Manchester review

Róisín Murphy’s performance is a rampant, merciless tour de force of electro eccentricity. You have to be verbose when you talk about Murphy. To describe the hi-octane fuelled performance without language loaded with hyperbole is impossible.

With stunning effect, Murphy is the synthesis of the commanding presence of Alison Goldfrapp, the quirkiness and zeal of Gwen Stefani and professionalism of Madonna. All this amid a room and a stage that felt small and amateurish. The hour and half wait for the performance was littered by observations that the set designer shopped for lamps at Ikea and that Murphy’s beautiful outfits were on a flimsy-looking rail on stage. Any doubts disappeared when Murphy and her band came on stage and executed with impeccable, soulful synchronisation. This coupled with the most understated instrument of the night—Murphy’s voice—creates one of the best live acts of 2007.

Both these aspects are epitomised when the audience finally experiences Murphy performing Overpowered live. To see this year’s sultry, 303-laced anthem in action was utter genius and worth the price of the ticket. With the elegance and flair seen at Murphy’s performance with Gucci at Swarovski Fashion Rocks 2007, the crowd were ecstatic with the seamless transition into Seamus Haji’s stomping remix. Worth the ticket price, Murphy and her band overpowered the audience as high fashion and high energy collided with a crazy, climatic culmination of the eight-minute wonder.

The genius and epic nature of Overpowered was mirrored by the re-imagining of Moloko’s near-masterpiece Forever More. The harmony between the lyrics sang with the Roy Lichtenstein-esque graphics in the background with bubbles of the lyrics created an intertextuality that was transcendent.

Poignant and intelligent, this acid-funk odyssey combined all the elements of the show creating the distillation of a disco-delicious performance.

Words by Rudy Katoch, picture by Wraggy.

PopMatters: the best of '07

PopMatters reviewed the best electronica music of the past year. Here's what they have to say about Roisin's latest offering:

In the face of minimal's continued asceticism, a surprisingly warm and accessible subgenre re-emerged large in 2007—Italodisco. This music has always had an open, all-inclusive tonality that's refreshingly optimistic. So it's no surprise that the cream of the crop made for some of the most downright fun music to be produced this year. Roisin Murphy, veering away from the quirky brilliance Matthew Herbert lent her debut, gave us an impeccably crafted pop disco record in Overpowered — from the tortuous synth arpeggios of the opening title track, Murphy strongly proclaims, "I’m back on the floor".

Roisin at Koko

A reader and fellow blogger sent me the following message:

cool pics cool videos
check check check
http://aljalj.blogspot.com/2007/12/london-underground_03.html

Do check it out!

Another Elle outtake

Elle photos outtake

Here's a lovely outtake from Roisin's Elle photo shoot.

Order and chaos in Belfast

Blog reader FA sent me these pictures of Roisin's show in Belfast on 5 December.

Sheffield gig review

The wonderful Vicky from the blog Green Girls Global kindly volunteered to write a review of Roisin's gig in Sheffield. The picture and the linked YouTube videos are also by Vicky.

Enjoy!
---------------
Roisin Murphy Live at The Plug in Sheffield
3 December 2007

I’ve loved Roisin from back in the (tight sweater) day, yet it’s taken me the best part of 12 years to see her in concert. After having to settle with the 11,000 Clicks DVD and then clips of the Ruby Blue tour online I was determined to get me some live action this time around.

My heart took a little leap when my partner and I walked into The Plug in Sheffield and saw that the spaces right at the front (and only deserving to hardcore fans) were free. We grabbed a couple of drinks and firmly planted ourselves in a spot with a great view.

Opening with the pumping build of Cry Baby we heard Roisin before we saw her so it’s not surprising that the first thing that struck me was the strength and rich quality of her voice. Straight away I knew we were in for a treat. Throughout this first song, and the rest of the night, Roisin makes eye contact with her fans, striking cool poses and smiling. It’s clear that she enjoys what she does and tells us so, saying “It’s the best life!”.

You Know Me Better is extra special as she dedicates the song to Sheffield because, as she explains, it's one of her home towns. Then I defy even the shyest of groovers to resist a tap of foot or nod of head as she breaks into her energetic, high-kicking dance style and encourages us all to join in. She’s so engaged with her crowd you feel like you’re at the best party ever.

Overall the concert is upbeat and funky and as always Roisin is stylish, sexy and funny all at the same time. Donning outfits which would make most of us look ridiculous, Roisin simply looks chic. The most chilled out sections are Scarlet Ribbons and The Truth, interjected with the rap you must have heard about by now. Tell Everybody is heartfelt and sincere.

The highlight for me though was definitely during Let Me Know/Reach. Not only is Let Me Know one of my favourite songs on the new album but Roisin literally reached out to her fans, holding the hands of a lucky few – and I was one of them! It was the ultimate high to an already amazing night.

Ramalama (Bang Bang) was a brilliant choice for the last song when Eddie breaks away from his keyboards and does his own soft shoe shuffle, barefoot (a la Sing it Back on 11,000 Clicks) and Roisin gets slapstick beaten up by her backing singers.

I could go on and on about every single song and performance but it’s just not the same as seeing her first hand. If you want to know what its like to see Roisin live then do it. I know I’ll be back for more as soon as I get a chance.

Roisin at the Roundhouse

Roisin will be performing at London's Roundhouse on Saturday 8 March 2008.

Tickets went on sale this morning on LiveNation.

You Know Me Better - February release

According to mattscdsingles.com album favourite You Know Me Better will be released as a single in February. It's the third single from the Overpowered album.

As always, I will keep you posted on the video, exact release date, artwork, formats, b-sides and remixes.

A backstage fag at STRP

Roisin enjoying a fag backstage at the STRP Festival in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.

From Flickr.

Overpowered - Ring in the New Year

Gaywired.com has chosen Overpowered as one of seven songs for ringing in the New Year:

Overpowered by Roisin Murphy —This may be my favorite song of the year so far (and, yes, I realize the year's almost over). It sounds a little grimy—like something you'd hear in an underground club, if you ever visited such places—but the Irish-born babe's clear-as-a-bell vocals bring it back to a place anyone can be comfortable. Believe me, you won't be able to get the hook out of your brain, nor will your guests. Think of it as a parting gift.

Manchester last night

Two amazing pictures of Roisin performing in Manchester last night, taken by Flickr member Wraggy. You can see the complete set of pictures here.

Glasgow concert review

ROISIN MURPHY *****
ABC, GLASGOW

Some might say it was triumph enough that Roisin Murphy actually made it to the stage. A little over a month ago, the Irish singer was hit by a chair while performing in Moscow, suffering considerable damage to her eye socket.

Her show is such a bright explosion of electro-disco perfection that is cause for much excitement. Murphy doesn't just play her show, she actively performs it. She layers on a new look for every song and each is deployed with a mixture of stylish vogueing and pouting irony.

Yet Murphy is so much more than a fashion icon. Despite no longer being part of Moloko, the band which made her name, her solo material is effortlessly groove-able. Although her default style is the mixture of disco grooving and hard-edged electro which drive songs like Primitive and Movie Star, she makes credible diversions into P-Funk, breathy soul, alien jazz-funk and the demented burlesque showtunery of Ramalama (Bang Bang).

In an ideal world, Murphy would be as big a star as Björk, at the very least.

From scotsman.com.

Very saucy!

Does the pretty blonde on the right look familiar? Well it's Roisin at the Moet Mirage Party in September. Note that she is wearing her Ramalama (Bang Bang) stage outfit.

See more pictures from the party on dirtydirtydancing.com.

Independent review of Brighton show

In interview, Roisin Murphy appears not to suffer fools gladly. Direct, single-minded and occasionally a little belligerent, she comes across as a strong women who is in total control of both her art and her career.

It's surprising, then, that her live shows reveal an individual who seems riddled with insecurities. It's certainly the case at this opening show in support of her second solo album Overpowered, where her glamorous poses and supermodel poise are undone by awkward dance moves and embarrassed smiles and glances.

Such contrasting personality traits have always been at the heart of Murphy's work. As one half of Moloko she milked these opposing forces of the dance-floor weirdo and the pop starlet to startling effect.

Live, however, these schizophrenic dynamics show a performer with a need to remain in complete control. This, despite the fact that her current music is built around a sense of jouissance – the out-of-body bliss of dance-floor pleasure.

Murphy's displays of such free-spirited states of mind are tempered by her faux-celebrity performance. So pounding acid house-meets-disco beats are explored through a series of on-stage costume changes. These range from the high-couture judge for "The Truth" to the pantomime Gestapo princess for "Tell Everybody" and "Ramalama".

The costume changes give Murphy the image of someone in need of constant reinvention. But then that is what this show is all about. The set is almost entirely drawn from her new album, while the only songs from the previous Ruby Blue set, "Sow Into You" and "Ramalama (Bang Bang)", get a disco makeover.

As the band thunder through a performance that updates the soul revue to excellent effect, Murphy slips between personalities, proving herself to be one of the UK's most interesting pop stars at the moment.

Her stagecraft draws on these various character traits to present an inspired observation on the split personality at the heart of the music industry. The stunning "Overpowered" finds her playing both puppet and puppet mistress, while the lone Moloko song "Forever More" sees Murphy joining her backing singers to become one of the girls, rather than the star of the show.

Endlessly inventive, beautiful, smart and blessed with a gorgeous voice: on the face of it Murphy is the perfect pop star. But as this performance showed, the obtuse side of her refuses to play the pop game according to the industry rules.

From independent.co.uk.

Overpowered - acoustic from the Union Chapel

Only a short clip I'm afraid, but this is Roisin giving a rare acoustic performance of Overpowered in London's Union Chapel on Sunday.

More about the live cd

I reported last week that concertlive.co.uk is selling an official live recording of Roisin's 19/11 concert in the Ancienne Belgique. I bought my copy at Koko the other day and was pleasantly surprised. The quality of the recording is superb.

A minor 'but': the cds do not include the complete set performed at the Ancienne Belgique - Dear Miami, Movie Star, Pandora, Overpowered, and Ramalama (Bang Bang) are missing. However, all in all it's a must-have item for any Roisin devotee!

The tracklisting:

Disc 1
1. Cry Baby
2. You Know Me Better
3. Checkin' On Me
4. Primitive
5. Sow Into You
6. Footprints
7. Scarlet Ribbons
8. The Truth

Disc 2
1. Tell Everybody
2. Forever More
3. Let Me Know

You can still buy your copy here or at Roisin's remaining UK dates.

Koko - second show

A picture from Roisin's Koko show on Wednesday night, her second date in the London club. As always, you can find more pictures on flickr.com.

----------
I attended this show myself and can tell you that Roisin was her amazing self throughout. I'm no good at doing reviews so I won't even attempt to write one. Besides, I feel art should be enjoyed rather than discussed!

However, I will tell you my personal highlights of the show (in no particular order):

(1) The Moloko-esque live version of Footprints - a perfect blend of soul and electro.

(2) Roisin's cape 'floating' in the air during Overpowered. It perfectly suits the song's airiness.

(3) Roisin rapping on The Truth. It took me (and many others) by complete surprise. She pulled it off really well. Not only as a singer Roisin's voice is a force to be reckoned with!

(4) Forever More - the Francois K version is beautifully understated. A fine reminder of Roisin's Moloko years.

Guardian review Koko show

Few acts put on a show like Roisin Murphy. Aided by a selection of capes, shades and fabulous hats, she plays a disco diva, an ice queen and a chic sophisticate, remaining immaculately coiffed throughout. Movie Star opens with a seated, silhouetted Murphy crooning an a cappella phrase from Somewhere Over the Rainbow before launching into her own song with uninhibited panache. Neither Murphy's trademark robotic shimmying nor her inability to stay still for more than a few seconds at a time have been slowed by her recent serious eye injury, sustained on stage in Moscow, and her energy doesn't flag once during a two-hour set.

Parallels with Gwen Stefani spring to mind. Both are platinum blond erstwhile frontwomen of acts who made waves late in their career (Stefani with No Doubt, Murphy with Moloko); both are fond of offbeat couture and terrific dance beats; both are commanding performers. Murphy's career has been characterised so far by flirtations with straightforward pop, but with her penchant for experimental electronic tangents, she has mostly ended up playing hard to get. On Overpowered, the revelation is how wholly she has given in to pop's embrace while retaining her natural eccentricity, and this translates superbly to the stage. Thunderous beats betray Murphy's background in the 1990s house scene and threaten to turn the venue into a rave-up; it's impossible not to dance.

Perhaps Murphy's most underrated quality, though, is her voice - a deeply soulful instrument that ebbs and flows serenely above the music. It comes into its own during the gorgeous torch ballad Tell Everybody: as stars of light dot the venue, Murphy pleads and aches with longing, effortlessly finding the heartbeat at the centre of her glamorous disco tumult.

From today's Guardian.

Koko concert review

Here's a great review of "Radiant Roisin's" Koko gig on Tuesday from the London Lite evening paper:

Poised somewhere between Goldfrapp's robotic dominatrix, only leavened with a lighter sense of humour, and the free-flowing eccentricities of Bjork, Roisin Murphy is on a definite mission. "I'm here to entertain you," she declares before launching into the lightly paranoid walking funk of Checking On Me, and there's no doubting the success of the one-time Moloko singer in her ambitions.

Draped by curvy blonde Veronica Lake tresses, at the thunderous climax of the Eurythmicy-layered synths of Overpowered (her new album's title track) Murphy grabs one of her many hats - there are enough during the evening to do Ascot's royal enclosure proud - and flips it over into a mask less arresting than comical.

Yes, it looks dumb, yet the moment proves Murphy's willingness to surrender everything to the show, her rough-shod groove more concerned with energy than Goldfrapp's choreographed perfection.

She harks back to Moloko with that anthemic declaration of the need for love, Forever More, then soars high with the joyous command of Let Me Know. Not everything comes off: on Scarlet Ribbons Murphy can't quite reach down deep enough to wrench the would-be bluesy soul to full 3-D life.

Her true voice comes in Tell Everybody's exquisite, precise pop, and the rocktastic electro stomp of Movie Star, its riff gloriously, shamelessly purloined from Pulp's Common People. "You'll be the director, I'll be the movie star," she insists, and, standing before us in the fluffiest pink afghan coat anyone ever saw, she shimmers as stellar as the song demands, yet as invitingly approachable as your dancefloor neighbour.

Koko last night

Roisin in Koko, London last night. There are some more amazing pictures from the show here.

Q-Music radio interview

Roisin's studio interview with Wim Oosterlinck of Belgian radio channel Q-Music from last week. They talk about shopping, horniness(!) and chocolates.

Roisin on happy/sad disco music

Only a month ago Roisin Murphy toppled over on stage in Moscow and severely damaged her eye socket on a chair. But the fall, which saw her cancel a week of shows on her European tour, is nothing for the accident-prone singer.

"I fell in Australia and broke my arm but didn't realise I'd broken it until I went off stage," she says. "And I fell off a promotional beach ball at a festival in Ireland. It was dark. But I saw blood this time so I thought it was best to leave the stage."

Ticket-holding fans need not worry about her Brighton show, though. In the time since her accident she has recorded a couple of songs for Jools Holland which were broadcast two weeks ago, and performed shows in Milan and Frankfurt.

This tour is in support of her new solo album Overpowered, her second since the break-up of her Moloko partnership with former boyfriend Mark Brydon in 2003.
advertisement

"It took two years to completely extract ourselves from one another," says Roisin. "We broke up and then we made a record. And then we toured it. There was two years in between the end of Moloko and the end of Moloko, if you like. We had a record to make and a tour to do of that record."

Her first solo album, Ruby Blue, released in 2005, was more experimental, made in collaboration with producer Mathew Herbert.

"His tiny room was crammed with what looked like, to me, NASA space technology," Roisin says. "You could hardly move for old BBC sound equipment - a beautiful Sixties French mixing desk that looked like something from 2001: A Space Odyssey, handbuilt Russian mics and all manner of instruments and objects possessing something sonically particular. I had only ever written songs with Mark Brydon and he had been my boyfriend. I had never before tried to make a record without that kind of support."

"It started with a piece of music made from the sound of scrap books and newspaper articles being ripped up and hit across the microphone. A few months later there was an album. Ruby Blue hasn't sold by the bucketload yet, but I am very proud of it."

This new album sees Roisin return to her dancefloor roots.

"I wanted to make a disco record," she says. "I've always wanted to make a disco record, but it has always gone off in other directions and you go with that, the spirit of experiment. But with this, I wanted to make that disco record. I was in New York a couple of years ago, singing to a crowd I'd danced with years ago at a club where I wrote Sing It Back."

"I went back there and sang Forever More, a Moloko song which had become anthemic to that club three or four years after it was released. It got such a warm reaction, it solidified that thing in me that wanted to get something close to that feeling on record - functional dance music that's emotional as well."

"Disco is about being up one minute and down the next. Disco should uplift as well as giving you a peek into the complexity of life. In a way you shouldn't really be able to feel happy and sad at the same time, or united and alone, but for some reason those tensions are always quite visible or visceral in disco. I suppose they are in every good bit of music. Every good bit of art has got a bit of contradiction in it somewhere along the line but in disco, it's really obvious."

She isn't a regular clubber now but when she does she has her own routine.

"When I do go I dance from the moment I arrive until I leave," she says. "I'm not there to do anything else except to communicate with music. I'm a bit intense though. People don't like going out with me!"

"The album makes me want to dance. I'm proudest of the moments when you really can't help yourself but dance to it, 'cos that's what I set out to do."

From The Argus.

Hamburg

Roisin performing in Hamburg the other night. You can see more pictures from the show here.

Koko competition closed

The Koko competition is now closed. The correct answer was Portobello Road.

The lucky winner of two tickets for Wednesday's show is Antonio from Brixton, London. A big thank you goes out to Roisin's label EMI for providing the tickets.

If you still want to see Roisin live in Koko and don't have a ticket, head over to ebay.co.uk where there are still some available.

Roisin at the STRP Festival

Roisin performing at the STRP Festival in Eindhoven (The Netherlands) in the early hours of this morning. See more pictures from the festival here.

Live & Exclusive

You can now order an exclusive limited edition live recording of Roisin's concert in the Ancienne Belgique from the online store Concert Live, which specialises in official live recordings.

From concertlive.co.uk:

Concert Live are completely thrilled to be producing an exclusive limited edition live tour CD from one of the most exciting, engaging and entertaining female artistes of today – Roisin Murphy.

Only 1,500 copies of this limited edition CD are being made and they're exclusively available through Concert Live. Once they've gone, we won't be able to make any more, so make sure you don't miss out and order your copy now!

Alongside the live CD you can also get your hand on an exclusive downloadable version of new single 'You Know Me Better' remixed by Andy Cato (Groove Armada), only available here.

Murphy's Law on Belgian radio (part 2)

As this blog announced on Wednesday, Roisin presented an hour long show with her favourite songs on Belgian radio on Thursday night.

These are the records she brought along to Studio Brussel.

TV Eye - The Stooges // You Can’t Hide Your Love - David Joseph (Larry Le Van Mix) // Munchies For Your Love - Bootsy Collins // Viola For a De Voda - Edu Lobo // Run Through The Jungle - Creedence Clearwater Revival // Keep On - D-Train // For My People - Missy Elliot // Life Is Something Special - New York Citi Peach Boys // Without You - Touch // Chameleon - Herbie Hancock // My Love Is Getting Stronger - Cliff Nobles // Number One - Patrice Rushan // Ruler of My Heart - Irma Thomas // Alfie - Dionne Warwick

If you want, you can listen to the show online (click on 'Ontdek de songs' to launch the player).

London charity gig

This Sunday, Roisin will be performing at Islington's Union Chapel in London to raise money for Mencap, one of the UK's leading learning disability charities.

You can see the full line up here .

Studio Brussel interview

With no less than two concerts and a radio show to do in the Belgian capital, Roisin even found time for an interview with radio channel Studio Brussel.

Go here to listen to Roisin's chat with presenter Saskia (by clicking on the bold link 'exclusief interview' a media player will launch).