Róisín Murphy has shared full details of her new album, Róisín Machine. Her first full length project since 2015’s Mercury Nominated Hairless Toys and 2016’s Take Her Up To Monto will be released on September 25th via Skint / BMG.
“Róisín Machine” is the culmination of a decades long partnership between Murphy and one of her most trusted collaborators Crooked Man aka DJ Parrot. Although packed to the rafters with singles, including ‘Simulation’, ‘Jealousy’, ‘Incapable’, Narcissus” and ‘Murphy’s Law’, it is also an seamlessly edited listening experience, designed to be listened to in one uninterrupted sitting.
‘Something More’, which enters stage left; tear-streaked, melancholy and stripped right back to the core of its soul. It’s a hands in the air, end of the night, come-together anthem and Murphy’s voice has never sounded more commanding, more rich and soulful – it’s both playful and mature.
Murphy’s command of emotion is in full force on the song, she explains; ” I interpreted it as a swan-song to how we once lived, there’s plenty of bravado in the lyrics and the character is a kind of antihero but the indefinable yearning and the feeling of arriving at a point of emptiness is universal right now!”
Written by NYC songstress Amy Douglas ,it came about like everything in Murphy’s world, quite naturally. “We met last year at a very interesting talk event in london about the psychology and science of Dub. We hit it off immediately, I’m afraid we may have heckled the speakers, who happened to have among them Andrew Weatherall!
I asked her to write me a song about never being full or satisfied, exponential need. She sent a very basic but brilliant demo very soon after, just her singing and playing a piano. The challenge then is to get the music-direction right, the arrangement and the voicing.
Our first version was way more straight ahead pop, funky, very camp. It seemed right when we began before lockdown but as a new reality descended upon the world we got tired of its one and only dimension. So when this slow-burn, deep, soulful, groove emerged out of the Crooked remixes, I decided to change tack. It seemed perfect, the perfect arrangement for the song and also perfect for the moment. We’re in darker ages now and this feels like morning, the sun’s coming up and it’s the last record of a very, very, good night. We need space for ‘mood’ and the ‘uncanny’ right now.
“From the intoxicating disco-funk of ‘Incapable’, to the quintessential “Narcissus” which crystallised New-Disco and established a high watermark for the genre, to ‘Murphy’s Law’, a 70s inflected stomper, Roisin Machine offers up everything you could ask for on an exquisite plate. Added to the familiar tunes are five new songs, including the Dalek-funk of ‘We Got Together’ and the fantastical ‘Shellfish Mademoiselle’. An album that works perfectly on the home sound system but also comes alive in a basement sweatbox.”
Róisín Machine tracklist:
Simulation
Kingdom Of Ends
Something More
Shellfish Mademoiselle
Incapable
We Got Together
Murphy’s Law
Game Changer
Narcissus
Jealousy
