Wearing hats of artist, mom
Not all pop stars are created equal. Since starting her career as the vocal half of Moloko (you know them from the hit “Sing It Back,” found on every dance music compilation ever), Róisín Murphy, 43, has made a career out of pushing boundaries. After a seven-year hiatus, during which she had two children, the Irish singer-songwriter who inspired Lady Gaga’s most audacious style statements returned with a 2014 EP of classic Italian songs called “Mi Senti” and last year’s Mercury Prize-nominated electro epic “Hairless Toys.” Now Murphy’s on tour in support of its companion piece, “Take Her Up to Monto.” She spoke to us from her home in London ahead of her performance at the Warfield on Wednesday, April 19, between weekend sets at Coachella.
Q: You always perform with quite a few masks, props and costumes. How many suitcases do you need to go on tour? A: Quite a lot of suitcases. It’s quite elaborate, but it all fits together. Q: Does America get the proper Róisín Murphy experience or do we get the economy set? A: I’m bringing the full set. The full monty. The full band. Q: You had two kids while you were away. Did it change the way you work? A: It’s been very manageable. It took me a few years before I really re-entered into it after I had the kids. But I haven’t gone off for months on end on tour. It’s just been wonderful, really. Q: Do you feel like starting a family gives you a different perspective on your career? A: Other things matter. The kids become the things that matter. It does spur me on to have something to give to them — the body of work needs to be something I’m proud of, as kind of a responsibility. In that way, it’s a total success. Q: Lady Gaga pretty much copied your style when she first came out. Were you flattered or not so much? A: Look, it is too petty for me to talk about. I can’t go there. I’m going to Coachella as well, so it’s going to be really awkward. Q: But how do you really feel? A: You’re not going to get a quote from me — it’s really too small. I’m a serious artist. You’re a serious journalist. Q: Then I better stop tormenting you. As always, the songs on “Take Her Up to Monto” are complex and strange and beautiful. Does it surprise you that you can still connect with an audience after two decades of confounding people? A: If you do it 20 years, there’s obviously something you’re doing that is working. I’m a professional now, even though I still stutter when I say it. That’s what that is. I’m trying to express something. I
don’t know how to do it any differently. I don’t know how to do it other than to experiment. The whole thing has been a bloody big experiment.
Q: Do you feel like you have any contemporaries out there — Bjork? Beck? Pharrell? A: All those people. I listen to lots of disco and hip-hop. I’m surrounded by music all the time. I was never away from music. I was living it constantly because 90 percent of the people in my life are involved with music. Even though I wasn’t making albums, I never left it.