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In 2012, Murdoch appeared at the Montreal Jazz Festival at the invitation of Montreal-based band, the Barr Brothers. His music continued to appear frequently in film and television. Notable appearances included a summer 2012 usage for the song "All My Days" in the [[BBC|BBC's]] campaign for [[BBC iPlayer]] features, and an autumn usage for "All My Days" in an American television commercial for [[Sprint Nextel|Sprint]] wireless -- an association that continued into 2013 when the song was played a half-dozen times during the 2013 Oscar telecast.
In 2012, Murdoch appeared at the Montreal Jazz Festival at the invitation of Montreal-based band, the Barr Brothers. His music continued to appear frequently in film and television. Notable appearances included a summer 2012 usage for the song "All My Days" in the [[BBC|BBC's]] campaign for [[BBC iPlayer]] features, and an autumn usage for "All My Days" in an American television commercial for [[Sprint Nextel|Sprint]] wireless -- an association that continued into 2013 when the song was played a half-dozen times during the 2013 Oscar telecast.

He sounds nothing like [[Nick Drake]].


==Critical reception==
==Critical reception==

Revision as of 23:28, 29 August 2013

Alexi Murdoch
Born (1973-12-27) 27 December 1973 (age 50), London, United Kingdom
OriginLondon, United Kingdom
GenresAlternative, acoustic, indie folk, country
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals, piano, guitar, keyboards, drums, bass guitar
Years active2002–present
LabelsIndie
WebsiteOfficial website

Alexi Murdoch (born 27 December 1973) is a British musician and songwriter, currently living in Berlin.[1]

Background

Murdoch was born in London to a Greek father and Scottish-French mother and raised in Greece until he was ten, when his family moved back to the United Kingdom, settling in Scotland.[2][3]

Murdoch moved to the United States in 1992 to study at Duke University,[3] before moving to Los Angeles, California to be with a girlfriend.[2] He first gained notice when an influential Los Angeles DJ, Nic Harcourt, began playing his music on the radio station KCRW. It led to much interest from the LA's music industry, which Murdoch largely ignored, turning down advances from record labels and opting to release his music independently.[3]

Four Songs

He self-published the EP Four Songs through independent record stores and website CD Baby[3][4] in November 2002. CD Baby sold over 50,000 copies of the release, becoming the site's all-time bestselling record.[5][6]

In 2003, he performed at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Conference and that year's Sundance Film Festival.[3][7] and, in 2004, at the Hollywood Reporter/Billboard Film & TV Music Conference.[5][8] In 2004, the song "Orange Sky" from the EP also became the most-played song on Philadelphia indie station WXPN.[9]

Time Without Consequence

Murdoch's first album, Time Without Consequence, was released on June 6, 2006 on his own label, Zero Summer. As with the EP, Murdoch continued to turn down the record deals he was offered from numerous major labels in order to maintain creative control. (The record was distributed nationally through Sony BMG.) Time Without Consequence peaked at #25 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.[10]

On June 9, 2006, Murdoch began a 34-city tour in conjunction with the Coalition of Independent Music Stores, with most bookings at independent record stores.[9]

The album became one of the most licensed albums of the decade, receiving placements on dozens of films and television shows. "Orange Sky" appeared in The O.C.,[2][5] House, Prison Break,[2] Ugly Betty, Dirty Sexy Money, Ladder 49,[5] and in promotions for Oscar nominated foreign film, Paradise Now, Southland and a Honda commercial.[9] "Home" appeared in a season 2 episode of Prison Break. "All My Days" was featured in The O.C., Grey's Anatomy, Scrubs, Without a Trace, Stargate Universe, and a promo for Southland. It has also featured as the opening song in the movie Real Steel. "Song For You" appeared in Everwood. "12" appeared in the shows "Brothers & Sisters" and "One Tree Hill." "Blue Mind" was featured in the 2008 adventure film The Sharp End,[citation needed], and several episodes of Dawson's Creek.[2][3] "Breathe" and "All My Days" were used in Stargate Universe, and the 2008 film Tenderness, where the album Time Without Consequence is also shown on a scene of the film. "Wait" was used in the shows Defying Gravity and Parenthood. "It's Only Fear" was used in the Brothers and Sisters. Several songs were used in a surfing documentary One California Day. "Crinan Wood" was used in the episode Chuck Versus the Masquerade from the show Chuck.

Recent activities

In the spring of 2009, Murdoch embarked on a rare U.S. headlining tour, during which he has been distributing an early version of a new album entitled Towards the Sun in a limited edition packaged in a hand-printed, cardboard sleeve.[11]

Several of these new songs quickly appeared on the internet. Later, the song "Through the Dark" was used in the television series The Vampire Diaries. Several other Towards the Sun songs were used on the soundtrack to Oscar winner Sam Mendes' 2009 film Away We Go which had a screenplay by the writers Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida. There was an album tied to the film release which contained a mix of songs from Time Without Consequence and Towards the Sun alongside single songs by The Stranglers, Bob Dylan, George Harrison and the Velvet Underground. The track "Some Day Soon" was featured in the second episode of Touch, titled "1+1=3".

Recent bookings by Murdoch include two concerts in Berlin, one small club appearance and a second as part of the City Slang label's 20th anniversary. In February 2011 he performed in New York City as part of Lincoln Center's prestigious "American Songbook Series",[12] after which he went on a sold out tour of major markets throughout North America. (i.e. Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, Chicago, Minneapolis.) 2011 also saw the official release of his third recording, "Towards The Sun"[13] and Murdoch's first proper European tour, including a two sold out London club shows, followed by a sold out appearance at Union Chapel.

In 2012, Murdoch appeared at the Montreal Jazz Festival at the invitation of Montreal-based band, the Barr Brothers. His music continued to appear frequently in film and television. Notable appearances included a summer 2012 usage for the song "All My Days" in the BBC's campaign for BBC iPlayer features, and an autumn usage for "All My Days" in an American television commercial for Sprint wireless -- an association that continued into 2013 when the song was played a half-dozen times during the 2013 Oscar telecast.

He sounds nothing like Nick Drake.

Critical reception

His first album Time Without Consequence was met with wide critical praise, gaining him five stars with Alternative Press as well as placing him on Rolling Stone's Top Ten Artists list. His newest release Towards the Sun is gathering higher praise still in both the U.S. and in Europe. PopMatters, giving the record a 9/10 calls Murdoch's performance "hauntingly beautiful" and "heartbreakingly lovely".[14] Q magazine in the UK give the record four stars with this to say: "Acoustic troubadour makes stunning second outing. Anyone who harps on about how the songwriters of today don't match up to those of yesteryear should be directed to this remarkable second record."

Discography

LPs

Extended Plays

References

  1. ^ Elms, Robert (April 22, 2011), "BBC London 94.9".
  2. ^ a b c d e Hoard, Christian (September 21, 2006), "ALEXI MURDOCH". Rolling Stone. (1009):24
  3. ^ a b c d e f Wise, Catherine (June 6, 2003), "A NEW REASON TO JUST SAY NO." Entertainment Weekly. (713):78
  4. ^ Langer, Andy (December 2003) "(Derek Sivers)". Esquire. 140 (6):173
  5. ^ a b c d Hay, Carla (November 6, 2004), "Director Columbus Shopping 'Underground' Film". Billboard. 116 (45):12-26
  6. ^ Newman, Melinda (December 10, 2005), "Rock Hall Of Fame Names Class Of '06". Billboard. 117 (50):44
  7. ^ Newman, Melinda (March 29, 2003), "The Beat". Billboard. 115 (13):9
  8. ^ (November 2, 2004), "Film & TV Music Confab Adds McG To Marquee Speakers". Billboard. 116 (47):14
  9. ^ a b c Newman, Melinda (June 24, 2006), "Spread The 'LDN' Love, Please". Billboard. 118 (25):58
  10. ^ Alexi Murdoch. "Alexi Murdoch - Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-03-23.
  11. ^ "Carry You Away: Concert Review: Alexi Murdoch". Carryyouaway.blogspot.com. 2009-04-21. Retrieved 2013-03-23.
  12. ^ "Alexi Murdoch". Alexi Murdoch. Retrieved 2013-03-23.
  13. ^ Hilton, Robin (2011-02-27). "First Listen: Alexi Murdoch, 'Towards The Sun'". NPR.org. Retrieved 2013-03-23.
  14. ^ Horowitz, Steve. "Alexi Murdoch: Towards the Sun". PopMatters. Retrieved 2013-03-23.

External links

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