Alex Kapranos: biography, creativity

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Indie rock band "Franz Ferdinand" deserves attention as a project that changed this direction in music in the bud. But the soul of the team is the frontman and the author of almost all the tracks - Alex Kapranos. In this article we will try to reveal the formation of him as a musician and not only. After all, this person has many more interesting hobbies in his life.

Childhood and adolescence

Alex Kapranos was born in one of the counties of England called Gloucestershire. This event took place in 1972, on March 20. However, the boy grew up in Greece until the age of 7. Alex's father is Greek by nationality, and it is from here that the singer has such an unusual surname for Scotland. The Kapranos family lived in Edinburgh and then moved to the suburbs of Glasgow. At the time of growing up (17 years old), he decides to change his surname to his mother's. Thus, for several years, he becomes Alex Huntley. The decision to change his surname to Scottish was due to Alex's fear of mockery and ridicule from fellow students at the university.

At first, Alexander Paul Kapranos Huntley went to university to study theology. It was the University of Aberdeen. But theology quickly got bored with the future indie rock star, and after a while he entered another educational institution. That institution was the University of Strathclyde. There he studied as an art critic, and received a bachelor's degree already in 2005 and even with the honorary title of "Graduate of the Year".

Musical activity before the creation of "Franz Ferdinand"

Alex Kapranos began his journey in music a few years before the creation of the now super-popular band. It was in the late 1990s. Alex participated in such bands as The Blisters (the group was later renamed The Karelia), The Amphetameanies, Urusei Yatsura and The Yummy Fur. In addition, the musician and songwriter has his own individual album, released by him in 1997 and called Divorce At High Noon. Kapranos' projects that he was involved in prior to the creation of FF were successful on a Glasgow level.

Kapranos also worked in various clubs in Glasgow as an illuminator. Naturally, this brought him many acquaintances with the musicians of the Scottish capital.

Surprisingly, the self-sufficient man and charismatic leader of a very popular band was at first afraid of how he looked on stage. But then he overcame this fear, coming to the conclusion that if he has the courage to just go out in front of the public, that's already good.

Creation and development of the Franz Ferdinand group

Because Alex often rotated inmusical circles in Scotland, he became interested in this art form. And I thought about creating my own team at the beginning of the 2000s. And so the Franz Ferdinand group was born, which won the hearts of not only the British, but also fans of indie rock in other countries of the world. A group of Alex's friends and himself formed in 2001.

At the beginning of their creative journey, the musicians played at small local concerts and in nightclubs in the capital of Scotland. It lasted from 2002 to 2004. But now the group releases a strong single called Take Me Out and attracts the attention of the general public. In the United Kingdom, for example, the song took an honorable 3rd place in the charts. And, in general, it has become popular outside the English-speaking world.

In the same year, the "Franz" released the first of the four existing albums to date and received several British awards at once: one Mercury Music Prize and two BRIT Awards, becoming the best in the nominations "British Group" and "British Rock". Group". Among other things, the guys managed to be nominated for the Grammy Award and become one of the brightest stars in the world of indie rock.

While working on the third album, Alex Kapranos' personal life went to hell. He broke up with his girlfriend, and this plunged him into a depressing state for a while. But, fortunately, he found the strength to get out of depression and create more.

Kapranos' other hobbies

Even before the popular Scottish band Franz Ferdinand was conceived and formed,Alex was sometimes fond of activities that were completely far from music. He managed to work as a chef, welder, bartender, lecturer, music promoter and driver. Of all these activities, he especially enjoyed teaching. Indeed, in the field of a lecturer, he de alt with people who fled to Great Britain from war and hardship. He sincerely admires those who went through such a terrible path in order to enjoy the most elementary of human benefits. Kapranos taught English and Information Technology.

Alex Kapranos also enjoys writing (he wrote a newspaper column and then published a book), sometimes interviews other musicians, participated in the dubbing of one of the BBC films and loves carpentry.