Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy: Recent Episodes
Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy
Classic Album Sundays founder Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy hosts radio shows for the BBC and other radio platforms and is a journalist, a world renown DJ and one of the leading authorities on the vinyl revival.
My grandmother Vera was a British War Bride. As an immigrant myself (in the other direction from America to England), I was always astounded by how much more difficult her experience was compared to mine. Last year I interviewed my Nan and she told me about her experiences. I felt it was important for her. She departed this earth last month and aside from our treasured memories, photographs and mementos, we still have her story in her own words. We love you Nan and thank you for everything.
Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy explores the musical map of Edinburgh and chooses one album she feels sounds like the city. Having already delved into Sheffield through the eyes of Human League's Travelogue album, Liverpool and The Teardrop Explodes' Kilimanjaro, and Manchester with New Order's Power, Corruption and Lies, we're now heading further north to the capital city of Scotland; a city of science and engineering, home of one of the biggest events in the cultural calendar, and a city with an incredibly varied history stretching back thousands of years…Edinburgh. We're looking at an album that links the old with the new, the traditional with the electronic, and it's Martyn Bennett's Bothy Culture. Released in 1997, Martyn's second album takes Celtic folk, Gaelic, and traditional rhythms and poems, and blended them with the ambient electronica of the day, elements of the rave scene, and drum and bass. Bringing the traditional to an entirely new audience and generation, his can-do attitude meant he had no boundaries with which to compose and record. He unfortunately passed away in 2005 due to cancer, and never quite became the influential artist of scenes he deserved to be. In this documentary, we ask why Martyn is so essential to the fabric of the city, we take a look at why the Edinburgh music scene is so small and insular, and how his indirect influence led to the growth of bands such as Young Fathers, Boards of Canada, Treacherous Orchestra, and even Moby. We talk to the likes of Radio 3's Mary Ann Kennedy on his talents and legacy, members of Shooglenifty who worked with Martyn, friend and composer Greg Lawson, and font-of-knowledge and Celtic Connections artistic director Donald Shaw. Produced by Ashley Clivery. #MartynBennett #BothyCulture #CelticConnections #Shooglenifty #EdinburghMusic #ClassicAlbum #GaelicMusic #ScottishMusic #Bagpipe
In the third of the Sounds of a City series, Colleen Murphy lifts the lid on New Order's Power, Corruption and Lies and its relationship to Manchester. Speaking to the likes of Peter Hook, Stephen Morris and Peter Saville, we breakdown the components of an album that fused punk and dance, art and experimentation, technology and rock, to create something for a new generation of tech-savvy music-philes to get their teeth into. A Certain Ratio's Martin Moscrop and The Charlatan's Tim Burgess discuss this perfect blending, whilst 808 State's Graham Massey contemplates the fact that Manchester has more in common with New York than it does with any other British city. A story that may sound familiar, but with New Order were stepping out from the shadows of Joy Division the idea of experimentation is amplified and braver, and may not have even worked. And then there was that album cover.
Following our forays into Sheffield and Liverpool, we step into Manchester's world. A world so synonymous with factories, dance music, and Tony Wilson, but it starts showing us its many juxtapositions; from the pastoral to the industrial, the punk pogo to the acid house dance floor. There are always two sides to every story. Produced by Ashley Clivery.
NewOrder #PeterHook #PeterSaville #QuandoQuango #TonyWilson #Hacienda #ManchesterMusic #ACertainRatio #TheCharlatans #808State #ClassicAlbum
DJ Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy, fresh from looking at Sheffield and The Human League's Travelogue album, now turns her attention across the Peaks to one of the UK's most important musical cities; Liverpool. Focusing on The Teardrop Explodes Kilimanjaro album, we talk to Julian Cope about how he made the album, why he moved to Liverpool, and why he always traveled to the studio on an invisible horse. Colleen also looks at how Liverpool and Psych are inextricably linked, the importance of Soul Music to the area, how the nightclub Eric's and record shop Probe inspired a scene, and Liverpool's isolation from the rest of the country has helped create a outlook like no other.
Colleen speaks with Shack's Michael Head who grew up surrounded by the influence of The Teardrop Explodes: Holly Johnson, of Frankie Goes To Hollywood, discusses the role of Liverpool's flamboyant gay scene played in the burgeoning post-punk scene: DJ Greg Wilson casts his critical ear over an 80s Liverpool still living under the eclipse of The Beatles: author Mark Cooper share his thoughts on the rivalry between Echo & The Bunnymen and The Teardrops. Colleen also meets Stealing Sheep's Emily Lansley, who is at the vanguard of a younger generation of musicians who embrace Liverpool's psychedelic sound. And if all of that wasn't enough, Zoo Records and KLF founder Bill Drummond shares two of his one minute presentations about the album. Produced by Ashley Clivery.
JulianCope #TeardropExplodes #KLF #BillDrummond #HollyJohnson #FrankieGoestoHollywood #GregWilson #ClassicAlbum #LiverpoolMusic #ZooRecords #EchoandtheBunnymen
Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy, founder of Classic Album Sundays, looks deep into The Human League's Travelogue album, and the city from which it was built; Sheffield. Talking to lead member Martyn Ware, she delves into what made this album such a pivotal moment in the landscape of Sheffield's music scene, and why synths unlocked an entire universe for musicians. From the heavy industry, poverty, and even the space race, everything that went into this album came out the other side to inspire a new generation of musicians, inadvertently starting a dance music revolution in the City. Cabaret Voltaire's Richard H. Kirk discusses the album's pop values, whilst our very own Jarvis Cocker give us his own unique take on the tracks and their links to Sheffield. From Roisin Murphy and Toddla T to Orbital's Paul Hartnoll, the album and the City's influence has been felt far and wide, so tune in to this exploration of one of pop's darkest moments. Produced by Ashley Clivery. #HumanLeague #MartynWare #JarvisCocker #Orbital #ToddlaT #RoisinMurphy #CabaretVoltaire #RichardHKirk #SheffieldMusic #ClassicAlbum