Allan Arthur Guy Sigsworth (born May 1960) is an English record producer and songwriter. During his career, he has worked with many artists, including Seal, Björk, Goldie, Madonna, Britney Spears, Kate Havnevik, Imogen Heap, Bebel Gilberto, Mozez, David Sylvian, Alanis Morissette, Eric Whitacre, Alison Moyet, and AURORA . He has also collaborated with many celebrated instrumental musicians, including Talvin Singh, Jon Hassell, and Lester Bowie. He is a member of the duo Frou Frou, with Imogen Heap.[1]
Guy Sigsworth | |
|---|---|
 Sigsworth in 2007 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Allan Arthur Guy Sigsworth |
| Born | May 1960 (age 64) Ilkley, England |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments | |
| Labels |
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| Member of | Frou Frou |
| Formerly of | Acacia |
| Website | guysigsworth |
Early life
editThis section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (July 2023) |
Allan Arthur Guy Sigsworth was born in May 1960[2] and grew up in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, where he developed a youthful passion for early music,[3] especially the 14th-century composer Guillaume de Machaut. His earliest musical heroes were the multi-instrumentalist David Munrow and the maverick field recordist and composer David Fanshawe. He was a pupil at Leeds Grammar School in the 1970s. He studied the harpsichord, first at summer schools at the Casa de Mateus in Portugal, and later for a year at the Utrechts Conservatorium in the Netherlands. He toured Europe playing harpsichord for the European Union Baroque Orchestra.
Sigsworth has worked with various engineers and programmers of distinction. During the late 1990s, he worked with Damian Taylor, who has since engineered, programmed, and performed live with Björk; in the early 2000s, he worked with Sean McGhee, who has since produced Temposhark; and most recently, he has worked extensively with Andy Page, who has previously worked with Sasha, BT, and Harry Gregson-Williams.
Career
editThis section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (January 2021) |
Seal
editAfter returning to the UK, Sigsworth moved to London and made a sudden change of direction. He became fascinated with the burgeoning acid house sound, and immediately bought a Roland sampler and an Atari computer. He met musician Seal, co-writing four songs on his debut album: "Crazy", "The Beginning", "Wild", and "Violet", plus the B-side, "Sparkle". The album's producer, Trevor Horn, was the first pop record producer Sigsworth had ever met.
Bomb the Bass / Hector Zazou
editTim Simenon was also involved in work on Seal's song "Crazy", and Sigsworth soon became part of the regular production team of Simenon's band, Bomb the Bass, co-writing the UK No. 7 hit single "Winter in July". He also worked with Simenon on Hector Zazou's 1992 album Sahara Blue, performing alongside celebrated French actor Gérard Depardieu on the track "I'll Strangle You". Sigsworth subsequently contributed to Zazou's 1994 album Chansons des mers froides, accompanying Björk.
Talvin Singh
editWhile working on sessions for Japanese drummer/producer Gota Yashiki, Sigsworth met virtuoso tabla player Talvin Singh. He subsequently played synthesizer and harpsichord for Singh's live shows, and later played and contributed remixes on Singh's debut album, OK.
"Survival Game"
editIn 1993, Sigsworth produced the benefit song "Survival Game" for the relief organization Menschen für Menschen in Ethiopia, founded by actor Karlheinz Böhm. The song was written by Mike Turtle and Dean Frederick. The track was later remixed by Paul Dakeyne and hit the charts in South America and Europe.
Björk
editWhile working with Talvin Singh, Sigsworth met Björk, becoming keyboard player, and later music director, of her live band for two albums. Sigsworth brought his early music sensibility to Björk's live performances and recordings, adding harpsichord, clavichord, regal, and positive organ accompaniments to her music. His harpsichord can be heard on the song "Cover Me" from the album Post; the clavichord on the song "All Is Full of Love"; and organ on the "Unravel" from Homogenic. "Unravel" was Sigsworth's first co-written song with Björk. Sigsworth also played celesta on Björk's cover of Joni Mitchell's "The Boho Dance"; the celesta later became a feature on both Selmasongs (where he also contributed a string arrangement) and Vespertine, on which he co-wrote "Hidden Place", "An Echo, A Stain", "Sun in My Mouth", and "Harm of Will".
Imogen Heap
editSigsworth first met Imogen Heap in 1996 after a friend played him a demo of her song "Come Here Boy". He immediately fell in love with her distinctive voice. He was also amazed to hear that she shared his idiosyncratic love of melodies featuring wide, angular intervals—especially major 7ths and minor 9ths—which are not so common in pop. They wrote two songs together, "Getting Scared" and "Airplane", which Sigsworth produced for her debut album, I Megaphone. In return, Heap sang backing vocals on Sigsworth's band project with Alexander Nilere, Acacia.
G:MT
editIn 1999, Sigsworth scored the movie G:MT - Greenwich Mean Time, which included musical contributions from Imogen Heap, Talvin Singh, and free jazz virtuoso Lester Bowie.
Madonna
editSigsworth co-produced the 1998 Mandalay album Empathy, which attracted the attention of Madonna. This in turn led to him co-writing the song "What It Feels Like for a Girl" with Madonna and David Torn, for her 2000 album Music. Sigsworth also wrote the song "Nothing Fails" with Jem for Madonna's 2003 album American Life.
Frou Frou
editOne night in Mumbai, India, where he was producing a song for British artist Amar, Sigsworth composed a tune on his Yamaha QY20 pocket sequencer. As soon as he arrived back in London, he took it to Imogen Heap, and asked her to write a top line for it. It became "Flicks", their first song for what would become the Frou Frou album Details. Originally, there was no plan for Sigsworth and Heap to form a band. It was simply a matter of Sigsworth wanting to hear various song ideas properly realized. As Heap said: "Every month or so, Guy would phone me up and say 'I've got a new song, would you come in and sing it?', and then before we knew it, we'd already started the album."
As a linking concept for the emerging set of songs, Sigsworth suggested two ideas for the lyrics:
- They should feel like one half of a conversation rather than singer-on-a-soapbox declarations. Sigsworth's inspiration for this was the 1932 Jean Cocteau play La voix humaine (the entire text of the play consists of one side of a telephone conversation between a woman and her former lover. Her lover's words are never heard but are inferred from her words).
- The word "love" should be used as often as possible.
Sigsworth wrote the lyrics to the songs "Breathe In", "Only Got One", and "The Dumbing Down of Love", and co-wrote the lyrics to "Let Go", "It's Good to Be in Love", and "Psychobabble" on Details. Heap wrote the remaining lyrics, apart from "Maddening Shroud", which was texted by Alexander Nilere.
After eleven songs had been completed, Heap and Sigsworth set about finding a name for their collaborative effort. Sigsworth, a fan of all things French, came up with "Frou Frou", which Heap loved. The name comes from Rimbaud's 1870 poem "Ma Bohème", and is a French onomatopoeic word originally meaning the swishing noise made by skirts on dancing women. The album title, "Details", was a reference to the way the songs were constructed in the studio, by layering momentary details of sounds and performances to create a web of sound.
The album was released in 2002 on Universal Records.[1] It was critically acclaimed, but did not achieve mass sales. "Breathe In" was released as the first single internationally, and reached number two on the Italian radio airplay charts, but follow-up singles "Must Be Dreaming" and "It's Good to Be in Love" were never commercially released in the UK. A video was also made for "The Dumbing Down of Love", directed by Joel Peissig (who later directed Heap's solo video "Hide and Seek"). After touring the record extensively across the United States, where the duo had established a cult fan base, Frou Frou disbanded in 2003.
Heap and Sigsworth temporarily reformed Frou Frou to record a cover version of "Holding Out for a Hero", originally recorded by Bonnie Tyler, for the Shrek 2 soundtrack. The duo were approached by the music director of the film, who had been a fan of their album. The resulting track is played during the end credits of the film. Frou Frou also experienced a resurgence in popularity in 2004, when Scrubs star Zach Braff chose album track "Let Go" for his independent film Garden State. Other Frou Frou tracks have been included on television series, such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Roswell High.
Discography
editSolo
edit- STET (2019)
Acacia
edit- Cradle (1997)
Frou Frou
edit- Details (2002)
- Off Cuts (EP, 2022)
As primary producer
edit- Mandalay – Empathy (1998)
- Baz – Psychedelic Love (2003)
- Kate Havnevik – Melankton (2006)
- Richard Walters – Pilot Lights EP (2007)
- Temposhark – The Invisible Line (2007)
- Alanis Morissette – Flavors of Entanglement (2008)
- Kate Havnevik – Me (2009)
- Diana Vickers – Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree (2010)
- Kate Havnevik – You (2011)
- Alanis Morissette – Havoc and Bright Lights (2012)
- Hildegard Von Bingen, Stevie Wishart & Sinfonye – Hildegard (2012)
- Alison Moyet – The Minutes (2013)
- Kate Havnevik – Residue (2014)
- Kate Havnevik – &i (2015)
- Alison Moyet – Other (2017)
- Jadu Heart – Melt Away (2019)
- Kate Havnevik – Lightship (2022)
Remixes
edit- Bomb the Bass – "The Air You Breathe (Real Mellow Mix)" (1991)
- Lio – "L'Autre Joue (L'Autre Mix)" (1991)
- Lio – "L'Autre Joue (Heaven Mix)" (1991)
- Dali – "Daylight (One For My Baby Mix)" (1995)
- Badmarsh & Shri – "Air I Breathe (Guy Sigsworth Remix)" (1998)
- Talvin Singh – "Vikram the Vampire (Heavy Rotation Refixx)" (1999)
- Talvin Singh – "OK (Heavy Rotation Refixx)" (1999)
- Björk – "All is Full of Love (Guy Sigsworth Remix)" (1999)
- David Sylvian – "Godman (Guy Sigsworth Remix)" (1999)
- Aphrodite – "See Thru It (Frou Frou Edit)" (2002)
- Bebel Gilberto – "O Caminho (Guy Sigsworth Mix)" (2005)
- Mirah – "La Familia (Guy Sigsworth Remix)" (2006)
- Diana Vickers – "Jumping Into Rivers (Frou Frou Central Mix)" (2010)
- Alison Moyet – "Changeling (Guy Sigsworth Remix)" (2013)
- Alison Moyet – "Right as Rain (Guy Sigsworth Remix)" (2013)
- Amy Lee – "Love Exists (Guy Sigsworth Mix)" (2017)
- Gia Margaret – "Solid Heart (Guy Sigsworth Remix)" (2021)
Work with other artists
edit| Title | Year | Artist | Album | Credit(s) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Writing | Production | Instrumentation | Arrangement | Engineering | Mixing | ||||
| All tracks | 1990 | Sally Natasha Oldfield | Natasha | Programming, drum programming | Co | ||||
| "Sparkle" | Seal | Crazy | Yes | Co | |||||
| "A Minor Groove" | 1991 | Future Love EP | Yes | ||||||
| "The Beginning" | Seal | Yes | Keyboards, sampling | ||||||
| "Crazy" | Yes | Yes | Keyboards, sampling | ||||||
| "Wild" | Yes | Keyboards, sampling | |||||||
| "Violet" | Yes | Keyboards, sampling | |||||||
| "Love So True (Depth Charge Remix)" | Bomb the Bass | Unknown Territory | Additional keyboards | ||||||
| "Winter In July (7" Mix)" | Yes | Keyboards, sampling | |||||||
| "The Air You Breathe" | Yes | Keyboards, sampling | |||||||
| "Winter In July (Ubiquity Mix)" | Yes | Keyboards, sampling | |||||||
| "Love So True (12" Mix)" | Additional keyboards | ||||||||
| "Born To Be Alive!" | 1992 | Adamski | Naughty | Additional programming | |||||
| "Time Capsule" | Additional programming | ||||||||
| "Newsflash" | Additional programming | ||||||||
| "Head-On-Collision-Ism" | Additional programming | ||||||||
| "No Return" | Nokko | Hallelujah | Keyboards | ||||||
| "Crazy Clouds" | Keyboards | ||||||||
| "日なたのヒヨコ (Dandelion Heart)" | Keyboards | ||||||||
| "Holy Night" | Keyboards | ||||||||
| "What I've Got" | Vitamino | Non-album single | Yes | Co | Yes | ||||
| "I'll Strangle You" | Hector Zazou | Sahara Blue | Keyboards | ||||||
| All tracks | Simon Climie | Soul Inspiration | Keyboards, programming | ||||||
| "The Flame" | Natasha Oldfield | The Flame | Keyboards | ||||||
| "Crazy Clouds" | 1993 | Nokko | Call Me Nightlife | Keyboards | |||||
| All tracks | Naked Truth | Fight | Yes | ||||||
| "Survival Game" | It's 5 to 12 | Non-album single | Yes | ||||||
| "Come In Out of the Rain" | Kenji Hammer | A Few Years Since EP | Hammond B-3 | ||||||
| "A Few Years Since" | Wurlitzer | ||||||||
| "Visur Vatnsenda-Rosu" | 1994 | Hector Zazou | Songs From The Cold Seas | Grand piano | |||||
| "Cover Me" | 1995 | Björk | Post | Harpsichord | |||||
| "Venus As A Boy (Harpsichord)" | Isobel | Harpsichord | Co | ||||||
| "An Inexperienced Man" | Gary Kemp | Little Bruises | Programming | ||||||
| "These Are The Days (Born Under Twins)" | Programming | ||||||||
| "Sweet Sweet Intuition" | Björk | It's Oh So Quiet | Organ | ||||||
| "Possibly Maybe (Calcutta Cyber Cafe Mix)" | 1996 | Possibly Maybe | Additional keyboards | ||||||
| "Together (Tears Of Joy) (Original TV Mix)" | Gota | Keyboards | |||||||
| "Hunter" | 1997 | Björk | Homogenic | Clavichord, keyboards, pipe organ | |||||
| "Jóga" | Clavichord, keyboards, pipe organ | ||||||||
| "Unravel" | Yes | Co | Clavichord, keyboards, pipe organ | ||||||
| "All Neon Like" | Clavichord, keyboards, pipe organ | ||||||||
| "5 Years" | Clavichord, keyboards, pipe organ | ||||||||
| "Alarm Call" | Clavichord, keyboards, pipe organ | ||||||||
| "Pluto" | Clavichord, keyboards, pipe organ | ||||||||
| "All is Full of Love" | Clavichord, keyboards, pipe organ | ||||||||
| "Scary" | Bachelorette | Yes | Harpsichord | ||||||
| "Traveller" | 1998 | Talvin Singh | OK | Keyboards, distortion | |||||
| "Sutrix" | Keyboards, distortion | ||||||||
| "OK" | Keyboards, distortion | ||||||||
| "Mother" | Goldie | Saturnz Return | Keyboards | ||||||
| "Getting Scared" | Imogen Heap | I Megaphone | Yes | Yes | |||||
| "Sweet Religion" | Programming | ||||||||
| "Be There" (feat. Ian Brown) |
UNKLE | Psyence Fiction | Mellotron | Additional | |||||
| "People Are Strange (UNKLE Remix)" | Stina Nordenstam | People Are Strange | Additional | ||||||
| "Airplane" | Imogen Heap | Shine | Yes | Programming | Yes | ||||
| "The Beginning" | Akemi Kakihara | Yes | Bass programming, drum programming | ||||||
| "Deep" | Sampler | ||||||||
| "Yes" | Keyboards, sampler | ||||||||
| "Blue Apple" | Strings | ||||||||
| "Girl" | Sampler | ||||||||
| "Fast Train" | Sampler | ||||||||
| "Sweet September" | Bass programming | ||||||||
| "Overture" | 2000 | Björk | Selmasongs | Celesta | |||||
| "Cvalda" | Celesta | ||||||||
| "I've Seen it All" | Celesta | Co | |||||||
| "Scatterheart" | Celesta | ||||||||
| "In the Musicals" | Celesta | ||||||||
| "107 Steps" | Celesta | ||||||||
| "New World" | Celesta | ||||||||
| "What It Feels Like for a Girl" | Madonna | Music | Yes | Co | Guitar, keyboards, programming | ||||
| "Sometimes it Snows in April" | Amar | Outside | Yes | ||||||
| "Inner Sanctum" | 3rd Core | Pandemic | Co | ||||||
| "Mindless and Broken" | Co | ||||||||
| "Cold Comfort" | Co | ||||||||
| "Driving Me Blue" | Co | ||||||||
| "Numb" | Co | ||||||||
| "Race" | Co | ||||||||
| "Mother Heroic" | 2001 | Björk | Hidden Place | Yes | Celesta | ||||
| "Foot Soldier" | Yes | ||||||||
| "What Sound" | Lamb | What Sound | String | ||||||
| "One" | Co | ||||||||
| "I Cry" | Bass line | ||||||||
| "Heaven" | Co | Bass line | |||||||
| "Small" | Co | ||||||||
| "Gabriel" | Co | ||||||||
| "Just Is" | Co | ||||||||
| "Hidden Place" | Björk | Vespertine | Programming | Choir | |||||
| "It's Not Up to You" | Clavichord | Clavichord | |||||||
| "An Echo A Stain" | Yes | Beat programming, celeste | Choir | ||||||
| "Sun in My Mouth" | Yes | Celeste | Celeste | ||||||
| "Harm of Will" | Yes | Celeste | Celeste | ||||||
| "Unison" | Programming | Choir | |||||||
| "Blow My Mind" | 2002 | Robyn | Don't Stop the Music | Yes | All instruments | ||||
| "Should Have Known" | Yes | All instruments | |||||||
| "What I've Got" | Akkersson | Non-album single | Yes | ||||||
| "It's in Our Hands" | Björk | Programming | |||||||
| "Whatever Makes You Happy" | 2003 | Sugababes | Three | Co | All instruments | ||||
| "Million Different Ways" | Yes | Co | Yes | ||||||
| "We Could Have It All" | Co | Yes | |||||||
| "Maya" | Yes | Co | All instruments | Yes | |||||
| "Everytime" | Britney Spears | In the Zone | Yes | All instruments | |||||
| "Nothing Fails" | Madonna | American Life | Yes | ||||||
| "Cada Beijo" | 2004 | Bebel Gilberto | Bebel Gilberto | Yes | Yes | Keyboards, drums, programming | |||
| "New Shoes" | 2005 | Juliet | Random Order | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| "Bruised" | Sugababes | Taller in More Ways | Yes | All instruments | |||||
| "Feel Free" | Mozez | So Still | Yes | ||||||
| "Venus Rise" | Yes | ||||||||
| "Like the Weather" | Sugababes | Push the Button | Yes | Yes | All instruments | ||||
| "Someday (I Will Understand)" | Britney Spears | Britney & Kevin: Chaotic | Yes | All instruments (except piano), sounds | |||||
| "Over to You Now" | Yes | Yes | All instruments | ||||||
| "You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)" | 2006 | Josh Groban | Awake | Vocal | |||||
| "Momento" | 2007 | Bebel Gilberto | Momento | Co | Programming | ||||
| "Close To You" | Co | Programming | |||||||
| "Azul" | Co | Acoustic guitar, programming | |||||||
| "Cadê Você?" | Co | Programming | |||||||
| "Wonderful" | Mutya Buena | Real Girl | Yes | Piano, guitar, sampler, synthesizer, drum programming, bass | |||||
| "Evolution of Waters" | Valgeir Sigurðsson | Ekvílibríum | Celesta | ||||||
| "The Boho Dance" | Björk | A Tribute To Joni Mitchell | Co | Celesta, programming, editing | |||||
| "Crashing Down" | Olivia Broadfield | Eyes Wide Open | Yes | Keys, vocals, samples, synths, software | |||||
| "Out From Under" | 2008 | Britney Spears | Circus | Yes | Strings, keyboards, hang samples, drum programming | ||||
| "My Baby" | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| "Paper Made Man" | 2009 | Amy Studt | My Paper Made Men | Yes | Yes | All instruments, noises | |||
| "Broken Pieces" (feat. Lacey Sturm) |
2010 | Apocalyptica | 7th Symphony | Yes | |||||
| "Sunlight" | Diana Vickers | Once | Yes | Keyboards | |||||
| "Up There" | VersaEmerge | Fixed at Zero | Yes | Programming | |||||
| "雪女王 (Snow Queen)" | SingerSen | Sirens | Yes | ||||||
| "Heart Skips a Beat" | 2011 | Lenka | Two | Yes | Strings, keyboards | ||||
| "You Will Be Mine" | Yes | Yes | Strings, keyboards | ||||||
| "Shock Me Into Love" | Yes | Yes | Strings, keyboards | ||||||
| "Heartbeats" | SingerSen | Non-album single | Yes | ||||||
| "Blossom" | 2012 | Richard Walters | Regret Less | Yes | |||||
| "Somebody to Love" | 2013 | Daniele Negroni | Bulletproof | Yes | |||||
| "Fly to Paradise" | Eric Whitacre | Non-album single | Yes | ||||||
| "Sea Song (You Waded Out)" | 2015 | Apocalyptica | Shadowmaker | Yes | |||||
| "Love Exists" | 2017 | Amy Lee | Non-album single | Yes | |||||
| "Chances" | 2019 | Dido | Still On My Mind | Yes | |||||
| "Dance on the Moon" | AURORA | A Different Kind of Human - Step II | Yes | ||||||
| "Shores of Mona" | 2022 | Nick Mulvey | New Mythology | Yes | |||||
| "Mona" | Yes | ||||||||
| "Flashback" | 2023 | Hannah Diamond | Perfect Picture | Yes | Co | ||||
References
edit- ^ a b Jeffries, Vincent. "Biography: Frou Frou". Allmusic. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
- ^ "Allan Arthur Guy Sigsworth personal appointments – Find and update company information". gov.uk. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- ^ "Guy Sigsworth". allmusic.com. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
External links
edit- Official website
- Guy Sigsworth discography at Discogs