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About Chicane
The man behind the name
is a British composer,
musician and record
producer, Nicholas
Bracegirdle. Bracegirdle
was born in 1971 in
Chalfont St. Giles,
Buckinghamshire,
England. His association
with music began at an
early age with piano and
classical guitar
lessons. However, it was
the influence of
composers like Jean
Michel Jarre and
Vangelis and synthpop
legend Vince Clarke
among others that
inspired Nicholas to
delve into melodic dance
music. By the age of 12,
Chicane was recording
his own music and
sending his demos to
record companies.
In spite of his early
start, Chicane’s
mainstream success began
with the release of his
first single Offshore in
1996. By this time
Chicane has established
his own record label
Modena Records. Modena
did and still does, hold
rights to all his work
and further licenses
them to other companies
for release. Offshore
made it to number 12 on
UK charts and to the top
spot on other UK charts,
compiled independently
by Mixmag, Record Mirror
etc. The song also
became an essential
track in the capital of
dance music, Ibiza,
being featured on
several high profile
trance music compilation
albums. Offshore was
re-released in 1997 and
was a success in the US
making it to #5 on the
Billboard Hot Dance
Music charts.
Following two more
successful singles,
Offshore 97 and
Sunstroke, Chicane
released his debut album
entitled Far From the
Maddening Crowds in
1997. The album included
new material as well as
rehashed versions of
previous singles. The
album is considered to
be an integral part of
the trance music genre.
Due to licensing issues,
the album was put on
hold for some time
before it was released
again in 2007.
Saltwater, another of
Chicane’s hugely popular
tracks, was released in
1999, making it to
number 1 on UK Dance
Charts and number 6 on
UK Singles Charts. Bryan
Adams did the vocals on
Chicanes biggest hit
single, Don’t Give Up,
after he did a remixed
version of Adams’ track
Cloud Number Nine. Don’t
Give Up not just made it
to number 1 on UK
charts, but became a hit
across Europe and
America. The single was
a certified silver
selling record.
Chicane’s second album,
Behind the Sun, however,
was certified Gold.
Bracegirdle, the man
behind Chicane, spent
holidays in Ibiza as a
child. This he says has
strongly influenced his
music, which seems to
borrow from the calm,
summer tone of the
island. His first two
albums are thought to be
moody and melodic, with
changing tempos and
tones.
The artist is known for
his live performances
with band members,
forming a full band for
live shows. Currently
there are five musicians
in Chicane’s live band,
nick Bracegirdle on
keyboards and computer,
Simon Small on guitar,
Carl Holt on bass, Mark
Pusey on drums, and
Natasha Brocklebanks
Andrews on female
vocals. Chicane has also
collaborated with
several musicians who
often team up with him
on live performances.
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