Róisín Murphy is back with the third single from her upcoming album, ‘Hit Parade’.
Fader follows CooCool and The Universe from the DJ Koze-produced LP and is accompanied by a self-directed video and in a full circle moment is set against the backdrop of Murphy’s hometown of Arklow, County Wicklow.
Presented in striking black and white – influenced by classic hip-hop videos of the early-nineties – it features 150 Arklow locals, with the roads of the town closed off to recreate a street parade bursting with verve and life.
She shares: “This idea came to me partly in reaction to making such surreal and ‘other’ imagery for the album artwork, and partly in response to the track itself. I felt I needed a totally authentic space in which to perform Fader.
“The song is about life & death & music and so I went home to where it all started for me. Just as in the music there’s a huge hip-hop influence on the video and for me to have the sheer front for that, it needed to ring true and so my home town, Arklow was in fact, the only option.
“It was a huge task to take on, connecting with local government counsellors because we had to close the high street and then, with local groups of all kinds, musicians, dancers, scouts, majorettes, farmers etc and much of my family… doing something like this is a massive responsibility and it threatened to overwhelm me at times. But on the day we had Hollywood sunshine and just an incredible sense of goodwill.
“The people of Arklow made me so proud. It truly turned out to be one of best days of life…”
Listen to Fader and watch the music video below.
‘Hit Parade‘ – out September 8 – is billed as a “compendium of genre-melding gems” and marks her debut on the Ninja Tune label.
“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,” she explains.
“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!”
Admitting she’s “never been happier” than she is right now, ahead of unveiling the follow-up to 2020’s ‘Róisín Machine’, the Moloko legend adds: “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.”
