Goldfrapp

Goldfrapp were the English electronic duo of Alison Goldfrapp, who sang and played synthesizer, and Will Gregory on synthesizer, formed in 1999. Their debut, Felt Mountain, was a hushed, cinematic thing that won good reviews and a Mercury Prize shortlist spot but barely dented the charts. Then they changed the lights. Black Cherry, in 2003, dragged glam rock and synth-pop into a sweaty, strobing basement, and it is gloriously lurid: "Strict Machine" and "Train" stomp on glittery platform heels while Alison purrs and wails over the top like a cabaret singer who has discovered the disco.

Supernature, in 2005, went all the way to the dance floor and took them around the world, with "Ooh La La" and "Number 1" among its highlights; the album threw off three number-one US dance singles and was up for a Grammy for Best Electronic/Dance Album. Then they turned inward again: Seventh Tree went ambient and pastoral, Head First chased shiny synth-pop and earned a second Grammy nomination, the folktronica of Tales of Us won critical acclaim, and Silver Eye followed in 2017. Across Mute and Astralwerks they never made the same record twice, and since 2022 the pair have been on an open-ended break.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.