Róisín Murphy returns today with a brand new single, “Fader”, the third puzzle piece to be taken from her highly anticipated upcoming album ‘Hit Parade’, produced in collaboration with electronic music auteur DJ Koze.
Set for release via Ninja Tune, the bountiful 13-track album eloquently blurs genre and pushes sonic boundaries across its vivid and captivating runtime. “Fader” comes accompanied by a self-directed video and, in a full circle moment, is set against the backdrop of Murphy’s hometown of Arklow, County Wicklow.
Presented in striking black and white – influenced by classic Hip-Hop videos of the early 90s – and also conceptualised by Murphy, who continues to steer all the creative direction of each of her projects, the “Fader” visual enlists the help of 150 Arklow locals, with the roads of Murphy’s hometown being closed off to recreate a street parade bursting with verve and life. Weaving through a troop of Irish dancers, majorettes, Girl Guides, Boy Scouts, farmers from the community and a brass band in tow, Murphy’s creative vision is brought to vivid life across the full track’s runtime. Having grown up in the town and leaving as a child to travel the world, it is difficult not to tap into Murphy’s sense of unification and fulfilment, shining a light on the brilliant people of Arklow.
Murphy delves into the inspirations and process in her own words –
“This idea came to me partly in reaction to making such surreal and ‘other’ imagery for the album artwork, and partly in response to the track itself. I felt I needed a totally authentic space in which to perform Fader. The song is about life & death & music and so I went home to where it all started for me. Just as in the music there’s a huge HipHop influence on the video and for me to have the sheer front for that, it needed to ring true and so my home town, Arklow was in fact, the only option. It was a huge task to take on, connecting with local government counsellors because we had to close the high street and then, with local groups of all kinds, musicians, dancers, scouts, majorettes, farmers etc and much of my family… doing something like this is a massive responsibility and it threatened to overwhelm me at times. But on the day we had Hollywood sunshine and just an incredible sense of goodwill. The people of Arklow made me so proud. It truly turned out to be one of best days of life…”
Watch the video for ‘Fader’ – BELOW:
A polymath in every sense of the word, Murphy gives each release an entirely fresh and distinct visual identity, and beguiling “Hit Parade” is no different. Overseen by Murphy, the artwork features herself, photo-montaged into an AI-generated image from artist Beth Frey, graphic design by Bráulio Amado and commissioned by creative studio Object & Animal (who have previously worked with the likes of FKA Twigs, Caroline Polachek and Shygirl).
Murphy details the creative vision behind ‘Hit Parade’ –
“About five months ago I started to see strange apparitions materialising across the internet. It was the emergence of vast quantities of AI generated images. I was fascinated by it then and particularly drawn to the work of artist Beth Fey. There’s a Synaesthesia, an ASMR vibe to the music of Hit Parade and in Beth’s AI work also. It’s oddly touchable, curiously tempting… I decided not to throw myself into the AI, there were too many possibilities and not enough control. Instead, using carefully chosen, ready-made, previously existing works, I placed myself into them. This was achieved by combining the imagery with highly specific photography of me. I was shot in exactly the same positions as Beth’s characters in exactly the same light and using a combination of photoshop and different AI applications, we melded the images together”
“Fader” possesses a Daisy Age sampladelic hip-hop verve that practically transports the listener to another plane of sound entirely. The steady shuffle and swing of breakbeat drumwork rattles beneath Murphy’s prophetic lyricism – “off to meet my maker, when I’m good ready”. Lucid instrumentation and warping vocal effects are deployed by DJ Koze throughout the track with grandiose effect, providing a luscious environment for Murphy’s existential playfulness to thrive.
“Fader” follows “The Universe”, “CooCool”, and a limited edition white label release of “Can’t Replicate 12” Edit”, which ignited clubland at the start of the year, being championed by the likes of Daniel Avery, Peggy Gou, Jamie xx and many more. “Can’t Replicate” was also used as the soundtrack to the Chanel AW23 runway show during Paris Fashion Week in March.
With ‘Hit Parade’, Murphy continues her ever-evolving, shape-shifting 30-year career, looking towards the future by joining forces with DJ Koze to conjure blissful music that teems with life and imagination. A hyper-modern record which is a world away from 2020’s critical and commercial success of “Róisín Machine”, it further cements Murphy as a total one-of-a-kind at a creative peak, a constantly inquisitive and restless spirit who is unmatched.
Continuously pushing boundaries in both recording and live settings, Róisín Murphy’s capacity to be an ever-evolving performer is a spectacle in itself. From live-streamed lockdown events to headline appearances at Glastonbury West Holts Stage, Homobloc, a sold-out Brixton Academy, Coachella and Primavera Sound, Murphy consistently proves to be a thrilling must-see artist in every sense of the word. Having played a critically lauded and sold-out headline show at Royal Albert Hall last month, this summer will further cement Murphy’s live reputation, with a festival calendar already including Melt Festival, Secret Garden Party, Mighty Hoopla, We Out Here and more.
Tickets are on sale for her biggest London headline show to date and the iconic Alexandra Palace in Feb 2024 here.
From her time growing up in the Irish town of Arklow, the music seemed to call Murphy almost instantly, from the moment she discovered the power of her own voice at the age of 12 through performance of the eternal showtune classic “Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina” at a small family gathering. Murphy dove headlong into the music scene after her family decamped to Manchester when she was just twelve years old. When her parents divorced and moved back to Ireland when she was 15, she decided to stay behind in England and live alone, to continue her artistic immersion. After a brief flirtation with noise and punk in Manchester’s confines, she hitched over to Sheffield at 19 to immerse herself in the club scene. A chance meeting with local bassist Mark Brydon led the pair to form the celebrated group Moloko, and from there Murphy’s decorated solo career has spanned five lauded albums (with a Mercury Music Prize nomination for 2015’s “Hairless Toys”), celebrated EP and single collaborations, and more recently video directing and acting accolades.
‘Hit Parade’ Tracklist
What Not To Do
CooCool
The Universe
Hurtz So Bad
The House
Spacetime
Fader
Free Will
You Knew
Can’t Replicate
Crazy Ants Reprise
Two Ways
Eureka
The ‘Hit Parade’ artwork features Murphy herself, superimposed on an AI generated image from artist Beth Frey, graphic design by Bráulio Amado and commissioned by creative studio Object & Animal (who have previously worked with the likes of FKA Twigs, Caroline Polachek and Shygirl, and where Murphy is also Creative Director).
LIVE DATES
Sun 2 Jul – Headline – Trinity Summer Series – Dublin, IE
Fri 7 Jul – Festival – Bilbao BBK – Bilbao, ES
Sat 8 Jul – Festival – North Sea Jazz – Rotterdam, NE
Sun 9 Jul – Festival – Cactus Festival – Bruges, BE
Thu 13 Jul – Festival – Super Bock Super Rock – Meco, PT
Sat 15 Jul – Festival – Gurtenfestival – Bern, CH
Sun 16 Jul – Festival – Castello Sforzesco – Milan, IT
Fri 21 Jul – Festival – Blue Dot – Jodrell Bank, UK
Sun 23 Jul – Festival – Secret Garden Party – Abbots Ripton, UK
Sat 29 Jul – Festival – Watt En Schlick – Dangest, DE
Sun 6 Aug – Festival – Spice Music Event Port of Burgas – Burgas, BG
Wed 9 Aug – Festival – Øyafestivalen – Tøyenparken, NO
Thur Aug 10 – Festival – Fest Fest – Chorzow, PL
Sat 12 Aug – Festival – We Out Here – Wimborne, UK
Sat 26 Aug – Festival – Connect – Edinburgh, UK
Sun 27 Aug – Festival – Lost Village – Lincoln, UK
Wed 27 Sept – Terminal 5 – New York, USA
Friday 29 Sept – The Wiltern – LA, USA
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