The inimitable and boundary pushing Róisín Murphy has announced her highly anticipated forthcoming album, ‘Hit Parade’. Produced in collaboration with electronic music virtuoso DJ Koze, the 13-track compendium of genre-melding gems is set for release on 8th September via Ninja Tune. Alongside the announcement arrives a new single, “The Universe”.
“This record is a collaboration with DJ Koze. We worked remotely, in different countries sending tracks/ideas back and forth for several years. I always have to approach a new collaboration with openness and a willingness to learn and never more so than with this.
The studio in this case was imaginary, in the airspace between Hamburg and London. That meant we were both in a personal, private place when working on the songs. For me that brought out a more intimate approach to the songwriting, I told this album my secrets. For Koze it meant total freedom and absolute focus without the distraction of my presence. He too took a deep dive into himself and I believe that’s why the music is so vibrant and alive. It is just exploding with colour!
It’s a joyful record, I’ve never been happier, that is partly down to personal reasons but also in my work I’ve been very fulfilled. For me the record is about love and sensuality but also it’s about music itself and how it’s always been there for me. There are tinges of darkness, of the abyss, as well as all the joy. There’s contemplation of mortality which is meant to serve as a reminder to me (and perhaps you the listener) to really live while we can,” shares Róisín Murphy.
New single “The Universe” possesses an almost oceanic sway, able to comfortably exist in the blossoming, multi-sided world of ‘Hit Parade’, which we were initially introduced to with album first-look “CooCool”. A sun-dappled sonic exploration, “The Universe” is enamored with gentle guitar melodies and sauntering electric piano, Murphy’s unmistakable voice waltzing through the track with an air of playful psychedelia, ducking and weaving with the beat across its temperate arrangement.
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.
The warm thump of hip-hop, playful psychedelia, and elegant soulful grooves are all part of Murphy and Koze’s vision here, resulting in a record that’s endlessly replayable even as its melodies become glued to your brain. The 13 indelible tracks that contribute to the album’s effortless sparkle were six years in the making, put together almost entirely remotely. Fans of both artists will know that this inspired collaboration was borne out of Murphy’s contributions to Koze’s 2018 ‘Knock Knock’ — specifically, “Illumination” and “Scratch That” — and as Murphy worked with Koze on ‘Hit Parade’ she found their shared creative process revelatory in its own ways, all of which will become apparent.
“The Universe” follows the aforementioned “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.
The announcement of ‘Hit Parade’ arrives hot on the heels of electric PA sets at Boiler Room Paris and Murphy’s sold out live-show at the historic Royal Albert Hall. Her idiosyncratic vision was brought to thrillingly vivid life within the storied surroundings, armed with a show stopping wardrobe and an electrifying, expanded live-band, including a new drummer, and cameras recording and relaying her electrifying show in real time back to the fans. As London’s Evening Standard noted in a glowing review, it was “a very contemporary creative comeback… Murphy’s forays into future house, tropical rave, industrial ambience, space disco and electro dub came encased in a modern psych cocoon and an inventive sense of playfulness.”
Lauded by the likes of the New York Times, Pitchfork, Vogue, GQ, Billboard, Dazed and many more, Róisín Murphy is continuously pushing boundaries in both recording and live-settings. Her capacity to be an ever-evolving performer is a spectacle in itself, with the New York Times noting that the “connection [she] builds between music and fashion is as strong as the bond she forges with audiences” in their most recent interview with her. From live-streamed lockdown events to multiple headline slots on Glastonbury’s West Holts Stage, to appearances at the likes of Coachella, Primavera Sound, Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival, NYC Pride and more, Murphy consistently proves to be a thrilling must-see artist in every sense of the word.
From her time growing up in the Irish town of Arklow, music seemed to call Murphy almost instantly, from the moment she discovered the power of her own voice at the age of 10 through performance of the eternal showtune classic “Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina” at a local poetry festival.
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 5 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’ Trackslist
- 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
