This week on Hard House History, Paul Glazby sits down with one of electronic music’s most distinctive and enduring artists, Nick Bracegirdle, better known as Chicane.
It might seem like a slight detour from the harder sounds normally associated with the podcast, but for Paul, Chicane's music has always been part of the story. After weekends spent hammering Tony De Vit and hard house, records like Offshore provided the perfect Sunday comedown. What follows is a fascinating conversation with an artist Paul describes as one of the Balearic sound's Godfathers.
Nick takes us back to the music that shaped him, from Jean-Michel Jarre, Vangelis and Vince Clarke to Tears for Fears and Simple Minds. At the heart of it all are melody, emotion, and Chicane's unmistakable mix of sunshine and melancholy.
The pair dig deep into the story behind Offshore, including Nick's childhood summers on the Isle of Wight and his attempt to capture the strange sadness of summer coming to an end. From there, they explore the explosion of club culture in the 1990s, when underground dance records suddenly started crashing into the charts.
Brilliant stories run throughout, from Chicane originally touring with a full live band rather than DJing, to performing alongside an orchestra and working in the studio with artists including Bryan Adams, Tom Jones, Moya Brennan, Cher, and Jewel.
And then things get particularly interesting.
Nick speaks openly about the controversy surrounding Calvin Harris' Blessings and its perceived similarities to Offshore, explaining the sequence of events from his perspective and why the situation became so personal.
Thirty years into Chicane, Nick is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down. He discusses his new 30 album, a packed touring schedule, his return to Australia, and why he believes AI, streaming and direct-to-fan music could radically change the industry.
This is Hard House History stretching beyond hard house and into the wider history of electronic music.
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Whether Offshore soundtracked your Sunday morning, Saltwater takes you straight back to the dancefloor, or you simply love hearing the stories behind electronic music's biggest records, this episode is essential listening.
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