Goldfrapp goes green in Sydney

A powerful sense of musical identity, plenty of coarse language and an abundance of intelligence adequately sum up Goldfrapp lead singer Alison Goldfrapp.

The British songstress is far from your stereotypical blond pop star. Her music alone brings light and dark to an industry that has become obsessed with superficial, bubblegum pop.

Like a lucky dip, there’s no way of predicting what direction the Goldfrapp duo will take. It seems that the disco dominatrix years of Ooh La La have vanished, as their new album Seventh Tree combines a more dreamlike edge and down-tempo feel than their jukebox of successes.

I guess we could have taken the easy way and done another Supernatural album, but that didn’t feel right, Goldfrapp told Sydney Star Observer.

I guess that was challenging because we had to be quite brave in a way and say, -˜We are going to do this.’ We’re probably going to get a lot of people saying, -˜What the fuck are these people doing?’ but I think you have to be prepared to be exposed.

Although Goldfrapp doesn’t like to be typecast into any given genre it’s obvious she has a unique amalgamation of rock glam, electronic and trip hop in her blood. She started her career as a guest vocalist for Tricky and Orbital.

When she is joined in the recording studio by her partner Will Gregory to make music, she said there was no right or wrong approach to making a Goldfrapp song.

There are no rules, formula or routine to anything. It’s about making sounds that express what you want to express, she said.

Or you might find a sound you really like, that might inspire the beginning of a song -¦ the starting point is always difficult and it’s the process that evolves from playing live and experimenting.

We’re not a band. We just do whatever we want to do and what feels right. Music is visual so I think when you’re writing you visualise things and vice versa.

Everything has a narrative so therefore it’s visual -” I think things evolve after other things.

It’s interesting. If you look at what most people listen to on their iPod -” because no one listens to one style of music -” I think that what we do when we are writing is based on what mood we are in.
Everything you create is a reflection of what you’re feeling at that time. This time this is what we felt and it fitted. You can’t deny that and you go with it.

Despite the long flight to Australia and a lot of sleeping pills, Goldfrapp said she’s looking forward to her performance at Parklife in Sydney on Sunday 5 October and of course at the very special Sydney Opera House concert on Thursday 2 October.

But don’t expect a high-heeled disco diva to adorn the stage -” what you can expect is a show and style that is much more organic.

I haven’t worn heels in a very long time as I’m wearing nothing on my feet on the stage -” it’s very liberating, Goldfrapp said.

The reason for it is that I injured my back so I was told that I couldn’t wear heels and I thought, -˜Oh my God, what a disaster!’

It’s actually been a fantastic thing and it feels that it fits with my kind of outlook in life at the moment.

info: Tickets for Goldfrapp’s Sydney Opera House showcase in the Concert Hall can be bought via the website on www.sydneyoperahouse.com. For more details on Parklife, head to www.parklife.com.au.