Alison Goldfrapp started out as lead singer of various punk and goth bands including Demented Children and Waste Product while still at Alton College in Alton, Hampshire, England. It was while still at Middlesex University, Goldfrapp began to explore her creative abilities. She quickly gained a reputation as a creative talent with a highly distinctive voice, resulting in guest appearances on multiple albums while still at college. She performed on her friend Tricky's 1995 debut album Maxinquaye and also lent her vocals to Orbital's album Snivilisation, before deciding to pursue a solo career of her own.

As Goldfrapp began to write her own music, her demos were passed on to film score composer Will Gregory by a few of her friends. Gregory had reached the point in his career where he wanted to stop working on minor projects and focus on something he could put his ideas and beliefs behind without feeling like he was compromising himself. After listening to Goldfrapp sing an early demo version of "Human", Gregory said, "This is someone I'd really like to meet. Wherever she is, I want to be there too - because I feel like I already am. I just felt that there was a connection there".[1] Gregory called Goldfrapp and invited her to record a demo for a film he was working on to see if they could work with each other. Although the demo was never finished, the recording session was a pleasant one and the two began to send mix tapes and demos back and forth to each other, as Gregory was living in Bath and Goldfrapp in London. In 1999 the two decided to form a duo, having the same musical tastes and interests, performing under Alison's last name. The same year they signed a major record deal with London based Mute Records.