50Alison Goldfrapp
describes new
album Silver
Eye as a hybrid
of mysticism
and dreamsduration. I think we have kept a
certain work aesthetic to how we
interact and it’s very much about
putting the hours in and respecting
what each other does.
“Wanting to get the best out of
each other. Because we are so
different as people, that’s always
felt good because we don’t cover
each other’s bases at all – I think
we both want what the other
person does. Outside of work,
we don’t crowd each other or see
much of one another. I tend not
to tour so there’s space there for
both of us to decompress. Because
when you are working on a record
together it’s a long haul with a
lot of contact hours together.”THEATRE OF DREAMS
It makes Goldfrapp sound like a
marriage of convenience. That isn’t
quite the case he assures: “We
tried doing it independently and it
doesn’t really work.
“We still have to be there in
the room together and turn up for
Goldfrapp to happen.”Crucially, Alison and Will
both think about music visually
and Silver Eye is no different.
Its striking visuals complement
lyrics conveying pagan rituals,
the elemental and the clash of
human versus nature. It paints
a sort of 21st Century version
of The Wicker Man. Will laughs:
“We weren’t sacrificing in a Pagan
way. More in a angst way as
in ‘what are we doing and why
are we doing it?’ The usual self-
doubt and grey areas.
“But we love the ideas of The
Wicker Man, those English
atmospheres, pre-Christian rituals.
It’s hard to translate how that
figures in what you are doing
apart from making it more intense
and primal.”
“The visuals are just another way
to express or translate some of theideas,” adds Alison. “It’s another
way of creating a narrative.”
By their own admission, Silver
Eye had a tricky gestation
period. Following Tales Of
Us, the duo scored The National
Theatre’s production of Greek
tragedy Medea; and then came
a little unstuck. “We took more
time off,” acknowledges Will.
“The longer we go on, the higher
the rejection rate has to be
otherwise you just repeat yourself,
and we get a little pickier. We are
terrified of turning the handle and
cranking out another burger.”
Silver Eye is no Big Mac. In fast
food terms a lobster roll, perhaps.
It’s luxurious, louder and even a
little bit grubbier than Tales Of
Us. Such transformation – be it
musical, visual or spiritual – is
key to Goldfrapp’s success. Silver
Eye goes even further and takes
aim at the metamorphic power of
the moon. “There’s a lot of moon,
I look at it a lot,” details Alison,CP30.goldfrapp.print.indd 50 07/06/2017 16:27