FEATURE:
Vinyl Corner
Goldfrapp – Felt Mountain
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I am doing a run of anniversaries…
IN THIS PHOTO: Alison Goldfrapp
for Vinyl Corner at the moment. I have covered The Clash’s London Calling and Pink Floyd’s The Wall – both are celebrating big anniversaries soon -; Goldfrapp’s debut album, Felt Mountain, turns twenty next year (not until September) and, as it arrived at the start of a decade, it seems appropriate to spotlight it now – seeing as we are just about to enter the 2020s. I would suggest people buy Felt Mountain on vinyl, as it sounds terrific and is a fantastic introduction to a brilliant duo. I recall the 1990s ending and people wondering how artists of the following decade would match the standard of what came before. There were some definite changes when it came to Pop but, with artists like Goldfrapp and The Avalanches dropping tremendous albums in 2000 – The Avalanches released Since I Left You -, there was plenty to get our teeth into. There were few better debuts released in 2000 and, actually, Felt Mountain has endured and aged a lot better than many albums released at the time. It sounds so fresh and alive still; the songs draw you in and you are powerless to resist their beauty. I shall come to the album in a bit but, to celebrate Felt Mountain’s twentieth anniversary, Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory are hitting the road:
“Introducing ‘Felt Mountain: The 20th Year’ Tour. Next March and April, we will be playing a short series of intimate concerts with our band plus a string section around the UK.
“Looking back, ‘Felt Mountain’ represents a very special period in my life. It is the first album Will and I recorded as Goldfrapp, launching us in a new musical direction, and the moment for me, after 13 years or so in music, that I found a creative direction that I was truly excited about. Being nominated for a Mercury Prize was incredible and unexpected, and an affirmation that we were embarking on an important journey.
I listened to the entire album again recently - something I don’t really ever do - and it was a surprisingly emotional experience. The songs instantly take me back. The album is still relevant two decades on, and hopefully will be interesting for people to rediscover and maybe also hear for the first time.
In 2019, 1999 dystopian lyrics such as “I’m wired to the world, that’s how I know everything” from ‘Utopia’, and “no time to F***” from ‘Paper Bag’, have become more potent. I was intrigued then by the flawed concept of perfection which has become so much more intensified in our self-reflective social media era.
I’ll be touring the UK with my regular band plus a string section for this series of intimate concerts. We haven’t performed many of the ‘Felt Mountain’ tracks since the original release, so we’re really excited to play live again from this album and more for our significant Goldfrapp anniversary.”
Tickets will be available in a special pre-sale for our mailing list members this Wednesday Nov 13th at 10am through a unique link that you will receive by email that morning. The general onsale is Friday 15th Nov, 10am.
Wednesday 25th March - Manchester, Albert Hall
Thursday 26th March - Gateshead, Sage Gateshead
Friday 27th March - Edinburgh, Usher Hall
Sunday 29th March - London, Royal Festival Hall
Tuesday 31st March - Birmingham, Symphony Hall
Wednesday 1st April - Bexhill-On-Sea, De La Warr Pavilion
-Alison Goldfrapp”.
It is hard to succinctly describe Felt Mountain, as it is of its own world and cannot easily be compared to anything else. Picking up on the energy and spirit of the 1990s; putting that together with a variety of interesting sounds and textures, Felt Mountain is a sonic revelation. Rough Trade do a good job of drilling down to Felt Mountain’s core:
“Debut album from Goldfrapp. Dark, seductive, beguiling and deeply cinematic. Inspiration from classical music, movie soundtracks, 60s french pop and weimar republic cabaret. What you might not expect is quite the depth of Alison Goldfrapp's beguiling, distracting 21st-Century noir visions on 'Felt Mountain'. She and her fellow composer Will Gregory can mix in Brechtian cabaret, classical instrumentation, left-of-field electronics, decadent Gainsbourg-style French pop and the odd piece of whistling on just one track ('Felt Mountain'). 'Oompa Radar' almost reaches Tom Waits heights of infamy, the way familiar instruments come together in such a simultaneously comforting and alienating style. The baroque 'Paper Bag', meanwhile, uncannily recalls Joe Meek's toytown visions of 1960's grandeur. All this, and a seductive vocal to die for”.
Goldfrapp signed with London-based label Mute Records in 1999 and they began recording Felt Mountain over a six-month period in late-1999. According to reports and various articles, recording was tricky because singer Alison Goldfrapp was disrupted by mice and insects – Goldfrapp were recording in a rented Wiltshire bungalow. Will Gregory also found the recording difficult, as he was not used to working with others. With Goldfrapp and Gregory working on the music together (Goldfrapp wrote the lyrics whilst she and Gregory co-wrote the music), Felt Mountain could have been a disaster.
As it is, the debut from Goldfrapp shows very little of the tension and disturbance that was present during the recording. Lead single Lovely Head is about as strong a song as you can get. With its eerie-yet-catchy whistling and processed vocals, it was the eye-opening and seductive introduction to Goldfrapp. The remainder of the album is spellbinding and utterly engrossing. Felt Mountain is such a fascinating album that means it is hard to take in everything on the first listen. One needs to come back and back again to fully absorb the tracks. There were some mediocre reviews for Felt Mountain back in 2000, but more contemporary reviews have been largely positive. Here is AllMusic’s assessment:
“Though her collaborations with Tricky, Orbital, and Add N To X focused on the sheer beauty and power of her singing, on her debut album Felt Mountain Allison Goldfrapp also explores more straightforward styles. Together with composer/multi-instrumentalist Will Gregory, Goldfrapp wraps her unearthly voice around songs that borrow from '60s pop, cabaret, folk, and electronica without sounding derivative or unfocused. From the sci-fi/spy film hybrids "Human" and "Lovely Head" to the title track's icy purity, the duo strikes a wide variety of poses, giving Felt Mountain a stylized, theatrical feel that never veers into campiness. Though longtime fans of Goldfrapp's voice may wish for more the exuberant, intoxicating side of her sound, lovelorn ballads like "Pilots," "Deer Stop," and "Horse's Tears" prove that she is equally able at carrying -- and writing -- more traditional tunes. A strange and beautiful mix of the romantic, eerie, and world-weary, Felt Mountain is one of 2000's most impressive debuts”.
One of the most interesting and positive reviews of Felt Mountain came from Pitchfork back in 2000. Because Goldfrapp were this new and unusual duo, I can understand why some critics were a little hesitant or unsure when Felt Mountain came along. Pitchfork make some interesting observations when they got a hold of Goldfrapp’s debut album:
“Felt Mountain opens with "Lovely Head," a track that juxtaposes a shuffling drum beat and whistling that sounds like it could be 50 years old with futuristic analog beeps. Goldfrapp's voice, with all its warmth and expressiveness, sounds instantly familiar. And it retains this familiarity over the course of the album, excepting a throaty, Siouxsie-esque yelp or two in "Human," and a bizarre passage at the end of "Deer Stop," in which her voice is made to sound eerily childlike. Creepy, especially considering the sexual undertones present.
All this taken into account, Felt Mountain's greatest strength lies in its overall elegance as a record. While certainly not "poppy," it never has a truly weak moment. And while the songs aren't all that different from one another, the flow from track to track makes perfect sense.
To summarize, Felt Mountain is a really swell record, and I am madly in love with Alison Goldfrapp. I'd have her name tattooed on my arm, but... you know. There just isn't room in this world for a man with "Goldfrapp" inscribed in his flesh. Luckily, there's always room in the world for a damned fine record”.
There is a definite flow and overall sound to Felt Mountain. Whilst the songs are not vastly different, they each have their own personality and there is so much to unpack and admire. It is hard to believe Felt Mountain is almost twenty and, if you can see the tour next year, go along and see this wonderful album performed in all its glory. Go and grab Felt Mountain on vinyl and l am sure you will fall in love. It is an album that, after all of this time, still sounds…
SO beautiful and divine.