Brett CallwoodLove Reinvented: London-based electro-synth-pop duo Goldfrapp formed way back in 1999, released the Felt Mountain debut album a year later, the Black Cherry breakthrough in 2003, and never looked back.
Composed of the impossibly charismatic Alison Goldfrapp and former Tears for Fears/the Cure/Peter Gabriel/Portishead touring member Will Gregory, Goldfrapp oozed cool from Day One, while making it their business to push boundaries and blur genres. Influences ranging from cabaret to glam rock found their way into Goldfrapp’s stylish sound, and singles such as “Ooh LaLa” from 2005’s awesome Supernature took them up another level.
2017’s Silver Eye was Goldfrapp’s seventh album, and it’s currently their most recent. After taking some time away, some of it by choice and some down to the pandemic, Alison has returned with her debut solo album. We should point out, incidentally, that Alison Goldfrapp is her birth name – the band was named after her rather than the other way around (unlike, say, the members of the Ramones).
“I took a little sabbatical after (Silver Eye), I felt like I needed some time out to think about what I wanted to do next,” Alison says. “Take a little check on where I was at in my life, personally, musically, creatively – and then the pandemic happened. But it was a really interesting time for me. I got my mojo back with music and felt like I had room to grow. But during the pandemic, I got a studio happening at home. That was a really interesting time for me because it kinda allowed me to investigate some things creatively and musically. I really wanted to work with some new people. So I reached out to Röyksopp who were very up for it. That was a really fun thing to do. Then I kinda thought, I want to carry on and do more writing. So yeah, I reached out to James Greenwood and then Richard X. So it just grew quite naturally really. Initially, I just thought I’ll do an EP. No pressure, five tracks, easy. A nice little introduction back into things. And then it grew into this album. So here I am.”
Here she is indeed. At the time of writing, we’re two weeks away from the new album’s release. Named The Love Invention, it’ll please fans of the Goldfrapp band, while generating fresh interest.
“I’m really excited about it,” Alison says. “I feel like I’ve been waiting for months now. It’s really nice to finally get it out there. I’ll be very pleased when it’s everyone else’s property and not just mine. That’ll be nice. I worked with Richard X and James Greenwood, mostly. And with Toby Scott, as well. I did a lot of the recording here at home myself, with a technician obviously, and then I was in a studio down the road from where I live here in East London. I also did some work with Rich and James in the room, as well. So I was there at their place and my place. We kind of moved around between each other. So we worked remotely and then we came together. And I did some little sketches and things like that in 2021, but the majority of it was done last year.”
There are differences between a Goldfrapp and an Alison Goldfrapp release, but they’re subtle. After all, Goldfrapp was never a band to sit still and stagnate. It evolved and shifted with every album. Had The Love Invention been released with the Goldfrapp band name on it, fans might comment on the shift in direction, but it wouldn’t necessarily have felt unnatural or unusual for them. Of course, for Alison, it’s important that this is her own work.
“It’s definitely a lot more rhythmic, more dancey, so I think that’s something that is probably quite different,” she says. “I use a lot more vocal than maybe I’ve done before actually. All of it was intended. I wanted to make something that was a lot more beat orientated, rhythm orientated, so yeah, I guess that’s the big difference.”
The themes running through the record, meanwhile, will be familiar to longtime fans.
“I think I touch on a lot of themes that maybe I’ve always been fascinated by and interested in,” Alison says. “Namely, what it is to be human and how we exist in this world – how we interact with nature. That’s something I’m continually interested in. The fantastical, love, desire, what those things mean and how they evolve in our lives as we get older. So yeah, I would say those are sort of the main themes for the album.”
The artist says that this is an odd time to be living in the UK, but concedes that this is an odd time to be living anywhere.
“Politically, it feels all a bit screwed up,” Alison says. “I don’t think we’re any different. Things have changed obviously, quite dramatically, I’d say. With Brexit and COVID. In a way, it feels like we’re just seeing how that’s really affected us. I’d say it’s a pretty weird place to be now. But it’s always interesting with music and arts. From those slightly politically desperate times, really amazing things happen. People get really creative. So I think that will happen, too. I live in hope that despite times being pretty hard for the arts and music, something really exciting and amazing will happen.”
While there are no concrete plans at present, Alison says that she’d love to tour this record on this side of the Atlantic. For now though, her focus is closer to home.
“I love the audiences in North and South America,” she says. “It’s really fun. So god, yes please. Get me over there. We’ve got loads of festivals happening, so that’s really exciting. I can’t wait to play it live. I think the ball will keep rolling, and I’m sure that will continue through the year. I hope to find some time to write some more music this year as well, so yeah I think it’s going to be a busy and exciting year, and I hope America happens at some point.”
As do we!
Love Reinvented: Alison Goldfrapp’s The Love Invention album is out May 12 via Skint/BMG Music.
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