- Nick Franglen
-
Nick Franglen is a British musician, composer and record producer. He is best known as a founding member of the electronica duo Lemon Jelly.
A classically trained musician and multi-instrumentalist, during the 1990s Franglen worked as a session keyboard player and drum programmer on studio recordings with Bjork, Primal Scream, Hole, Pulp and Blur, amongst others.[1]
He produced the first self-released recordings by Lemon Jelly in 1997, and went on to produce all three Lemon Jelly albums released on XL Recordings. He also has produced records for other musicians, including John Cale,[2] Badly Drawn Boy[3] and Colin MacIntyre. He has remixed tracks for Coldcut[4] and Mark Mothersbaugh[5] of Devo.
Franglen developed a lasting connection with John Cale following his production of Cale's album Hobo Sapiens, and has performed live with him several times. In 2003 he accompanied Cale on Later... with Jools Holland, playing a hand pumped harmonium.[6] In 2005 he played keyboards and electronics with Cale and Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers at the Royal Festival Hall at Patti Smith's Meltdown Festival.[7] Since 2008 Franglen has been the Musical Director of Nico - A Life Along The Borderline,[8] the John Cale curated tribute shows to the singer Nico, featuring performances by a variety of artists including Mark Lanegan, Mark Linkous, Mercury Rev, Lisa Gerrard, Peter Murphy, Guillemots, Laetitia Sadier and Joan As Policewoman in shows in London, Ferrara, Wroclaw and Rome.[9]
Franglen has composed extensively for film and television, including the music for the BBC series Restoration, and the BAFTA nominated animated film Soho Square. In 2007 he collaborated with his Lemon Jelly partner Fred Deakin to compose the music for Inventions Of The Abstract, an hour-long film of abstract dynamic graphics. Franglen and Deakin performed this music live at the London Imax cinema in London as part of the 2007 Optronica Festival.[10]
In 2007 Franglen collaborated with Charles Casey of Akasha to form the guitar electronica duo Blacksand, releasing the album Barn in March 2008.[11] Blacksand are notable for the unusual locations in which they perform, which include inside a submarine and inside an abandoned military testing facility.
Inspired by Blacksand's site-specific performances, Nick Franglen has written about his love of Urban Exploration: "Each time I’ve broken into an abandoned building I’m struck by both how serene they are inside, and how childishly exhilarating it is climbing over a barbed wire fence at 4am." [12]
On 2 September 2010 Franglen played a theremin under London Bridge for 24 hours, a musical collaboration with the thousands of commuters who cross the bridge each day.[13]
External links
References
- ^ http://www.discogs.com/artist/Nick+Franglen
- ^ Rolling Stone
- ^ The Independent
- ^ Ninjatunes
- ^ Rolling Stone
- ^ John Cale and Nick Franglen on Later
- ^ Review of John Cale's Meatgrinders at Meltdown
- ^ http://www.thelineofbestfit.com/2008/10/a-tribute-to-nico-live-event-featuring-john-cale-mark-lanegan-sparklehorse-and-more-at-the-royal-festival-hall/
- ^ http://blogger.xs4all.nl/werksman/archive/2010/04/12/546297.aspx
- ^ Optronica Festival
- ^ Observer Music Magazine
- ^ Caught By The River
- ^ BBC News
Categories:- Living people
- British record producers
- British electronic musicians
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