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|
| Date |
June 2004 |
| Type |
Interview |
| Source |
Playlouder |
| Title |
Glastonbury 2004 |
| Country |
UK |
| Journalist/Photographer |
Jeremy Allen / Polly Borland |
| Text |
Glastonbury is but four days away. And on Friday night Goldfrapp, who have been touring extensively throughout the last year in support of their successful sophomore offering 'Black Cherry', will be taking to the Other Stage as main support for the Chemical Brothers. That's some step up, and one that's not lost on Alison Goldfrapp. Despite the fact it's quarter past ten Alison is in an affable mood, and we natter about everyone from Duran Duran to Peter Andre. In the nicest possibly way, she talks like a younger, and much sassier Sybil Fawlty. Back handed compliment? Ooh I know...
Hello Alison, how's it going then?
Good.
Good?
Good!
What have you been up to then?
What have we been up to? God. Well, we've been really busy doing gigs and all sorts. And, you know, TV, and now of course it's all the festivals. Glastonbury's coming up...
You've done Glastonbury before haven't you?
We have but this a really good slot for us, you know, we're playing after Franz Ferdinand - hard act to follow - and before the Chemical Brothers Friday night, so it's a good time to be on.
It should just start be getting dark around then shouldn't it?
It's just, yeah, it'll be sort of magic hour. By the time we end it will be dark.
You must be looking forward to that?
YEAH! Yeah, definitely. It's gonna be very exciting. I'll be very nervous.
Are you gonna hang around?
I dunno. I'll have to see how I feel. Yeaaaah.
It's the Friday night you're there... You've got to stay and see Paul McCartney 'aven't you?!
[Incredulous] Paul McCartney's playing?! Oh my God. I'll definitely give that a miss.
You were touring with Duran Duran weren't you?
[Wearily] Yeeeeessss.
How was that?
That was pretty mad! [pauses] Um, yeah. [laughs] It was good fun because we'd never really ever done anything like that before, you know it was completely sort of a new experience really, and playing huge venues, well not just huge, stadiums basically... So yeah it was very good, but we only played on stage for half an hour. That was quite weird actually, everything has to be crammed in. It's sort of BANG BOSH and then you're off again. I mean it's always weird doing a support anyway because you're essentially playing to people who have already come to see somebody else... So that was kind of a challenge...
Did you win them over?
Yeaaaah. The Duran guys were really, really nice to us, they treated us amazingly. Yeah, they were brilliant actually. But to be honest I was quite glad when it was over though 'cos it was very strange just doing a gig for half an hour. You have to really limit what you do, so it quite nice to go back to doing our own shows, which are quite... sort of a bit more susbstantial really. I dunno. But yeah, it was quite an experience.
Did you like Duran Duran when you were a kid?
To be honest I didn't particularly, no [laughs].
Because they're pretty big fans of yours right?
Yes. Simon le Bon has always been really supportive. He came to our first gigs, and was really into it.
So did you have any embarrassing, you know, like 'hey Alison, I love your band' 'Err, yours is shit...' type moments?
Well, I think they've written some good... uh, I really like some of their tunes, I think it's something when I was young, they were a bit too squeaky clean or something like that, I dunno...
I don't think they were in real life.
No, they weren't. Aren't. Either. Hahaha. No, no they're really nice people, I really like them. Really, really great actually. No airs or graces, no pretence.
People have always said Duran Duran are really pretentious?
I don't think they are at all! I mean, the sort of image is probably a bit like that, but they're really not like that. God, the amount of bands you meet who are so up their own arses...
Speaking of which, I saw you on that Pop Beach thing on Channel 4 the other day...
Oh God, yeah [laughs].
How was that?
That was actually quite amusing, such a surreal day I must say. And Great Yarmouth, fucking hell, I don't think I'll be going back there again. But yeah, it was quite funny because I don't think the audience had even ever heard of us, and we were all kind of in this big hall type thing, where all the dressing rooms were, with you know, Girls Aloud, and Blue, and every time any of that lot stepped out of the building there'd be just like [belts out] AARRGGHHHGG! screams, and madness, and whenever any of us stepped out there was just silence [laughs]. And you know, there was Peter Andre and Jordan and people were just going mental and we'd go outside again... silence. I think we got away lightly really because we managed to step in and out all day without any fuss, so that was quite amusing.
So you didn't miss that? You didn't feel slightly envious of Peter Andre?
Hahaha. It was pretty odd. Ash were there, they're lovely people as well so we felt a bit more... Well, we were glad they were there because everyone else we didn't feel remotely related to in any way shape or form.
I was watching it at home, and I have to say when you came on, it seemed quite surreal on the telly as well.
Hahahahahaha. Yeah.
So are you recording new stuff at the moment or have you just been too busy touring?
Well, we have started, but, bloody hell, it's just been so full on. For me I can't write and stuff when I'm on tour, because touring is just so all consuming, you know what I mean? But yeah, we have started, and when the summer's over and the festivals come to an end then we'll really get into it, and I'm really looking forward to that actually. I'm desperate to get writing again, and I always get a bit freaked out when we've not done anything for a while.
You've been touring this album for quite a while haven't you?
Yeah, well it's just sort of grown, as it's gone along. And you know, you just wanna sort of grab things while they're there, you know what I mean?
You gotta jump on it and go for it!
Exactly, yeah.
Do you think now you've achieved wider appeal you've shaken the electroclash thing?
Yeah, well I never really understood that, you never quite know what it means.
Do you think you've got more respect as you've gone on?
I don't know and I don't care to think about things like that really. Um, I just sort of feel we do what we do, and you just have to do what you do, and people label it and say it's like this and you just have to ignore it. Ultimately we do what we want - we're influenced by so many things and inspired by so many things. I don't feel like we particularly belong in any bracket, which I'm quite pleased about because I HATE genres and labels, they're all bullshit.
You're a lot more experimental than...
[Cuts in] Yeah, and I think ultimately we write songs, and I think, you know, we're not making out and out dance music, or out and out pop music. I don't think we're going towards any one area.
You've done quite a few collaborations. Who have you enjoyed working with most?
Oh God, I wouldn't like to say really. Um, I haven't collaborated with anyone for a long, long time now.
Do you miss...
[Cuts in again] No I don't miss it at all! Not one iota. You know, I've always wanted to do my own thing and I did those collaborations because I liked those people. And I was still learning things, you know. That's the great thing about collaborations, you learn... I mean, you're always learning, you know, about what you're doing and what you like doing and what you don't like doing blah blah blah, but no I don't miss that at all, because I'm quite shy really and I always feel a bit uncomfortable doing stuff with other people and I always feel a bit inadequate, 'like, Oh my God, they're gonna think I'm shit'.
They might think you think they're shit?
Yeah. Probably [laughs]
So, do you have any goals, or things you want to achieve then?
Goals? Things I want to achieve?! Oh my God! Musically obviously we're talking about? I don't know, I suppose it's searching isn't it? It's searching for when you create something. You're searching for some kind of immortality in your music, that's what I think. Hahahahaha. Nothing is ever perfect so you're always trying to achieve, and find different ways of doing things and experimenting, and I suppose they're my goals really. Just to keep trying out new things, and make a good album. I always think it's quite mad making albums, they're quite daunting, it's like constructing teeth or something...
?
There's always that fear of 'ooh my god, can we do another one?' My goals are all very 'what't going to happen next year'. It's such a fickle business. Just keep making good stuff really.
Do you feel when you've finished an album it's like 'fucking nailed it' or are you always listening for things you could have improved?
I think you always listen back and think things like that, and if you didn't you'd be a weirdo. You're constantly searching for something so nothing's ever perfect. You think, maybe we should have done that there, or 'shit I wish we'd turned that up' or whatever. That's what keeps you going. |
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