Like an illicit marriage between Madonna and a disco ball, Goldfrapp’s fifth and latest record, Head First, descends upon us – its edges trimmed with glitter, its feathers all ruffled, and its core pulsating with a heart of gold. That’s Goldfrapp for you: the London duo of Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory may occasionally oscillate between downtempo trip hop (Felt Mountain) and shiny synth-pop (Supernature), but its innate theatricality and flamboyance remains in constant attendance. So as Alison and Will shape-shift into their fifth LP, you can expect another evolved sense of being – both in sound and in wardrobe, but of course, with those orchidaceous colours intact.
What can we hear on Head First?
Will: Well, the sound of the album is obviously what we want and how we make it up to be. Especially once we got “Rocket” going, we want to keep on that tip. I think we really enjoy dance, so I think we wanted that pulse to continue and feel the high rate was up.
Alison: “Rocket” and “Alive” were the first tracks that we wrote on the album. So those two songs have set a template for the rest of the sound but it was something that we set out at the beginning – to try and get a sound that was more up and more direct.
Anything in particular that influenced you guys?
A: Our influences and our reference points are so diverse. There are a lot of things that have inspired us and things that have inspired other albums as well. That sort of late ‘70s, early ‘80s Euro disco, rock music and glam rock. I think we sometimes listen to things that maybe aren’t such obvious inspirations. We spent quite a lot of time listening to drum sounds to get an idea of how we want to get a particular sound. On this record, I think there was quite lot of American rock that we listened to for inspiration, things like Pad Benatar for those sort of big, crashing drums, as well as late ABBA and Fleetwood Mac.
A: Our influences and our reference points are so diverse. There are a lot of things that have inspired us and things that have inspired other albums as well. That sort of late ‘70s, early ‘80s Euro disco, rock music and glam rock. I think we sometimes listen to things that maybe aren’t such obvious inspirations. We spent quite a lot of time listening to drum sounds to get an idea of how we want to get a particular sound. On this record, I think there was quite lot of American rock that we listened to for inspiration, things like Pad Benatar for those sort of big, crashing drums, as well as late ABBA and Fleetwood Mac.
So, Head First in as few words as possible is…
A: I think we wanted to make a sound that was similar to Supernature but one that was a lot simpler and direct. We were feeling good and positive.
W: And I suppose it’s a kind of launch-y type of feeling – taking off with the intention that you mean to continue.
A: I think we wanted to make a sound that was similar to Supernature but one that was a lot simpler and direct. We were feeling good and positive.
W: And I suppose it’s a kind of launch-y type of feeling – taking off with the intention that you mean to continue.
D.T.
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