Chicane

Chicane is the professional name of Nicholas Bracegirdle, the English musician, DJ, composer, songwriter and producer behind some of trance music's best-known crossover records. His 1997 debut album, Far from the Maddening Crowds, remains widely regarded within the trance community, while its single “Offshore” became an Ibiza trance anthem that circulated in both dancefloor and chill-out versions. The track's long afterlife included “Offshore 2007,” released as part of the album's tenth-anniversary reissue.

Born on 28 February 1971, Bracegirdle built Chicane around melodic electronic music that moved between trance, ambient, chillout and Balearic sounds. “Saltwater,” featuring Máire Brennan of Clannad, became another defining Chicane single. His collaboration with Bryan Adams, “Don't Give Up,” reached number one in the UK and placed in the top ten on singles charts across Europe and Australia.

Chicane's second studio album, Behind the Sun, arrived in 2000 and was certified gold in the UK. An intended subsequent album, Easy to Assemble, was ultimately not released. Bracegirdle returned with Somersault in 2007, issued through his independent record label. Later albums include Giants (2010), Thousand Mile Stare (2012), The Sum of Its Parts (2015), The Place You Can't Remember, the Place You Can't Forget (2018), Everything We Had to Leave Behind (2021), Nevertheless (2023), and Trampolines (2024).

Outside the Chicane name, Bracegirdle worked with Leo Elstob as Disco Citizens, making a small body of instrumental, progressive house-leaning material that was less focused on radio-friendly vocals. He also joined singer Vanessa St. James and producer Mr. Joshua in Mr. Joshua Presents Espiritu, the project behind “In Praise of the Sun,” which was released in English- and French-vocal versions. His additional work includes executive production on Tomski's “14 Hours to Save the Earth” and the one-off Sitvac single “Wishful Thinking.”