’s official and long standing members are, of course, the beautiful and talented Alison Goldfrapp who is the vocalist and forefront of the band, and the fun loving Will Gregory who is the playful and brilliant music man on the synthesizer and string instruments. Over the years, the style of Goldfrapp’s music has changed. The band is not shy to explore other dramatic musical genres in the songs they put together. Though many songs are obviously distinguishable by Goldfrapp’s lovely, breathy, and soft playful vocals and, of course, Gregory’s fun and playful multiple layers of string arrangements and synthesizer sounds that he seems to put together with no problem at all, the sounds they use have changed; from the softness and ambience in Felt Mountain, to more glam rock as used in Supernature and Black Cherry and back to the now more ambient and folk sound added in with the brilliance of the electronic mix in the most recent album, Seventh Tree. Rather than sticking to one specific sound, the band has fun with different sounds and effects, and it shows within the variety of songs and sounds in their albums.
With now their fourth studio album, Seventh Tree released this year in February, Goldfrapp again has made a creative climb on the musical ladder. As stated on Wikipedia, Goldfrapp has described this brilliant new album as a “sensual counterpoint to the glitterball glamour of Supernature,” which was their last official studio album released in 2005. The apparent inspiration was derived from paganism and surreal English children’s books. A&E, the album title and first single, was released prior to the album and worked its way up to the top 10 in no time at all in the United Kingdom. As for the album itself, Wikipedia also mentions that it has sold a whopping 150,000 copies just in the UK, and as a result, has received an award for selling over 100,000 in one week after its release. This proves that Goldfrapp’s fans are increasing in number.
| The band is simply brilliant and they know how to keep their fans coming back for more, and how to attract more attention. Though the majority of Goldfrapp’s songs are undeniably composed by Goldfrapp and Gregory themselves, they have also collaborated with the likes of Nick Batt, a session musician on several occasions. This girl uses her voice to the full advantage. While Goldfrapp is solely responsible for the lyrics, she also uses her vocal brilliance to create melodies and drumbeats within each song. Gregory, the man behind the music, uses vintage keyboards, electric guitar, acoustic guitars, and many other string instruments to interpret the mood and emotional connection in Goldfrapp’s lyrics. It states on Wikipedia that Goldfrapp describes music as a visual experience. She envisions the story; and she envisions the lyrics prior to writing them on paper. Her music has character, visions, and animals, which she often incorporates into videos that tell the story. All this shows when she performs live. She has an exuberance about her. She pays little attention to the audience and much attention to the beauty in each song she has previously envisioned and put together. The emotional connection and the movement in her voice and body come together and create a sensual experience for the audience to be a part of.. Goldfrapp becomes the songs she performs. She emotionally connects with the song and displays the feeling while performing. It’s really unbelievable to watch her and be a part of this experience. She captures the attention of the entire crowd and holds on so tight that to leave, even for a moment, would miss the beauty of the experience. |  |
Throughout the transitions in musical scope, Goldfrapp’s fan base simply keeps growing. Still on tour for her new album, Goldfrapp is attracting fans from all over the globe. Here in Canada, the album has reached number 29 on the charts and will hopefully continue to creep up the charts. Hopefully the band will be back this way in the near future so you can all check out what I mean. Goldfrapp aims to please and will stay far from disappointment.