In any other language apart from Chicane-speak, Nick Bracegirdle is Chicane. He is not a DJ and isn’t good at table tennis. He is from Chalfont St Giles and likes to snowboard and drive insanely fast – within the constraints of the law, of course! For a man addicted to some hair raising pursuits, it’s a more chilled side of his character that has brought him notoriety; he has written and produced some of the most enduring and haunting trance tunes of the last decade; Offshore, Halcyon, Don’t Give Up, Stoned in Love, Saltwater, Middledistancerunner. The list could go on for quite a while but resting on his laurels is not a Nick thing. Pushing the concept of Chicane can sometimes feel to his fans, a strange thing to do, (if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, right!) but for Nick this is an obsession. “Slowly, I learned that I was Chicane, and what I brought to any song, or project, was to put my coat, if you like, over it’s shoulders”. The idea of repetition does not sit easily with Nick. When Don’t Give Up first appeared, I remember seeing the band at a London show, there was a stonewall refusal to dance, six months later the track was a Chicane anthem. People have anchored life memories to Chicane songs. And long may that tradition continue.
The last album Giants was descended from, but not related to, the Chicane of old; it was blessed with the unmistakable Chicane sound. The lead single from the album featured Adam Young from Owl City on Middledistancerunner. Indeed, collaborations are something that Chicane is known for. Sir Tom Jones, Bryan Adams, Natasha Bedingfield, Adam Young, are a few of the very diverse people that have worked with Chicane, hopefully the list will keep on growing.. Indeed, the latest single, Going Deep, features Aggi Dukes, who himself is no stranger to stepping out of his genre, and is one of London’s hotly prized rappers.
The live band is at present touring Giants around the globe (check the Tour page). There are now two versions of the Chicane live show; Chicane, and Chicane 2.0. The latter enabling performances in more intimate surroundings while the Chicane live show continues to rip up festivals and live venues during 2011. Hopefully, somewhere, sometime, Chicane will see you there…..