SUPERNATURE (GOLDFRAPP ALBUM)

'''Supernature''' is the third album by British electronic duo Goldfrapp. It was released by Mute Records on August 22, 2005 in the United Kingdom, and was the duo's first album to receive mixed reviews. Most critics complimented its blend of pop and electronic music, while others called it uninspiring.^[1] ''Supernature'' was a top five album in Goldfrapp's native England, and its lead single "Ooh La La" was a top five single.^[2] In North America—where "Number 1" was promoted as the first single—the album was released on March 7, 2006, peaking low on the Billboard charts.
The album represented a change in Goldfrapp's musical style, and featured pop and electronic-dance music; inspirations were disco music artist Donna Summer and New Wave band New Order. ''Supernature'' received a Grammy Award nomination in 2007 for "Best Electronic/Dance Album".^[3] In January 2006, the album was certified platinum in the UK, and has sold one million copies worldwide as of early 2007.^[4]^[5]

Recording and production

''Supernature'' contains music in the same pop and electronic-dance styles featured on Goldfrapp's 2003 album ''Black Cherry'' (especially ''Black Cherry's singles "Strict Machine" and "Twist"), but it focuses on subtle hooks instead of large choruses. Goldfrapp's lead singer Alison Goldfrapp called the album's writing process "an electronic, glam cross between Berlin, New York and north-east Somerset","Week 34 Chart Roundup". Chart Singles.net. August 30, 2005. Retrieved February 18, 2006. and said that she was inspired by artists such as Donna Summer and New Order.
Goldfrapp and Will Gregory recorded the bulk of ''Supernature'' in late 2004 in the countryside of Bath, England—the same place they recorded ''Black Cherry''. They had rented a small house and spent some months writing music; they later explained that the unpopulated location kept them from distractions and that the majority of the process was "very basic".Jolie Lash. "Goldfrapp Unleash ''Supernature''". ''Rolling Stone''. March 7, 2006. Retrieved March 25, 2006. Goldfrapp has said that the duo respect certain boundaries when writing lyrics,Kory Grow. "British electro-duo Goldfrapp evens out the odds with their latest, ''Supernature''". ''College Music Journal''. Retrieved March 25, 2006. referring to their studio sessions as a "democratic affair". The lyrical content of the song "Number 1", which became the album's second single, is about the importance and meaning of relationships, even though they do not necessarily last.
In an interview with ''College Music Journal'', Goldfrapp explained that they had never intended to create dance music. However, the singles released from ''Black Cherry'' were successes across nightclubs in North America, and as a result, they decided to write a more dance-oriented album.^[6] Although this made the duo nervous, "Ooh La La" was the group's first song to feature the electric guitar, including a sample from singer-songwriter Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky" (1970).Michael Gallant. "Retro Disco Ooh La La". ''Keyboard Magazine''. Retrieved March 25, 2006. Before its composition, the duo avoided the use of the guitar because of the guitar's overly recognizable rhythm. Four-on-the-floor bass drums are also present on several of the album's tracks, and the piano ballad "Let It Take You" features evening-effects composed on a synthesizer.''Supernature''. North American DVD — "Little bits of Goldfrapp". ''Information about the recording of "Supernature".'' Accessed March 27, 2006. "You Never Know" begins with Alison Goldfrapp executing a synthesized voice, supported by both pads and synthesizers. Goldfrapp and Gregory have cited "Satin Chic" as their favourite song on ''Supernature''.
Alison Goldfrapp named the Roland String synth as one of her favourite keyboards. "Number 1" features an old synth and a bass arrangement that the group began to use frequently after recording the song. Another Roland String model, the SH-09, is another favourite; she played the duo's song "Train" (2003) on it and enjoys the sounds that it makes. Goldfrapp was also impressed by a Russian synth, enamored with its Russian-language writing.

Critical response

''Supernature'' received mixed reviews from pop music critics. In a review for PopMatters, Adrien Begrand said that "although ''Supernature'' lacks the imagination of ''Felt Mountain'' and the saucy brilliance of ''Black Cherry'', it doesn't pander to the pop crowd".^[7] ''Rolling Stone'' said the album was "toxic and delicious" and that "''Supernature'' will make you do bad things — and like it".^[8] However, Pitchfork Media reviewer Nitsuh Abebe was less impressed, and wrote that the album's songs "keep feeling like exercises: too thick and melodic to work like dance music, but with melodies that refuse to stick as satisfyingly as pop."^[9] Michael Hubbard of MusicOMH.com wrote a review for every song on ''Supernature'', and although he felt that it was a "curious, rather than classic, record", he criticized it for "fading out early on, with poor, low quality songs at the end which leave the listener feeling cheated".^[10] All Music Guide reviewer Heather Phares called ''Supernature'' "Goldfrapp's most accessible album" and named "Ooh La La" as its best song.^[11]
In a review for Canadian-based ''Jam'' Canoe, Andrew Carver praised the different sounds on ''Supernature'', which range from "a blend of future noise" to "crushed velvet corruption"; he described the album as "one sharp recording".^[12] Jessica Suarez of ''Spin'' magazine compared "Ooh La La" with ''Black Cherry's "Strict Machine", saying that "Ooh La La" sounds "so simplistic that [its] minimalist repetition occasionally teeters over into redundancy". She praised "Ride a White Horse" and "Fly Me Away" for featuring Alison Goldfrapp's "velvet-soft vocals, which stay that way even when heavily processed".^[13] A less favourable reception came from ''Stylus'' magazine reviewer Edward Oculicz, who stated "''Supernature'' is not a great album" and called several of its tracks too "dull".^[14]
''Rolling Stone'' magazine included the album in its list of the top fifty albums of 2006, ranking it at number thirty-two.^[15] At the 2007 Grammy Awards, Goldfrapp received two nominations for "Best Electronic/Dance Album" and "Best Dance Recording" for "Ooh La La".

Chart performance and sales

''Supernature'' debuted on the UK albums chart at number two (blocked from the top position by James Blunt's ''Back to Bedlam''), and sold 52,976 copies. The album remained on the chart for thirty-one weeks, and was certified platinum on January 13, 2006.^[16] In Australia, the album reached number twenty-three, although it received limited promotion. The album reached the top forty in Austria, Germany, Italy, New Zealand and Switzerland and sold one million copies worldwide.
''Supernature'' became Goldfrapp's first release to chart on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart in the United States, where it peaked at number one-hundred thirty-eight.^[17] It reached number three on the Top Heatseekers chart and number five on the Top Electronic Albums chart. The album has sold 49,000 copies in the U.S. since its release in March 2006.^[18]

Songs

"Ooh La La", ''Supernature's opening track, was chosen as its lead single "because it was up and in your face and it carried on the theme of the glammy, discoey beat from the last album".^[19] It was the duo's first song to feature the electric guitar, and received positive reviews, often being noted as a highlight of the album.^[20] In the United Kingdom, "Ooh La La" was Goldfrapp's most successful single release, reaching the top five. It was also promoted in U.S. dance clubs, and peaked in the top ten of the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play chart. The second track, "Lovely 2 C U", received mixed reviews from critics, with one reviewer stating that it was the "worst offender of sounding by-numbers, its lazy glam affectations sounding all the worse amid a chorus striking only in its complete dullness".^[21]

Alison Goldfrapp peforming "Number 1" at the Wireless Festival in June 2006

"Ride a White Horse", the third single, was inspired by the disco era.^[22] Like previous singles from the album, the song was another top-twenty single in the UK. The ballads "You Never Know" and "Let it Take You" have minimal background electronics, and were generally well-received by critics, who drew comparisons to Golfrapp's debut album ''Felt Mountain''.^[23] "Fly Me Away", another synth ballad, had an associated music video which featured Goldfrapp as an animated doll; the video, however, was never released.^[24] The song was not heavily promoted and was less commercially successful than the other singles. "Slide In", an electroclash song about sex, and "Koko" were compared to Gary Numan's early compositions.^[25]^[26] A remix of "Slide In" by DFA was released as a promotional single in the UK in early 2006.^[27]
"Satin Chic" is a disco song with glam rock and cabaret influences, similar to early Elton John. Cited by Goldfrapp and Gregory as their favourite song on ''Supernature'', it was remixed by The Flaming Lips and issued as a limited edition single in September 2006. The tenth track, "Time Out from the World", features an orchestra and whispered vocals by Goldfrapp. Critics liked the song, writing that it was an "exception to the prevailing style of ''Supernature''" due to its "haunting, yet glamorous, atmospherics". The album's closing track and second single, "Number 1", is about the importance and meaning of relationships. The song, which is based around a synth and bass arrangement, reached the top ten in the UK and number one on the U.S. Dance Chart.

Track listing

All tracks written and composed by Goldfrapp and Gregory.
# "Ooh La La" – 3:23
# "Lovely 2 C U" – 3:25
# "Ride a White Horse" – 4:42
# "You Never Know" – 3:27
# "Let It Take You" – 4:30
# "Fly Me Away" – 4:25
# "Slide In" – 4:17
# "Koko" – 3:23
# "Satin Chic" – 3:28
# "Time Out from the World" – 4:47
# "Number 1" – 3:25

Bonus tracks and footage

All bonus tracks and footage appear on the Japanese and North American editions of ''Supernature''.
#

"Beautiful" – 4:51
# Little bits of Goldfrapp: documentary
# Jakko and the poet in Frappworld
# Music videos of "Ooh La La", "Number 1", and a live video of "Ride a White Horse"
# Photo gallery of Goldfrapp

Personnel

The following people contributed to ''Supernature''^[28]:

★ Alison Goldfrapp – lead vocals, backing vocals, synthesizer, art direction

★ Nick Batt – synthesizer, programming

★ Will Gregory, Daniel Miller – synthesizer

★ Adrian Utley – guitar, bass

★ Charlie Jones – bass

★ Dave Power – drums

★ Ewan Pearson – programming

★ Nick Ingman – orchestra lead

★ Steve R. Evans – engineering

★ Mat Bartram, Alex Dromgoole, Richard Edgeler, Tim Roe – assistant engineering

★ Dave Bascombe, Mark "Spike" Stent, Jeremy Wheatley – mixing

★ Lee Groves – mixing programming

★ Ted Jensen – mastering

★ Rachel Thomas – set design

★ Mat Maitland, Gerard Saint – art direction

Formats

The album was released in two versions: a single disc version, which used Opendisc technology to offer extras via a website, and a double disc version which included the album in surround sound on both discs. The first disc is a hybrid SACD with 5.1 multichannel SACD audio, stereo SACD audio and stereo CD audio. The second disc, a DVD-Video, contains the multichannel version of the album in DTS 96/24 as well as a documentary and music videos for "Ooh La La" and "Number 1."
These are the formats of major album releases of ''Supernature''.

Release format	Country	Cat. no.	Release date
Regular album^[29]	Europe	CDStumm250	August 2005
U.S. regular album^[30]	U.S.	9296-2	March 2006
Deluxe edition^[31]	Europe	LCDStumm250	August 2005
Limited edition deluxe album^[32]	UK	LCDStumm250	August 2005
U.S. limited edition deluxe album^[33]	U.S.	9312-2	March 2006
Vinyl album^[34]	UK	Stumm250	August 2005
Japanese edition^[35]	Japan	TOCP-66432	August 2005
Canadian edition^[36]	Canada	094635886023	March 2006

Charts

Charts (2005)	Peak position
UK Albums Chart	2
Australian Albums Chart	23
German Albums Chart	26
Swiss Albums Chart	29
Austrian Albums Chart	33
New Zealand Albums Chart	35
Italian Albums Chart	36
French Albums Chart	43
Charts (2006)	Peak position
U.S. ''Billboard'' Top Heatseekers	3
U.S. ''Billboard'' Top Electronic Albums	5
U.S. ''Billboard'' 200	138

Notes

References

★ BBC.co.uk

★ ''Billboard''.com

★ ''College Music Journal''

★ ''Jam'' Canoe

★ ''Keyboard Magazine''

★ Recording Industry Association of New Zealand

★ ''Rolling Stone''

This article provided by Wikipedia. To edit the contents of this article, click here for original source.

psst.. try this: add to faves

	MC Voyages
	Authentik Canada
	Sears Travel
	Entrance Travel
	Century 21 Beltair Associates
	Vision 2000 Travel Group, Vancouver
	Hotel Valley Ho (Cafe ZuZu, VH Spa)
	Scottsdale CVB
	Travelonly - Dave Corless
	Heavenly Paradise Getaways