The music and mind behind Disco Citizens and Chicane, Nick Bracegirdle scored two massive hits with ?Sunstroke? and ?Offshore? ? the latter having appeared on no less than 47 different compilation albums. Here, Nick talks us through his debut long player ? which, as he explains, is more than just a collection of melodic trance tunes.

?Early?: ?The whole album is pretty selfish as it?s all based around my personal experiences. The opener reflects my love of surfing early in the morning when there?s very little going on except the thoughts whizzing around your head.?
?Already There?: ?This is basically an acoustic version of ?Offshore?, stripping it down to the bare essentials.?
?Offshore (Original)?: ?The ultimate end-of-summer record.?
?Lost You Somewhere?: ?This is about my recent split with my girlfriend. I?m musically a perfectionist, and sometime during the last year I?ve been so busy I lost her.?
?From Blue To Green?: ?Because I?ve been able to do my own thing with the album, I could afford to indulge myself a little. I?m very interested in multimedia projects and doing film soundtracks, and this chugging breakbeat number is a filmic experiment I?m quite pleased with.?
?Sunstroke (DC Mix)?: ?While ?Offshore? is about summer?s end, ?Sunstroke? is about the start of a new summer, going back and starting again while reflecting on summers past. This is the soundtrack to a long train journey.?
?Leaving Town?: ?Here I teamed up with local lads Salt Tank, who I?d previously got to remix ?Offshore?. This is like ?Eugina? meets ?Offshore?.?
?Red Skies?: ?A pumping, trancey tune that was inspired by a dusky setting. The supposed ?Blue Monday? sample is not actually a sample. It?s three choir pads moulded together to get the same effect.?
?Sunstroke (Original)?: ?This is a more laid-back and moving version for that 6am feeling.?
?Offshore (Pappa Vox)?: ?Anthony Pappa used to mix an accapella version of Power Circle?s ?Give A Little Love? over ?Offshore? and after he did it on his Renaissance album the bootlegs started to appear. I wasn?t keen on it being re-released again, but the demand was there and I decided to go for it. By coincidence, Power Circle are signed to the same major record company as I am, so getting permission wasn?t a problem.?
?The Drive Home?: ?This was inspired by a fabulous night at Mr C?s club The End. Driving home across the river with my ex-girlfriend put me in the mood to write this. The sun coming up over the misty morning . . . a fitting finale to the album, I think.?
Albums:
? Far From The Maddening Crowds is released on October 13th on Edel. Distribution is through Grapevine.