29/05/2009

H&M designs


Pictures of Roisin's men's and women's designs for H&M's Fashion Against AIDS, which are now on sale.

You should visit the H&M website, where you can watch interactive interviews between Roisin and other participating artists or create your own video.

Be smart!



This one of H&M's promotional videos for Fashion Against AIDS. which features Roisin. The collection of special designs went on sale yesterday.

Click here to see more videos.

28/05/2009

Roisin goes underground on new album

Word is out, Roisin's next album will have an underground sound. This is what she told Diane Pernet about the stuff she is working on right now. I hope it convinces some people that Roisin is still a musician:

"I'm in and out of the studio all the time. It's all about music right now. It is the most important part of what I do. I try to make really great music and try to showcase something that is underground and sort of pushes boundaries a little here and there. So that's what I'm doing right now; working with lots of young producers, making what is now quite an underground sound. By the time it comes out it may be more mainstream."

Does this mean farewell disco beats? We'll just have to let Roisin get on with it and wait patiently.

Source: YouTube.

27/05/2009

A shaded (inter)view



This is part one of Diane Pernet's interview with Roisin. Click here to view & enjoy the other parts.

26/05/2009

An afternoon with Roisin


Shaded fashion blogger Diane Pernet got to spend an afternoon with Roisin.

Click here to check out her post and candid pictures, taken inside the Murphy-Henwood residence.

More Vanidad pictures


Thanks to Gonçalo & Betty for these!

21/05/2009

20/05/2009

Vanidad España


Roisin appears on the cover and inside the current edition of the Spanish magazine Vanidad.

Inside the magazine there is an interview, plus a brand new photo shoot by photographer Simon Harris. You can see two pictures from the shoot below & one on the new site banner...


Go to www.vanidad.es for more!

19/05/2009

At the Life Ball in Vienna


Over the weekend Roisin put on a blue frock & performed the Moloko classic The Time Is Now at Life Ball in Vienna.

Life Ball is an annual charity event dedicated to raising support for the worldwide fight against HIV and AIDS.




Thanks to Betty for the last picture!

16/05/2009

Drama queen

A nice feature from The Observer, titled 'Roisin Murphy: The drama queen':


Simply turning up and belting out a few songs isn't enough for Roisin Murphy. She works hard to make her shows as dramatic as possible.

I was about 10 when I first began to sing. My mother had been away for three weeks and I learned Don't Cry for Me Argentina. When she came back I sang it in front of her, my auntie Linda, my father, my uncle Jim and my grandmother. I spent the rest of my childhood hiding every time my family had a drink, because they'd always want me to sing Don't Cry for Me Argentina.

Performance was a shock to me. The first time I remember feeling I could do it was during the making of my first video, Fun for Me. I couldn't sleep the night before the shoot, I was so frightened. I had to play a ghost and a piece of merchandise in a shop window and I had no idea whether I was going to be able to pull it off. But I did, and I was able to bring something a little bit different to it, too. I didn't spend my childhood trying to be a performer; it was a big surprise to me that this was what I was doing. But it has always felt quite natural to me. I wasn't taught to do what I do; I found out bit by bit.

I've worked to try to get to a more natural place with my voice. I started in Moloko, my former band, as someone who just said stuff. I was learning to sing as I made records - which wasn't a bad thing because you've got a naivety and exuberance at the beginning. But when you tour you learn so much about your voice and you push it and stretch it. I think that's been my direction: getting more truthful. Being able to express yourself is one of the hardest things in the world.

There's a bit of acting in singing, but I think ultimately it's about character. A good voice is not necessarily a technical voice. It's the same old cliche, but it's about complexity and intelligence coming through in the voice - and if you hear that, you know it immediately. My performances stem from my character, becoming an overblown version of it.

The first performers that left an impression on me were Kim Gordon from Sonic Youth and Kim Deal from the Pixies. These postfeminist "chicks" were having as much fun and getting into as much trouble as the boys; I wanted a piece of that. I also love Iggy Pop. He's like a bullet from a gun; so much energy - and he's a giver. To perform well, you need to understand that giving and receiving are actually the same thing.

I try to make my shows as dramatic as possible, so it's much harder work than it would be if I just went out there and did a gig. But it's more worthwhile, because you create a story, a narrative. I'm definitely a storyteller in a performance sense. The narratives are never explicit, but it's about creating atmosphere with the simple tools of the stage: lights, choreography and clothing, too.

During my last tour, I was changing something in every song, which sounds complicated, but it was just one piece of clothing off and on, one change of lighting and a change of position. There's a kind of a haphazard and intimate feel to it.

I'm a fighter on stage. I've performed at festivals in front of audiences that don't necessarily know me, and I'll give as much that moment as any other. I'm not frightened of that and I don't ever give a pissed-off performance. I'll always give everything I've got.

I like being creative and, for me, performance is a part of that. I consider it a privilege to be able to perform and make music and videos for a living. It's a brilliant thing to do with your life.

• Roisin Murphy is currently working on her third solo album

A nice portrait


A nice portrait picture of Roisin, taken by photographer Felix Clay.

13/05/2009

Pam Hogg shop


Last night Roisin attended the opening of the Pam Hogg shop in London's Carnaby Street.

10/05/2009

Watch the button


A nice recent party shot of Roisin wearing a rather cute button. Who says good accessories need to cost much?

Picture courtesy of Shooter.

Unisex Roisin

Some more news about Roisin's design for H&M's Fashion Against AIDS campaign. Her design is bold with the phrase 'Protection is Power' on the front and comes as a men’s t-shirt and a women’s bodysuit.

07/05/2009

Yellow Moon


Yellow Moon, a collaboration between Roisin and producer Marius DeVries, will be released on the album The Revolution Presents Revolution on June 1.

The song, which leaked on the Internet last week, was originally recorded in 2007 for the Arritmia soundtrack.

Click here to listen to Yellow Moon.

Ramalama blog blog

I have just learned there is a new (well relatively new) blog online about Ms Murphy: http://ramalamabangbang.blog.hr/.

Check it out & good luck to the owner. In the meantime I shall remain hopelessly optimistic about my own!

H&M Designers against AIDS


H&M and Designers Against AIDS (DAA) have teamed up for the second year with some of the biggest celebrities for Fashion Against AIDS, to help fight the disease and raise youth awareness. This year Roisin Murphy is one of the artists who made a special design for the cause, which she is modelling on the picture above.

Other collaborating artists include Estelle, Cyndi Lauper, N.E.R.D, Robyn and Moby.

25% of the sales price of each garment will be donated to HIV & AIDS awareness projects. The whole collection will go on sale in H&M’s youth DIVIDED department from May 28, 2009.