Jump to content

Moloko

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Thijs!bot (talk | contribs) at 19:41, 3 September 2008 (robot Adding: it:Moloko). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Moloko

Moloko (Template:PronEng) were an Anglo-Irish electronic/pop duo consisting of Róisín Murphy from Wicklow, Republic of Ireland (though she moved to Manchester at the age of 12) and Mark Brydon, from Sunderland, England.

Origin of band name

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 Alex and his "droogs" consume mixed with amphetamines. (Fellow electronic Sheffield band Heaven 17 had also taken their name from the novella when they formed in 1980).

History of band

Murphy was born in Arklow, and had no prior professional experience as a singer. Brydon already had an extensive CV within the dance music community as a remixer and member of pop/house acts House Arrest and Cloud 9. They met at a party in Sheffield, 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 of the UK singles chart in 1999, helped by a psychedelic video featuring Murphy in a very short metallic "flapper" dress and cap. "Sing It Back" was eventually featured on 110 music compilations.[2]

In 2000 Moloko started touring as a full band along with percussionist Andrew Peckett, 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 leftfield beats of the previous albums, and featured more organic instrumentation.

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. 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]

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

Discography

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Moloko&oldid=236087321"