Goldfrapp

Don’t let her looks fool you. There’s more to British singer Alison Goldfrapp than the alluring, sexy vamp she personifies in stylish outfits and stilettos. As half the duo bearing her name—the other half being musician Will Gregory—she’s heavily involved in shaping the group’s music and image. “It’s quite interesting that people are more used to seeing a singer with an entourage creating that look [for her],” she wryly comments. “Yes, it is glamorous, but it’s also very personal because it’s coming from us.”

This attitude permeates Goldfrapp’s third album, Supernature, already a hit in Britain. Its atmospheric electronic sound recalls the work of late-’70s disco producer/composer Giorgio Moroder, while the romantic, yearning lyrics evoke Roxy Music’s Avalon. And with the Marc Bolan-inspired glitter raunch of “Ooh La La,” the charming, upbeat “Number 1,” and the sensuous balladry of “Time Out from the World,” Supernature will generate heat on the dancefloor and likely in more intimate settings.

“We always think about atmosphere and mood,” says Goldfrapp. “We wanted this time to make the songwriting simpler and more direct. We used a lot of synthesizers but also strings, as well. We always liked the combination of different textures to give it a different kind of mood.”

In contrast to its electronic-dominated sound, the duo’s dancers sometimes wear stag’s heads on stage, and on the new CD, the singer graces the sleeve wearing giant peacock feathers. “Animals are part of our psyche since time began,” Goldfrapp explains. “They can be fantastical, weird creatures but they can [also] be metaphors about ourselves, human sexuality, freedom and power.”

Although the duo’s focal point, Goldfrapp casually downplays her siren persona; she’d rather shift people’s focus to the music. “I think everyone feels kind of con?dent, sensual, and powerful,” she says, “and sometimes you feel like a sack of potatoes. I don’t want to draw attention to myself when I’m walking [down] the street. If I was walking around in nine-inch heels, wearing tons of makeup and strutting around, I wouldn’t be able to watch anyone else.”