Hi,
I am no longer running the solipsism page on myspace exclusively for solipsism material. I have a number of different projects and it made sense to have them focalised on the one page.
The new material on the page will now be taken from my 6 difference projects, namely shoosh (band), solipsism, weird fields (audio-visual), Alien Genome Project, The Partisan and my soundtrack project with ed drury, ed drury & craig murphy.
cheers
craig
Monday 28 April 2008
Interview With Craig Murphy At Sonic Frontiers
Sonic Frontiers Interview
Craig Murphy
Interview by Sean Butze
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For those who don’t know, Craig Murphy is a British composer of ambient electronica and IDM, as well as the founder of Herb Recordings and Ambidextrous Records. He records under two different projects, Weird Fields and Solipsism, and is also a member of the experimental folk band Shoosh. While preparing to release his next album, Craig was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to fill us in on his roles as a composer and record label operator.
----
SF: As a music artist, you’re involved in several different projects. Could you talk a little bit about your role in each, as well as what significance they hold for you?
Craig Murphy: The three main projects that I’m involved with are Solipsism, Shoosh and Weird Fields. Solipsism was always my main project, but over the past 6 months or so, I’ve been slowly winding it down as I don’t plan on doing any new Solipsism material for the foreseeable future. However, I won’t rule it out permanently. Weird Fields and Shoosh both grew out of the Solipsism project in many ways. I always did ambient tracks as Solipsism, usually between one and three on each release. However as time went on, I felt more and more that these tracks didn’t really flow with the main solipsism material and despite the fact that I often preferred these tracks personally, I couldn’t see where they fitted on the Solipsism project any longer. Therefore, Weird Fields in the first instance was simply my outlet for doing more ambient material.
There was interest in Weird Fields quite early on and that inspired me really to expand the project beyond what was originally planned and give it more focus. My first Weird Fields EP “Destruct Science” was meant to be released on an American label, but things never worked out as planned and I decided to start Ambidextrous Records, simply to give it a platform. Both of the Weird Fields EPs are now being released on the American netlabel Zenapolae, www.zenapolae.com. Who incidentally are celebrating their 10th Anniversary this year or next, I’m not 100%. I’ve known the label since I first came online almost and I’m very pleased with the development.
Shoosh is what I consider the main project now, the band I’m in with multi-instrumentalist Ed Drury and singer/lyricist Neil Carlill. That’s mainly because we’re working on a new album right now which should hopefully be finished for around March 2009. For those of you unfamiliar with the Shoosh project, it could loosely be defined as psychedelic folk music and it’s probably the most experimental project I’ve been involved with. It’s also the project I’ve enjoyed working on the most. We’ve had mild success so far, with the release of the Split EP on 3” CD along with Boltfish Recordings’ Cheju, available now on Awkward Silence Recordings which received good press if that’s anything to go by. We’re hoping that our first album titled “Orpheum Circuit” will be released this year, but can’t make any promises.
SF: When did you first get involved in composing electronic music? What is it about electronic composition that you prefer over conventional instrumentation?
CM: I first started recording electronic music about 6 or 7 years ago now, though I’d flirted with it briefly in my late teens/early 20s. I was a massive fan of techno when I was younger and like many electronic artists, techno was my first conceived output. However, as my listening habits evolved, so did the style and it simply developed from that. I don’t prefer electronic composition over conventional instrumentation, ideally these days I prefer a blend of electro and acoustic, hence the direction of Shoosh. But both have their pros and cons and it’s really best to work with whatever you are most comfortable and importantly, have available at your disposal.
SF: As someone who records under multiple project names, how do you differentiate between the music you compose for each? Do you sit down and say “Okay, I’m going to write a track for Weird Fields, or for Solipsism” or do you just write what you want and worry about where it will fit later?
CM: Solipsism and Weird Fields were always interchangeable. Mainly because Weird Fields really started as an ambient extension of Solipsism. Though 9 times out of 10, I know which project I’m going to be working on when I start it. Shoosh isn’t interchangeable with the other projects though, simply because it’s so different.
For people who listen closely, they may have noticed that the tracks "Sun Up" from my Solipsism EP Solarism and "Over The Horizon" from my Weird Fields EP Destruct Science are essentially the same melody. I took the melody from "Sun Up" in midi format and slowed it down to 70bpm. I then changed the dynamics of the sound on it and did the Weird Fields track with it. It wasn’t a conscious decision to do this, it just happened. But there have been maybe 2 or 3 occasions when I’ve done similar.
SF: In addition to composing music, you’re a video artist as well. The videos you’ve done for your various projects all feature a very experimental and abstract visual approach. How you go about creating these videos? What inspires you to create visuals in this way?
CM: I honestly don’t see myself as a video artist as such, I enjoy working on videos for people from time to time and I get a great deal of satisfaction from them but it’s really just a hobby that allows me to promote myself and artists/bands I like through another medium. I’ve always been fascinated by abstract artists and I don’t just mean in a visual sense. I’ve been heavily inspired by people who had strong abstract and psychedelic themes in their work, be that visual, audio or literature and anything in between. People like Frank Zappa, Ken Kesey, Aldous Huxley, Salvador Dali & Pink Floyd have all been a huge influence, though I’m certain many more have filtered in throughout the years, many of which will be purely subliminal.
I try to make the videos look like abstract/impressionist paintings coming to life if that makes sense, or moving paintings more bluntly. I’ve always hated the stereotypical music video as they became so clichéd over the years and I simply wanted to try something that was slightly different and visually appealing, something that other people would like and appreciate too. I’ve been surprised with how popular they’ve been though, the video I did for the Glasgow Shoegaze band Ursula Minor even got a mention on the radio!
The process itself involves taking everyday mundane footage mostly, then processing it through repeatedly filtering, layering and overlapping, while continually adjusting the colour and contrast. I use what I would consider, very basic techniques to be honest. But try to deliver them in an original and eye-catching style that will hopefully resonate with the person watching it.
SF: You also run two record labels, Herb Recordings and Ambidextrous Records. Considering both labels release very similar music, what are the distinctions between the two? How do you go about deciding what to release on each label?
I actually co-run Herb today, all decisions are reached jointly between me and my partners Mark and Gordon, who are better known to most people probably as Rubens. I founded the label in 2006 and Mark and Gordon came on board not long after that and together we built the label up from a small digital only operation, to the point now where we have physical distribution in Europe, North America and the Far East. More recently, we’ve also been joined by Mark Millar who does a fantastic job as our press officer and he’s helped us get exposure that small labels could often only dream about. Of course, the fantastic music we release on Herb is a huge help too!
Ambidextrous isn’t a label in any real sense of the word. As I mentioned earlier, I set up Ambidextrous originally as a small platform for my Weird Fields release that was meant to be going out on the American label. It was always going to be for promotion only and I expanded it slightly to include a few more projects…mainly more of my own projects, but Kingbastard, an artist I have great admiration for, recently did a release for us and there’s a couple of new guys going to be doing stuff too. It was and still is though for promotion only, I will try and help the artists get some reviews and I’ll post their music on last fm, myspace etc but that’s it basically, a small window of opportunity. There’s no policy with the releases I promote through Ambidextrous with regards to genre either. If I like the music and feel what the artist is doing is worthwhile, regardless of genre or medium for that matter (I’d gladly promote other art forms), then I would let them use ambidextrous as a promotional tool.
SF: Ambidextrous Records is what many would call a non-commercial “netlabel.” That is, you release all the music digitally and free of charge. As both a label owner and an artist, what do you feel are the advantages of offering music for free? Do you think all artists and labels should do the same?
CM: I don’t really consider Ambidextrous to even be a netlabel to be honest. In my opinion, netlabels are labels who operate along a similar structure to regular music labels with the only real difference being, they give the music away for free. All of the releases on Ambidextrous can be removed at any time by the artists, as it’s only for promotion. Ambidextrous isn’t about ambidextrous and creating a brand that people want to attach themselves too, it’s all about the artists and each artist can be as individual and diverse as they like as there is no release policy, other than me liking what they do. I have very diverse tastes, ranging from classical to 300bpm techno mayhem, so anything is possible.
Quite honestly, there’s very little advantage to serious artists by releasing free music, other than the small amount of exposure you may get through it and the satisfaction of knowing that people are listening to your stuff. But it must be the only job in the world where people expect you to work for free and frown upon you for expecting to be paid. The advantages of doing free releases are diminishing rapidly also as the market is completely saturated now and people are finding it harder to get music they like. The major labels have recently signed an agreement with a company called Q Trax which will see their entire catalogues be available for free download. So the age of universal free downloads is only around the corner anyway and then independent artists will find that the free download/promotional route is an even trickier path to tread, when they’re going head to head with huge bands and vying for people’s attention.
I would say though that when you are first starting out, releasing free music is really the way to go now as you have an instant audience in the internet. It’s something no bands in the past could ever have dreamed of and it’s the quickest and best way to get yourself some exposure and cut your teeth. Once you’ve spent a while developing online, you can then think seriously about taking it to the next level and decide whether you want to go for a commercial release or not. I don’t think however, that all artists and labels should just give their music away for free.
SF: What’s currently on the horizon for you in terms of upcoming releases, projects, etc.?
CM: On a personal level I’m currently busy working on the new Shoosh album and I’ve also started a new project that’s still in early development under a new name. It’s only going to be a one off project though, so I’ll let you know about it when it’s finished!
On the label front, I’m really busy with Herb as we have a lot of new releases coming out over the next few months, kicking off with Engine7 and then we have releases coming from Rubens (re-release of CD), Kingbastard, Shamanic Technology, Skytree and Zerova. We may have a few surprises in the pipeline too, so stay tuned!
Craig Murphy
Interview by Sean Butze
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For those who don’t know, Craig Murphy is a British composer of ambient electronica and IDM, as well as the founder of Herb Recordings and Ambidextrous Records. He records under two different projects, Weird Fields and Solipsism, and is also a member of the experimental folk band Shoosh. While preparing to release his next album, Craig was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to fill us in on his roles as a composer and record label operator.
----
SF: As a music artist, you’re involved in several different projects. Could you talk a little bit about your role in each, as well as what significance they hold for you?
Craig Murphy: The three main projects that I’m involved with are Solipsism, Shoosh and Weird Fields. Solipsism was always my main project, but over the past 6 months or so, I’ve been slowly winding it down as I don’t plan on doing any new Solipsism material for the foreseeable future. However, I won’t rule it out permanently. Weird Fields and Shoosh both grew out of the Solipsism project in many ways. I always did ambient tracks as Solipsism, usually between one and three on each release. However as time went on, I felt more and more that these tracks didn’t really flow with the main solipsism material and despite the fact that I often preferred these tracks personally, I couldn’t see where they fitted on the Solipsism project any longer. Therefore, Weird Fields in the first instance was simply my outlet for doing more ambient material.
There was interest in Weird Fields quite early on and that inspired me really to expand the project beyond what was originally planned and give it more focus. My first Weird Fields EP “Destruct Science” was meant to be released on an American label, but things never worked out as planned and I decided to start Ambidextrous Records, simply to give it a platform. Both of the Weird Fields EPs are now being released on the American netlabel Zenapolae, www.zenapolae.com. Who incidentally are celebrating their 10th Anniversary this year or next, I’m not 100%. I’ve known the label since I first came online almost and I’m very pleased with the development.
Shoosh is what I consider the main project now, the band I’m in with multi-instrumentalist Ed Drury and singer/lyricist Neil Carlill. That’s mainly because we’re working on a new album right now which should hopefully be finished for around March 2009. For those of you unfamiliar with the Shoosh project, it could loosely be defined as psychedelic folk music and it’s probably the most experimental project I’ve been involved with. It’s also the project I’ve enjoyed working on the most. We’ve had mild success so far, with the release of the Split EP on 3” CD along with Boltfish Recordings’ Cheju, available now on Awkward Silence Recordings which received good press if that’s anything to go by. We’re hoping that our first album titled “Orpheum Circuit” will be released this year, but can’t make any promises.
SF: When did you first get involved in composing electronic music? What is it about electronic composition that you prefer over conventional instrumentation?
CM: I first started recording electronic music about 6 or 7 years ago now, though I’d flirted with it briefly in my late teens/early 20s. I was a massive fan of techno when I was younger and like many electronic artists, techno was my first conceived output. However, as my listening habits evolved, so did the style and it simply developed from that. I don’t prefer electronic composition over conventional instrumentation, ideally these days I prefer a blend of electro and acoustic, hence the direction of Shoosh. But both have their pros and cons and it’s really best to work with whatever you are most comfortable and importantly, have available at your disposal.
SF: As someone who records under multiple project names, how do you differentiate between the music you compose for each? Do you sit down and say “Okay, I’m going to write a track for Weird Fields, or for Solipsism” or do you just write what you want and worry about where it will fit later?
CM: Solipsism and Weird Fields were always interchangeable. Mainly because Weird Fields really started as an ambient extension of Solipsism. Though 9 times out of 10, I know which project I’m going to be working on when I start it. Shoosh isn’t interchangeable with the other projects though, simply because it’s so different.
For people who listen closely, they may have noticed that the tracks "Sun Up" from my Solipsism EP Solarism and "Over The Horizon" from my Weird Fields EP Destruct Science are essentially the same melody. I took the melody from "Sun Up" in midi format and slowed it down to 70bpm. I then changed the dynamics of the sound on it and did the Weird Fields track with it. It wasn’t a conscious decision to do this, it just happened. But there have been maybe 2 or 3 occasions when I’ve done similar.
SF: In addition to composing music, you’re a video artist as well. The videos you’ve done for your various projects all feature a very experimental and abstract visual approach. How you go about creating these videos? What inspires you to create visuals in this way?
CM: I honestly don’t see myself as a video artist as such, I enjoy working on videos for people from time to time and I get a great deal of satisfaction from them but it’s really just a hobby that allows me to promote myself and artists/bands I like through another medium. I’ve always been fascinated by abstract artists and I don’t just mean in a visual sense. I’ve been heavily inspired by people who had strong abstract and psychedelic themes in their work, be that visual, audio or literature and anything in between. People like Frank Zappa, Ken Kesey, Aldous Huxley, Salvador Dali & Pink Floyd have all been a huge influence, though I’m certain many more have filtered in throughout the years, many of which will be purely subliminal.
I try to make the videos look like abstract/impressionist paintings coming to life if that makes sense, or moving paintings more bluntly. I’ve always hated the stereotypical music video as they became so clichéd over the years and I simply wanted to try something that was slightly different and visually appealing, something that other people would like and appreciate too. I’ve been surprised with how popular they’ve been though, the video I did for the Glasgow Shoegaze band Ursula Minor even got a mention on the radio!
The process itself involves taking everyday mundane footage mostly, then processing it through repeatedly filtering, layering and overlapping, while continually adjusting the colour and contrast. I use what I would consider, very basic techniques to be honest. But try to deliver them in an original and eye-catching style that will hopefully resonate with the person watching it.
SF: You also run two record labels, Herb Recordings and Ambidextrous Records. Considering both labels release very similar music, what are the distinctions between the two? How do you go about deciding what to release on each label?
I actually co-run Herb today, all decisions are reached jointly between me and my partners Mark and Gordon, who are better known to most people probably as Rubens. I founded the label in 2006 and Mark and Gordon came on board not long after that and together we built the label up from a small digital only operation, to the point now where we have physical distribution in Europe, North America and the Far East. More recently, we’ve also been joined by Mark Millar who does a fantastic job as our press officer and he’s helped us get exposure that small labels could often only dream about. Of course, the fantastic music we release on Herb is a huge help too!
Ambidextrous isn’t a label in any real sense of the word. As I mentioned earlier, I set up Ambidextrous originally as a small platform for my Weird Fields release that was meant to be going out on the American label. It was always going to be for promotion only and I expanded it slightly to include a few more projects…mainly more of my own projects, but Kingbastard, an artist I have great admiration for, recently did a release for us and there’s a couple of new guys going to be doing stuff too. It was and still is though for promotion only, I will try and help the artists get some reviews and I’ll post their music on last fm, myspace etc but that’s it basically, a small window of opportunity. There’s no policy with the releases I promote through Ambidextrous with regards to genre either. If I like the music and feel what the artist is doing is worthwhile, regardless of genre or medium for that matter (I’d gladly promote other art forms), then I would let them use ambidextrous as a promotional tool.
SF: Ambidextrous Records is what many would call a non-commercial “netlabel.” That is, you release all the music digitally and free of charge. As both a label owner and an artist, what do you feel are the advantages of offering music for free? Do you think all artists and labels should do the same?
CM: I don’t really consider Ambidextrous to even be a netlabel to be honest. In my opinion, netlabels are labels who operate along a similar structure to regular music labels with the only real difference being, they give the music away for free. All of the releases on Ambidextrous can be removed at any time by the artists, as it’s only for promotion. Ambidextrous isn’t about ambidextrous and creating a brand that people want to attach themselves too, it’s all about the artists and each artist can be as individual and diverse as they like as there is no release policy, other than me liking what they do. I have very diverse tastes, ranging from classical to 300bpm techno mayhem, so anything is possible.
Quite honestly, there’s very little advantage to serious artists by releasing free music, other than the small amount of exposure you may get through it and the satisfaction of knowing that people are listening to your stuff. But it must be the only job in the world where people expect you to work for free and frown upon you for expecting to be paid. The advantages of doing free releases are diminishing rapidly also as the market is completely saturated now and people are finding it harder to get music they like. The major labels have recently signed an agreement with a company called Q Trax which will see their entire catalogues be available for free download. So the age of universal free downloads is only around the corner anyway and then independent artists will find that the free download/promotional route is an even trickier path to tread, when they’re going head to head with huge bands and vying for people’s attention.
I would say though that when you are first starting out, releasing free music is really the way to go now as you have an instant audience in the internet. It’s something no bands in the past could ever have dreamed of and it’s the quickest and best way to get yourself some exposure and cut your teeth. Once you’ve spent a while developing online, you can then think seriously about taking it to the next level and decide whether you want to go for a commercial release or not. I don’t think however, that all artists and labels should just give their music away for free.
SF: What’s currently on the horizon for you in terms of upcoming releases, projects, etc.?
CM: On a personal level I’m currently busy working on the new Shoosh album and I’ve also started a new project that’s still in early development under a new name. It’s only going to be a one off project though, so I’ll let you know about it when it’s finished!
On the label front, I’m really busy with Herb as we have a lot of new releases coming out over the next few months, kicking off with Engine7 and then we have releases coming from Rubens (re-release of CD), Kingbastard, Shamanic Technology, Skytree and Zerova. We may have a few surprises in the pipeline too, so stay tuned!
Tuesday 8 April 2008
Frank Zappa Duelling Steve Vai - Stevie's Spanking
Hello,
I normally just post about my own projects on this blog, but from time to time I feel the need to tell you about zappa! In fact there's nothing I can say that's not already been said more eloquently, so I'll rely on youtube as usual to get the message across.
This is a video from a live concert in Rome in 1982 I'm sure it was. Anyway, the playing is fantastic and everytime I see it, i smile because seeing zappa play like this always makes me happy.
The video below this one is a short and funny interivew with Steve Vai about his audition for zappa's band.
Enjoy!
I normally just post about my own projects on this blog, but from time to time I feel the need to tell you about zappa! In fact there's nothing I can say that's not already been said more eloquently, so I'll rely on youtube as usual to get the message across.
This is a video from a live concert in Rome in 1982 I'm sure it was. Anyway, the playing is fantastic and everytime I see it, i smile because seeing zappa play like this always makes me happy.
The video below this one is a short and funny interivew with Steve Vai about his audition for zappa's band.
Enjoy!
Monday 7 April 2008
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