The inimitable and boundary pushing Róisín Murphy announces 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 the 8th September on esteemed record label Ninja Tune and this announcement arrives accompanied by single, “The Universe”.
Murphy introduces ‘Hit Parade’:
“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 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 reminder to me (and perhaps you the listener) to really live while we can.” - 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 enamoured 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.
“The universe at large is playful and terrifying. There is no discernible sense to it. The story that is always being told is on multiple levels, levels we don't see or understand. The experience of being alive is to be continually reminded of how utterly unaware we are of what is really going on all around us. ” - Róisín Murphy
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.
