Chicane

Chicane ♪

Chicane is a pseudonym used by UK-based electronic musician and record producer Nick Bracegirdle, born on 28 February 1971, in London.

Chicane is known for the singles Offshore, an Ibiza dance anthem included in thousands of compilations in both chill-out and dance form; Saltwater, which featured vocals by Clannad member Maire Brennan and is ranked among the best-ever trance singles; Autumn Tactics; and especially the #1 smash hit Don't Give Up, which features vocals by Bryan Adams. His other hits include the fast-paced Halcyon, and the dance melody Love on the Run featuring the vocals of Peter Cunnah.

In addition, Bracegirdle also worked under the alias Disco Citizens, producing a handful of less radio-friendly, vocalless tracks with a stronger progressive house sound. Working with singer Vanessa St. James and producer Mr. Joshua, Bracegirdle was part of the Mr. Joshua Presents Espiritu project, known for the song In Praise of the Sun, released with both English and French vocals.

Bracegirdle's body of work for other artists includes working as a producer for Bryan Adams and Cher on her album Living Proof. He has also done a number of remixes for artists such as Everything But The Girl, Billie Ray Martin, Bryan Adams, BT and Enigma. In addition, he composed music for the PlayStation game Formula One.

Bracegirdle describes Chicane's music as being strongly influenced by the relaxed, summer atmosphere of Ibiza, where he was taken on holidays as a child. The first two Chicane albums are known for atmospheric, ambient melodies and shifting moods and tempos, particularly Far from the Maddening Crowds, which has been called "a soundtrack for an average day".

Bracegirdle's career took a turn following the release of Behind the Sun, at which point he stated desires to focus on being a recording artist and producer, starting with planned work on Adams' then-upcoming studio album. Bracegirdle also put remix work on hold at this point, reportedly turning down Jean-Michel Jarre, Moby, and both Kylie and Dannii Minogue. The music that followed also changed; in more recent interviews, Bracegirdle has noted that he is consciously moving away from the influences of Ibiza in his songwriting - calling it a return to his "song writing background" as opposed to dance music.

Far from the Maddening Crowds and Behind the Sun were both primarily recorded at Chicane's personal recording studio, Modena One (sharing the name of his own record label), located at his parents' house. Co-producers who worked on these albums are Leo Elstob, Salt Tank, Ray "Madman" Hedges, and Martin Brannigan. Tomski was commissioned to program the opening tracks ("Early" and "Overture") on both albums and contributed snippets and sounds to other tracks. However, Bracegirdle has stated that he works alone when in his own studio. In April 2006, a reference to "Modena 2" appeared in the liner notes to the "Stoned in Love" single, suggesting that a new studio has been constructed.

"That is what drove me with my new album Easy To Assemble," he continues. "I wanted to create something that was different - not only to what else is around at the moment - but also to my previous albums, which were more conceptual with a beginning, middle and end. This one is more a collection of vocal songs, lots of strong melodies. Not too much down-beat stuff, it's all pretty much up."

"I love those kind of epic, beautiful pieces of music which work well. But it could be anything - a film calls for all sort of things and if you're doing the score, you're doing things from ridiculously small incidental bits of music to fast-paced sections," he laughs before concluding, "just anything that expresses the need for any type of mood."

So what's next for Chicane? "I'd like to do even more song-based material, less instrumental stuff. I'd love to work with Trevor Horn or Brian Eno. And vocally, I'd go for someone folky like Tori Amos or Suzanne Vega."

♪ Discography

1. 1996, Offshore (DE) (CD5)
2. 1997, Far From The Maddening Crowds
3. 1997, Lost You Somewhere (CD5)
4. 1997, Offshore (AU) (CD5)
5. 1997, Offshore '97 (CD5)
6. 1997, Sunstroke (CD5)
7. 1998, Strong In Love (CD5)
8. 1999, Saltwater (CD5)
9. 2000, Autumn Tactics (CD5)
10. 2000, Behind The Sun
11. 2000, Don't Give Up (US) (CD5)
12. 2000, No Ordinary Morning (CD5)
13. 2000, Saltwater (US) (CD5)
14. 2001, The Best Mixes Saltwater
15. 2003, Easy To Assemble
16. 2003, Love On The Run (AU) (CD5)
17. 2003, Love On The Run (UK) (CD5)

Offshore (DE) (CD5) (1996)

Name	Size	Length	Bitrate
01 - Offshore (Radio Edit).flac	20 469 305	03:09	860
02 - Offshore (Original Version).flac	40 284 712	07:01	760
03 - Offshore (Disco Citizens Remix).flac	57 755 492	09:23	810
04 - Offshore (Disco Citizens Edit).flac	28 942 811	04:26	860

Far From The Maddening Crowds (1997)

Name	Size	Length	Bitrate
01 - Early.mp3	10 304 782	04:17	320
02 - Already There.mp3	7 046 791	02:56	320
03 - Offshore (Original Version).mp3	16 225 174	06:45	320
04 - Lost You Somewhere.mp3	20 234 448	08:25	320
05 - From Blue To Green.mp3	14 037 158	05:50	320
06 - Sunstroke (Disco Citizens Mix).mp3	21 864 488	09:06	320
07 - Leaving Town.mp3	14 325 550	05:58	320
08 - Red Skies.mp3	18 188 537	07:34	320
09 - Sunstroke (Original Version).mp3	15 099 819	06:17	320
10 - Offshore '97.mp3	22 120 488	09:13	320
11 - The Drive Home.mp3	14 673 501	06:06	320

Lost You Somewhere (CD5) (1997)

Name	Size	Length	Bitrate
01 - Lost You Somewhere (Radio Edit).flac	28 345 624	04:17	870
02 - Lost You Somewhere (Original Version).flac	56 577 696	08:26	890
03 - Lost You Somewhere (Heliotropic Mix).flac	59 048 629	08:42	900
04 - Lost You Somewhere (R.O.O.S. Remix).flac	42 535 990	08:14	680

Offshore (AU) (CD5) (1997)

Name	Size	Length	Bitrate
01 - Offshore (Disco Citizens Edit).flac	28 943 637	04:28	860
02 - Offshore (Original Version).flac	40 291 744	07:01	760
03 - Offshore (Disco Citizens Remix).flac	57 755 164	09:22	820

Offshore '97 (CD5) (1997)

Name	Size	Length	Bitrate
01 - Offshore '97 (R&D Edit).flac	25 020 851	03:52	860
02 - Red Skies (Edit).flac	45 281 413	07:36	790
03 - Offshore (Disco Citizens Edit).flac	27 823 328	04:29	820
04 - Offshore (A Man Called Adam Remix).flac	48 004 060	09:04	700

Sunstroke (CD5) (1997)

Name	Size	Length	Bitrate
01 - Sunstroke (Disco Citizens Radio Edit).flac	25 722 239	04:02	840
02 - Sunstroke (Original Radio Edit).flac	24 900 270	03:50	860
03 - Sunstroke (Disco Citizens On The Train Remix).flac	48 396 278	08:04	790
04 - Sunstroke (Original Mix).flac	40 215 643	06:21	840
05 - Sunstroke (White Mix).flac	41 967 277	06:40	830

Strong In Love (CD5) (1998)

Name	Size	Length	Bitrate
01 - Strong In Love (Radio Edit).flac	25 476 762	03:55	860
02 - Strong In Love (Original Version).flac	47 949 616	07:50	810
03 - Strong In Love (Disco Citizens Remix).flac	51 039 040	08:06	830

Saltwater (CD5) (1999)

Name	Size	Length	Bitrate
01 - Saltwater (Original Radio Edit).flac	24 024 408	03:29	910
02 - Saltwater (Original Mix).flac	66 749 580	09:50	900
03 - Saltwater (Mothership Mix).flac	21 754 378	03:24	850

Autumn Tactics (CD5) (2000)

Name	Size	Length	Bitrate
01 - Autumn Tactics (Chicane's End Of Summer Radio Edit).flac	26 877 952	03:47	940
02 - Autumn Tactics (Chicane's End Of Summer Remix).flac	60 493 013	08:44	920
03 - Autumn Tactics (The Thrillseekers Remix).flac	52 905 579	07:23	950

Behind The Sun (2000)

Name	Size	Length	Bitrate
01 - Overture.mp3	7 185 554	03:44	256
02 - Low Sun.mp3	13 335 405	06:56	256
03 - No Ordinary Morning.mp3	9 938 233	05:10	256
04 - Saltwater (Original Mix).mp3	19 306 370	10:03	256
05 - Halcyon.mp3	17 336 111	09:01	256
06 - Autumn Tactics.mp3	9 461 760	04:55	256
07 - Overlap.mp3	8 920 920	04:38	256
08 - Don't Give Up (Original Mix).mp3	16 125 701	08:23	256
09 - Saltwater.mp3	13 289 430	06:55	256
10 - Andromeda.mp3	12 685 897	06:36	256

Don't Give Up (US) (CD5) (2000)

Name	Size	Length	Bitrate
01 - Don't Give Up (Original Radio Edit).flac	23 371 441	03:42	830
02 - Don't Give Up (Original Mix).flac	55 799 774	08:37	860
03 - Don't Give Up (Disco Citizens Vs. Tomski Remix).flac	50 318 489	07:31	890
04 - Low Sun.flac	41 657 762	06:57	790

No Ordinary Morning (CD5) (2000)

Name	Size	Length	Bitrate
01 - No Ordinary Morning (7'' Radio Edit).flac	27 375 596	03:49	950
02 - Halcyon (Original Mix).flac	57 916 791	09:02	850
03 - Halcyon (Airscape Remix).flac	52 289 622	07:01	990

Saltwater (US) (CD5) (2000)

Name	Size	Length	Bitrate
01 - Saltwater (Original Mix).flac	67 273 558	09:52	900
02 - Saltwater (Tomski Vs. Disco Citizens Remix).flac	63 162 729	09:10	910
03 - Don't Give Up (Peter Rauhofer Roxy Anthem).flac	73 367 021	10:00	970
04 - Don't Give Up (Johnny Vicious Club Mix).flac	71 980 872	09:31	1 000
05 - Autumn Tactics (Chicane's End Of Summer Remix).flac	54 604 280	08:42	830

The Best Mixes Saltwater (2001)

Name	Size	Length	Bitrate
01 - Lost You Somewhere.mp3	16 763 297	06:59	320
02 - Saltwater (Original).mp3	15 908 570	06:37	320
03 - Offshore '97.mp3	9 804 276	04:05	320
04 - Strong In Love Feat. Manson (Disco Citizens Remix).mp3	13 210 644	05:30	320
05 - Autumn Tactics (Thrillseekers Remix).mp3	12 616 097	05:15	320
06 - Red Skies.mp3	12 333 974	05:08	320
07 - Sunstroke (Disco Citizens On The Train Remix).mp3	12 100 962	05:02	320
08 - Autumn Tactics (Chicane's End Of Summer Remix).mp3	15 961 860	06:39	320
09 - Halcyon.mp3	17 518 758	07:17	320
10 - Sunstroke (DJ Quicksilver Remix).mp3	14 753 958	06:08	320

Easy To Assemble (2003)

Name	Size	Length	Bitrate
01 - Love On The Run (Peter Cunnah).mp3	11 708 080	04:52	320
02 - Daylight.mp3	12 791 640	05:19	320
03 - East Side Story (Bryan Adams).mp3	9 063 444	03:46	320
04 - In Praise Of The Sun (Espiritu).mp3	16 491 623	06:52	320
05 - Locking Down.mp3	11 460 440	04:46	320
06 - Spirit (Jewel).mp3	11 472 978	04:46	320
07 - Arizona.mp3	7 254 725	03:01	320
08 - Some Might Say.mp3	11 609 860	04:50	320
09 - Kilometre.mp3	14 982 791	06:14	320
10 - Something Wrong.mp3	10 292 244	04:17	320
11 - Empires.mp3	17 367 248	07:14	320
12 - Love On The Run (Blank & Jones Remix).mp3	16 309 811	06:47	320
13 - Love On The Run (Rob Searle Remix Force Remix).mp3	20 719 280	08:37	320
14 - Love On The Run (Original Mix).mp3	20 220 864	08:25	320

Love On The Run (AU) (CD5) (2003)

Name	Size	Length	Bitrate
01 - Love On The Run (Single Edit).flac	23 584 389	03:39	850
02 - Love On The Run (Blank & Jones Remix).flac	53 165 741	06:48	1 040
03 - Arizona (Part 1).flac	19 005 350	03:20	750

Love On The Run (UK) (CD5) (2003)

Name	Size	Length	Bitrate
01 - Love On The Run (Single Edit).flac	23 593 959	03:40	850
02 - Love On The Run (Chicane Mix).flac	55 555 208	08:38	850
03 - Love On The Run (Force Five Remix).flac	51 344 105	07:33	900

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