Alex Kapranos

Alex Kapranos

born on 20/3/1972 in Almondsbury, South Gloucestershire, United Kingdom

Alex Kapranos

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Alex Kapranos

Alexander Paul Kapranos Huntley (born 20 March 1972), commonly known as Alex Kapranos, is a Scottish[1] musician and the lead singer and guitarist of the Glasgow-based band Franz Ferdinand.[2]

Early life

Alex Kapranos was born in Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England to an English mother and Greek father.[3] He moved to Scotland at the age of seven, attending primary school in Edinburgh and high school in Bearsden, a suburb of Glasgow.[4] At the age of 17, Kapranos attended the University of Aberdeen to study Theology. After dropping out, he continued his studies at the University of Strathclyde, eventually gaining a BA. In 2005, he was awarded Strathclyde's Alumnus of the Year.[5] He worked as a chef, barman, music promoter, driver, welder and lecturer prior to finding fame with Franz Ferdinand.[6]

From the early 1990s, he was a fixture of the Glasgow music scene, running live nights at the 13th Note, most notably The Kazoo Club. While working as a chef, bartender, lecturer in IT at the city's Anniesland College, and other various jobs, he played in some of Glasgow's popular bands, including The Blisters (later known as The Karelia), The Amphetameanies, and The Yummy Fur. He is also known to have contributed to the noise act Urusei Yatsura and Lungleg recordings.[2]

Franz Ferdinand

After dropping "Huntley" from his name, he formed Franz Ferdinand in 2001. The band is composed of Alex Kapranos, Nick McCarthy (guitar, keyboard, backup vocals), Paul Thomson (drums, backup vocals, sometimes guitar) and Bob Hardy (bass). The band saw chart success after their second single Take Me Out (released 12 January 2004)[7] reached Number 3 in the UK Charts[8] followed by their debut album Franz Ferdinand (released 9 February 2004)[9] which debuted on the UK album chart at Number 3.[10]

The band went on to win the 2004 Mercury Music Prize[11] and two BRIT Awards in 2005[12] for Best British Group and Best British Rock Act.

Writing

In September 2005, Kapranos began "Soundbites",[13] a weekly food column for G2 in the Guardian newspaper, which detailed his culinary adventures as Franz Ferdinand traversed the globe on their world tour. Sound Bites: Eating on Tour with Franz Ferdinand, a book of the column and unreleased material illustrated by Andy Knowles was released in 2006.

Sound Bites: Eating on Tour with Franz Ferdinand was read by Kapranos on BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week for 48 December 2006, described as "his account about what he ate while touring the world."[14]

Production

Kapranos produced "Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever" the third album by British indie rock group The Cribs in Vancouver BC, released on 14 May 2007. He also produced their single only track, "Don't You Wanna Be Relevant?", which was featured with "Our Bovine Public" (from Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever) as a Double A side.

Kapranos makes a cameo appearance in the video for Our Bovine Public.[15]

His remix of the single, "New in Town", by British pop singer Little Boots was featured on various formats of the singles release.

He produced the debut album by British indie rock band Citizens! '"Here We Are'", which was released by Kitsuné on 28 May 2012.[16]

He produced the second album of Scottish guitarist RM Hubbert "Thirteen Lost & Found"

Hobbies

When not on the road, using his leather "jump rope",[17] recording in the studio,[18] Kapranos spends time in his carpentry workshop, crafting abstract furniture.[19]

Narration

Kapranos narrated the 2008 BBC Scotland documentary Edwyn Collins: Home Again on the recovery of Orange Juice singer Edwyn Collins.

Also in 2008, Kapranos narrated the BBC Radio One documentary The Story of Kraftwerk.

References

  1. Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos in Wikipedia dispute. Deadline News (12 December 2012). Retrieved on 2013-03-23.
  2. 2.0 2.1 [1]
  3. Neil Scott. The Mind's Construction Quarterly » Alex Kapranos. Tmcq.co.uk. Retrieved on 2011-11-05.
  4. Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos in Wikipedia dispute. Deadline News (12 December 2012). Retrieved on 2013-03-23.
  5. Alumnus of the Year [2]
  6. Battaglia, Andy (14 February 2007). Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand. The A.V. Club. Retrieved on 2011-11-05.
  7. [3]
  8. "Music Charts: "Franz Ferdinand Take Me Out". aCharts.us. Retrieved 12 January 2004.
  9. [4]
  10. "Music Charts: "Franz Ferdinand Franz Ferdinand". aCharts.us. Retrieved 12 January 2004.
  11. Ferdinand win Mercury Music Prize, BBC News, 8 September 2004. URL accessed on 2011-11-05.
  12. Kaufman, Gil (10 February 2005). Franz Ferdinand, Scissor Sisters, Keane Win Big at Brit Awards. Mtv.com. Retrieved on 2011-11-05.
  13. Kapranos, Alex, Whine tasting, The Guardian, 23 September 2005. URL accessed on 23 April 2010.
  14. Radio 4 Programmes FM Schedule, Saturday 5 November 2011. BBC (31 October 2011). Retrieved on 2011-11-05.
  15. The Cribs Our Bovine Public. YouTube. Retrieved on 2011-11-05.
  16. Citizens! debut album "Here we are" announcement. Kitsuné Journal. Retrieved on 22 November 2012.
  17. [5]
  18. Marianne Dowling (23 November 2009). CANOE JAM! Music Artists Franz Ferdinand : Franz Ferdinand keeps it interesting. Jam.canoe.ca. Retrieved on 2011-11-05.
  19. [6]

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alex Kapranos

  • Franz Ferdinand official website
  • Alex Kapranos talks about Sound Bites to stv.tv
  • Alex Kapranos interview with World Hum
  • Alex Kapranos interview with SPIN
Franz Ferdinand
Alex Kapranos | Robert Hardy | Nicholas McCarthy | Paul Thomson
Albums and EPs
Darts of Pleasure | Franz Ferdinand | You Could Have It So Much Better
DVDs
Franz Ferdinand
Singles
"Darts of Pleasure" | "Take Me Out" | "The Dark of the Matinée" | "Michael" | "This Fire"
"Do You Want To" | "Walk Away" | "The Fallen" / "Lindsey Wells"
Related articles
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria | Domino Records | Tore Johansson | Rich Costey
This page was last modified 18.03.2014 23:50:55

This article uses material from the article Alex Kapranos from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and it is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.