Moloko ( /məˈloʊkoʊ/) were an Anglo-Irish electronic/pop duo from Sheffield, England consisting of Róisín Murphy from Wicklow, Ireland and Mark Brydon, from Sunderland, England.

Origin of band name[link]

The band's name originates from the Nadsat slang in the novel A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, in which it means "milk" (from the Russian word for milk, молоко), actually the name of a milk drink that Alex and his "droogs" consume mixed with "drencrom".

History of band[link]

Murphy, born in Arklow, Ireland, had no prior professional experience as a singer when Moloko was formed. Brydon, on the other hand, already had an extensive curriculum vitae within the dance music community as a remixer and member of Chakk, Krush and Cloud 9^{[disambiguation needed ]}. They met at a party in Sheffield, England, when Murphy approached Brydon using the chat-up line, "Do you like my tight sweater? See how it fits my body!" This line would later become the title of their debut album, recorded while the pair were dating.^[1]

The first two albums Do You Like My Tight Sweater? and I Am Not a Doctor gained notice in the underground dance scene. The band broke into the mainstream when "Sing It Back", an album track from I Am Not A Doctor, was remixed by house music producer Boris Dlugosch. The track was a massive hit in Ibiza, and this remixed version broke into the top-five in both the Irish Singles Charts, and the UK singles chart in 1999, and also, helped by a psychedelic video featuring Murphy in a very short metallic "flapper" dress and cap. "Sing It Back" has featured on over 100 music compilations.^[2]

In January and February 1999, Moloko supported Garbage on their Version 2.0 tour. This was not a successful liaison with the Garbage crowd particularly unwelcoming at the Wembley Arena date.

In 2000 Moloko started touring as a full band along with percussionist Paul Slowley, keyboardist Eddie Stevens, and guitarist Dave Cooke.

The band also had chart success with "The Time Is Now", the first single from the third album, Things to Make and Do. This album had relied less on the left field beats of the previous albums, and featured more organic instrumentation as well as musically more multifaceted arrangements by Eddie Stevens.

Murphy and Brydon ended their relationship in 2001. After their breakup, they recorded and released their fourth studio album, Statues. Statues continued a segue into more traditional instrumentation, along with electronica elements from their earlier releases. Statues incorporated the theme of the couple's split: all of the songs deal with a troubled and/or ending romance.

In 2004 Moloko released a live DVD, 11,000 Clicks, recorded on stage at the Brixton Academy, England. It contained many of their well known songs including "Indigo", "Sing It Back", and "The Time Is Now".

After concluding the tour supporting Statues, Moloko mutually parted ways, with Murphy launching a solo career. However, in 2006 Murphy and Brydon, along with long-time Moloko guitarist Cooke, played a select number of acoustic radio performances to promote the Moloko best of album Catalogue. While both currently pursue projects outside of Moloko and state that there are no plans for Moloko at the moment, Murphy has been keen to stress that the group are not necessarily defunct and that she has no interest in "burying" the project.^[3]

Róisín Murphy completed work on her second solo album Overpowered in 2007, released in October of the same year, while Mark Brydon is working on a number of smaller projects in his own studio.

Discography[link]

Moloko - Sing It Back excerpt noicon An excerpt from Sing It Back Problems listening to this file? See media help. Albums[link] Year Title Chart positions Certifications (sales thresholds) UK [4] AUT [5] BEL [6] FIN [7] NL [8] SWI [9] 1995 Do You Like My Tight Sweater? Released: November 1995 Label: Echo 92 - - - - - 1998 I Am Not a Doctor Released: 24 August 1998 Label: Echo 64 30 - - - 45 2000 Things to Make and Do Released: 31 October 2000 Label: Echo 3 21 6 26 66 25 BPI: Platinum[10] 2002 Statues Released: 8 October 2002 Label: Echo 18 19 1 12 28 26 BPI: Silver[11] IFPI: Gold "-" denotes releases that did not chart. Remixes and compilations[link] [12] Year Title Chart positions UK [4][13] NL BEL 2001 All Back to the Mine Released: 2 October 2001 Label: Echo 149 - 41 2006 Catalogue Released: 17 July 2006 Label: Echo 82 65 10 Live albums[link] [14] Year Title Chart positions BEL 2004 11,000 Clicks 9 Singles[link] Year Title Peak chart positions Certifications (sales thresholds) Album UK AUS BE (FL) BE (WA) GER IRL ITA NLD SWI 1995 "Where Is the What If the What Is in Why?" — — — — — — — — — Do You Like My Tight Sweater? "The Moloko EP" — — — — — — — — — 1996 "Dominoid" 65 — — — — — — — — "Fun for Me" 36 — — — — — — — — "Day for Night" — — — — — — — — — 1998 "The Flipside" 53 — — — — — — — — I Am Not a Doctor "Sing It Back" 45 — — — — — — — — 1999 "Sing It Back (remix)" 4 20 31 26 47 12 35 24 18 UK: Silver[13] 2000 "The Time Is Now" 2 36 15 43 49 10 30 46 41 UK: Silver[13] Things to Make and Do "Pure Pleasure Seeker" 21 — 65 — — — 48 — — "Indigo" 51 — 66 — — — — — — 2003 "Familiar Feeling" 10 46 29 47 72 26 38 100 84 Statues "Forever More" 17 — 26 50 96 — — 77 — "Cannot Contain This" 97 — 53 — — — — — — 2005 "A Style Suite (Farolfi & Gambafreaks vs. Moloko)" — — — — — — — — — non-album release "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country. Awards and honors[link] "Best International Live Act" - Belgian TMF Awards 2004 Moloko in other media[link] This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability. Moloko's music has appeared in several video games: "Pure Pleasure Seeker" appeared in GamersFirst's MMO APB Reloaded. "Sing It Back (Can 7 Supermarket Mix)" appeared in the Konami music simulation games Beatmania (European PlayStation version) and Beatmania APPEND GOTTAMIX 2 ~Going Global~. "Sing it Back" has appeared in Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and SCEE's Eye Toy: Play. "Familiar Feeling" is one of the songs in the Konami dance simulation game Dancing Stage Fusion. "Fun for Me" appears in the racing game "Dirt 3". The song "The Time is Now" is also featured in the Ford Focus adverts for Sky Sports News in the UK as well as the channel's flagship live Premiership football programme Ford Super Sunday, since 2004. In 2009 it was used for the Australian advertisement for the updated BMW 3-Series range. The song "The Time is Now" was performed by the Jabbawockeez and it was also imitated for their final performance "The Red Pill" on the show Americas Best Dance Crew. The song "Fun for Me" was featured in the motion picture Batman & Robin, and is on the soundtrack to that film as well. It was also utilised in the advertisements for Dharma and Greg in syndication on American television featuring Jenna Elfman as Dharma, one of the main characters, dancing to the song. "The Only Ones" from the Statues album was featured on the soundtrack to the film, Johnny English. "Indigo" was featured in the film Mystery Men. "The Time is Now" was featured also in the Sex and the City soundtrack and in the British television drama Cold Feet. The song "Day For Night" was a part of Chris Morris' BBC Blue Jam radio show and Jam television show. The album version of "Sing It Back" was featured in the 2010 feature film Repo Men.[15] The songs "The Time Is Now" and "Sing It Back" were performed by Marta (Gabriela Barros) and Lourenço (David Carreira), the main characters of the Portuguese soap opera Morangos com Açúcar. The two songs are in the compilation album Morangos com Açúcar - Escola de Talentos Vol.3, tracks 2 and 17. See also[link] List of number-one dance hits (United States) List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart References[link] ^ World's Fair: Moloko ^ Moloko - Catalogue ^ [1][dead link] ^ a b "UK chart positions". zobbel.de. http://www.zobbel.de/cluk/CLUK_M.HTM. Retrieved 16 December 2008.  ^ "Austrian album chart positions". austriancharts.com. http://www.austriancharts.com/search.asp?cat=a&search=Moloko. Retrieved 16 December 2008.  ^ "Belgian chart positions". ultratop.be. http://www.ultratop.be/nl/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Moloko. Retrieved 16 December 2008.  ^ "Finnish album chart positions". finnishcharts.com. http://finnishcharts.com/search.asp?cat=a&search=Moloko. Retrieved 16 December 2008.  ^ "Dutch album chart positions". dutchcharts.nl. http://dutchcharts.nl/search.asp?cat=a&cat2=s&search=Moloko. Retrieved 16 December 2008.  ^ "Swiss album chart positions". hitparade.ch. http://hitparade.ch/search.asp?cat=a&search=Moloko. Retrieved 16 December 2008.  ^ "Things to Make and Do British sales certification". British Phonographic Industry. http://www.bpi.co.uk/platinum/platinumright.asp?rq=search_plat&r_id=29112. Retrieved 16 December 2008. [dead link] ^ "Statues British sales certification". British Phonographic Industry. http://www.bpi.co.uk/platinum/platinumright.asp?rq=search_plat&r_id=30789. Retrieved 16 July 2008. [dead link] ^ ultratop.be - Moloko - Catalogue ^ a b c "Chart Log UK: M - My Vitriol". Zobbel.de. http://www.zobbel.de/cluk/CLUK_M.HTM. Retrieved 17 April 2012.  ^ ultratop.be - ULTRATOP BELGIAN CHARTS ^ Newman, Jason (22 March 2010). "Hot Soundtrack Alert: 'Repo Men' - The Moviefone Blog". Moviefone.ca. http://www.moviefone.ca/2010/03/22/repo-men-soundtrack/. Retrieved 17 April 2012.  External links[link] Official Róisín Murphy website

Odysseus removing his men from the company of the lotus-eaters

In Greek mythology, the lotus-eaters (Greek λωτοφάγοι, lōtophagoi), also referred to as the lotophagi or lotophaguses (singular lotophagus /ləˈtɒfəɡəs/) or lotophages (singular lotophage /ˈloʊtəfeɪdʒ/), were a race of people living on an island near North Africa (possibly Djerba) dominated by lotus plants. The lotus fruits and flowers were the primary food of the island and were narcotic, causing the people to sleep in peaceful apathy.

In literature[link]

In Odyssey IX, Odysseus tells how adverse north winds blew him and his men off course as they were rounding Cape Malea, the southernmost tip of the Peloponnesus, headed westwards for Ithaca:

"I was driven thence by foul winds for a space of 9 days upon the sea, but on the tenth day we reached the land of the Lotus-eaters, who live on a food that comes from a kind of flower. Here we landed to take in fresh water, and our crews got their mid-day meal on the shore near the ships. When they had eaten and drunk I sent two of my company to see what manner of men the people of the place might be, and they had a third man under them. They started at once, and went about among the Lotus-eaters, who did them no hurt, but gave them to eat of the lotus, which was so delicious that those who ate of it left off caring about home, and did not even want to go back and say what had happened to them, but were for staying and munching lotus with the Lotus-eaters without thinking further of their return; nevertheless, though they wept bitterly I forced them back to the ships and made them fast under the benches. Then I told the rest to go on board at once, lest any of them should taste of the lotus and leave off wanting to get home, so they took their places and smote the grey sea with their oars."^[1]

This passage served as the source for Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem "The Lotos-Eaters." It is also referenced in the fifth chapter of Ulysses by James Joyce, also titled "Lotus Eaters," and in the sixth chapter of Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence.

Herodotus, in the fifth century BC, was sure that the lotus-eaters still existed in his day, in coastal Libya:

A promontory jutting out into the sea from the country of the Gindanes is inhabited by the lotus-eaters, who live entirely on the fruit of the lotus-tree. The lotus fruit is about the size of the lentisk berry,^[2] and in sweetness resembles the date. The lotus-eaters even succeed in obtaining from it a sort of wine.^[3]

The lotus plant[link]

Because the Greek word lôtos can refer to several different plants, there is some ambiguity as to which "lotus" appears in the Odyssey. Some of the proposed species, based in part on Herodotus' assertion, include:^[4]

• a fodder plant such as a species of Trifolium, Melilot or Trigonella, the Lotus corniculatus, the fellbloom, or Medicago arborea
• the sweet and succulent persimmon fruit of the date-plum Diospyros lotus
• a water-lily, either Nymphaea lotus, Nymphaea caerulea, or Nymphaea stellata. Recent studies have shown that the blue water-lily of the Nile, Nymphaea caerulea, also known as the blue lotus (already known under this name to the Greeks), is another candidate. It can be processed to be used as a soporific and, in some formulations, has psychotropic properties. It is common in Egyptian iconography which suggests its use in a religious context.^{[citation needed]}
• the nettle-tree, Celtis australis
• Ziziphus lotus, a relative of the jujube

It is the last of these, or another member of the genus Ziziphus, that is traditionally taken to be the plant meant in the Odyssey.

• 

  Fenugreek seeds.

• 

  Nymphaea lotus.

• 

  Lotus corniculatus.

• 

  Seeds of Nelumbo nucifera.

• 

  Celtis australis.

• 

  Fresh fruits of jujube.

• 

  Nymphaea caerulea.

Location of the island of the lotus-eaters[link]

A.D. Godley asserted in his notes on Herodotus, that the island is located near the coast of northern Africa.^{[citation needed]}

Notes[link]

Róisín Murphy
Róisín Murphy live in Sofia (2008)
Background information
Birth name	Róisín Marie Murphy
Born	(1973-07-05) 5 July 1973 (age 38) Arklow, County Wicklow, Ireland
Genres	Electropop, synthpop, alternative dance, nu-disco, house, trip hop, experimental, nu jazz
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, record producer
Years active	1995–present
Labels	Echo, EMI
Associated acts	Moloko
Website	www.myspace.com/roisinmurphy

Róisín Marie Murphy (Irish pronunciation: [roːˈʃʲiːnʲ], English: /roʊˈʃiːn/; born 5 July 1973) is an Irish singer-songwriter and record producer, known for her electronic style. Murphy has a contralto vocal range.^[1]

Murphy first came to note as one half of the electronic music duo Moloko with her then-boyfriend Mark Brydon. After the two ended their romantic relationship, Murphy released her debut solo album Ruby Blue, written and produced with Matthew Herbert, in 2005. Her second solo album Overpowered was released in 2007.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Murphy was brought up in Arklow, County Wicklow, Ireland, in a Roman Catholic family. When she was twelve, her family moved to Manchester, England.^[2] Murphy embraced 1960s fashions from going with her mother, an antique dealer, to car boot sales and charity shops.^[3] She concealed her singing voice, not wanting other people to know she "sounded like Elaine Paige" when she herself enjoyed listening to the likes of Sonic Youth and Pixies instead.^[2]

After three years of living in Manchester, her parents divorced and moved back to Ireland.^[4] Murphy insisted on remaining alone in the UK because she did not think that her mother had the strength to continue taking care of her.^[5] Murphy lived with her best friend for a year, until she could receive Housing Benefit and live in a nearby flat.^[4] She was bullied at school and befriended a group of "weird boys who wore black" and who listened to the Jesus and Mary Chain.^[2] She enrolled in a sixth form college at seventeen and later considered going to art school.^[4] She moved to Sheffield^[2] where she began going to nightclubs and was inspired by the Vivienne Westwood designs she saw at Trash.^[3]

1994–2003: Moloko[link]

Murphy met Mark Brydon in 1994 at a party, using the chat-up line "Do you like my tight sweater? See how it fits my body."^[6] Brydon brought Murphy to his Fon Studios, where he auditioned her voice on tape, and liked Murphy's theatrical delivery. They began dating, and the newly-formed Moloko were signed to Echo Records, releasing their debut album Do You Like My Tight Sweater? the following year.^[4] The album combined trip hop and funk with electronic dance music, using a more humorous approach than some of their contemporaries.^[6] The follow-up I Am Not a Doctor covered similar musical ground,^[6] and a remix by Boris Dlugosch of "Sing It Back" enjoyed international success, and would go on to be featured on more than 110 compilation albums.^[2] In place of paying Dlugosch, Murphy helped write "Never Enough",^[7] which reached number sixteen on the UK Singles Chart in June 2001.^[8]

October 2000 saw the release of Moloko's third album Things to Make and Do, for which they employed more live instrumentation, and more multifaceted arrangements by keyboardist Eddie Stevens.^[9] The album reached number three on the UK Albums Chart, and "The Time Is Now" became their most successful British single, reaching number two.^[8] Murphy and Brydon broke up but were contractually obligated to deliver further albums. After the 2003 release of Statues, Brydon backed out of much of the album's promotion, so Murphy handled most of it herself.^[5] Although no official statement was issued pertaining to Moloko's future, Murphy had this to say in an interview with Q magazine in May 2005 (which was reiterated in the review of Ruby Blue in July 2005):

We left it on good terms after a very successful tour. We shook hands, said, "See you later", and haven't spoken since. I don't know what Mark thinks of this record or what he's doing. I don't know if we will or we won't reunite. Myself, I don't not want to.

[edit] 2004–05: Ruby Blue

Murphy performing at the Orange Music Experience Festival in Haifa, Israel on 27 June 2005, as part of the Ruby Blue tour.

Murphy began doing solo work while still in Moloko, which included her contributions to the works of other artists including Handsome Boy Modeling School and Boris Dlugosch, for whom she sang on the track "Never Enough", which became a huge club hit, hitting the top three of the US Hot Dance Club Play chart.

Murphy recorded her first official solo material in 2004 with producer Matthew Herbert, who had previously done remixes for Moloko. She had wanted to work with him again, commenting that "it felt very natural... because Matthew makes things seem quicker and easier."^[10] After the pair had recorded a few songs, Murphy found that she enjoyed working with Herbert, and her label Echo Records let her work freely without any deadline. When she presented them the album, they found it odd and did not hear any songs that would make successful singles. The A&R division suggested that Murphy make some changes to make it more radio-friendly. Murphy refused, stating that she "wanted it to be as pure as possible." The label later came to support her.^[11]

Murphy released her debut album Ruby Blue in June 2005. Prior to this, tracks from the album were made available on three limited edition, vinyl-only releases: Sequins #1, Sequins #2 and Sequins #3. The release of the EP's was to precede a London exhibition by artist Simon Henwood, featuring paintings of Murphy in various sequined outfits (some of Henwood's paintings are used as cover images for the record jackets).^[12] The titling is also a pun on "sequins" and the related word "sequence". Henwood also directed the two video clips for the album's singles ("If We're in Love" and "Sow into You").

Ruby Blue samples sounds made by everyday objects and actions, including cosmetics, brass mice, dancing and ornaments.^[13] It mixes the electronic music for which Moloko was known with jazz and pop styles.^[14] Although the album was a commercial failure,^[15] it drew mainly positive reviews; Pitchfork Media called it "perfect, the ultimate combination of human warmth and technological know-how."^[16]

[edit] 2006–08: Overpowered

Murphy performing in Belgrade, Serbia on 26 August 2007.

In May 2006, Murphy announced on her website forum that she had signed with EMI and was working on new material. The first single, "Overpowered", was released on 2 July 2007. "Overpowered" was written by Murphy and Seiji of Bugz in the Attic and mixed by Tom Elmhirst (Amy Winehouse, Röyksopp, Grace Jones). The single is accompanied by a series of remixes from the likes of Seamus Haji, Kris Menace, Hervé and Loose Cannons.^[17] The second single "Let Me Know" (a collaboration with Andy Cato), was released in September and the album, named Overpowered, was released soon after.

In September 2007, Murphy received a pre-nomination for the MTV Europe Music Award for Best Inter Act, but did not make it to the final list.^[18] She performed "Let Me Know" on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross on 5 October 2007.

Murphy sustained an eye injury on 27 October 2007, while on tour in Russia to promote Overpowered. She was forced to cancel several subsequent dates on the tour.^[19]

2009–present[link]

Despite well-known troubles at EMI, Murphy said in an interview in August 2008 that she was working on her third studio solo album. She said she was working with the producer from Overpowered, Seiji, to give the third album the "sleepy, synthesized vibe" that Overpowered has.^[20]

On 17 July 2009 BBC 6 Music revealed Murphy would release a new single, "Demon Lover", by the end of the summer. The singer describes the song as "a big funky house track. It's a souped-up full on garage tune". About her third album she says: "It is quite gritty, it has a slightly London sound to it, it's a bit more urban and bass-ey than Overpowered". ^[21] On the same day, a Murphy news blog also revealed that she was pregnant with her first child.^[22]

Murphy recently previewed new material at the SEone club in London, performing "Momma's Place" and "Hold up Your Hands". She also said on her official forum that she has written some new songs including "Leviathan (Do It Yourself)", among others with producer Apollo Andel. On 2 November, she premiered the single "Orally Fixated" on her Myspace page. The song was released 16 November. The Guardian offered a free download of the song for 48 hours beginning on 12 November.

In a January 2010 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Murphy said, "First of all, I haven't recorded a new album as such. I've recorded a lot of songs, but I haven't planned beyond just putting the songs out there and letting them have their own life, and see how the music lives on its own, without videos, without a big promotion. It's more just about getting songs out there and letting them have their own life."

On 8 March 2010, production duo Crookers released their new album Tons of Friends which features Murphy on the tracks "Royal T" and "Hold Up Your Hand".^[23]

On 6 April 2010 David Byrne and Fatboy Slim released their project "Here Lies Love", which features Murphy on the track "Don't You Agree?" ^[24]

Murphy has collaborated with Dutch DJ Mason on the track "Boadicea". It has been released in the UK and the US as a single on 21 March 2011. In 2011, she collaborated with Tony Christie on his album Now's The Time!. Also in 2011 she revealed to XOXO magazine that she has been working on new music and is ready to release an album sometime in the near future. She also added that her new music is coming from "a deeper place" than her last album Overpowered.

A collaboration with a "well-respected producer from Northern England" titled "Simulation" surfaced online in December 2011.^[25] Murphy also told Electronic Beats that she had recorded a track with David Morales.^[26]

Personal life[link]

Murphy is now in a relationship with her artist boyfriend Simon Henwood. On 15 December 2009, Murphy gave birth to her first child, a baby girl who she named Clodagh Henwood. Murphy and Simon Henwood are reportedly "thrilled" with the new addition to their budding family, who weighed at 8 lb 4oz.^[27]

Discography[link]

• Ruby Blue (2005)
• Overpowered (2007)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Róisín Murphy at Allmusic
• Róisín Murphy on Myspace
• Róisín Murphy's channel on YouTube
• Official Moloko website

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