Moloko
Formed: 1994
Location: Sheffield, England
Genre: Dance, Trip Hop
Years Active: 1995 - 2003
Meaning of the Name: Moloko is Russian for milk.
Core Members: Róisín Murphy, Mark Brydon
Way of Working: Collaborative
Essential Releases
Things to Make
and Do (2000)
Departs from their electronic trip hop into a funkier sound.
Statues (2003)
Deeply personal final album about a relationship in its final stages.
It's 1994 in Sheffield, a city known as a powerhouse of electronic music that birthed the groundbreaking Warp Records and bands such as The Human League. In this hotbed of sound, a new group was about to make its own contribution to the city's legacy: an Irish immigrant, 21-year-old Róisín Murphy, sang over her boyfriend Mark Brydon's beats, and Moloko was born.
It would be easy to consider Brydon, who was twelve years her senior and established in the industry as the leader of the group, but theirs was a creative and romantic partnership from the start. The title of their first album was taken from a chat-up line Murphy used on Brydon "Do you like my tight sweater? See how it fits my body?" That very night, they recorded for the first time. Although Brydon valued her input, he taught Murphy the tricks of the trade, given her limited prior singing experience and lack of formal training.
Despite having a fondness for four on the floor house, the pair wanted to do something fresh and made sensual downtempo with playful elements of funky house. Much to their surprise, the music press classified it as part of the fashionable trip hop movement. However, the deep basslines of seductive tracks like 'Day for Night' were actually inspired by experiments Brydon conducted as a part of his previous group, the acid jazz collective Cloud Nine.
While later singles were commercially successful, their most interesting album is Statues. Recorded after the end of their romance, it serves as a public document of their tumultuous split and was only made due to contractual obligations to their label, Echo Records. Statues, as the name suggests, came at a time when the pair were frozen in time, apart, but together for one last go around, whether they liked it or not.
The result is a bittersweet, pulsating record fraught with a sexual tension and raspy vocals, their career in epilogue. The passion is gone, made clear with lyrics such as "When this life is so empty, there's nobody to love me" (from 'Forever More'). It's a remembrance of their shared journey through love and the music business that whisked them away to the glittering lights of the pop charts.
The song 'The Only Ones' illustrates this with its title, taking the singular 'one' and making it plural. Crucially, they aren't a couple as they used to be, but "ones" — two separate individuals. Things may have ended badly, but as the saying goes, it's better to have loved and lost. For years, Moloko produced sultry music suitable for both dance floors and sleek lounge bars, a poignant legacy of a love affair played out in song.
Skills
*This is a work in progress. Values are subjective.Emotional Impact
60
Mental Impact
55
Originality
65
Artistry
65
Authenticity
90
Live
70
Production
85
Musicianship
70
Singing
80
Songwriting
85
Danceability
80
Fun
80
Consistency
70
Range
70
Cool
65
Charisma
65
Commercial & Critical Success
Awards
Certifications >>>
- Do You Like My Tight Sweater? - Silver in the UK
- Things to Make and Do- Platinum in the UK
- Statues - Silver in the UK
Charts >>>
- Things to Make and Do- #3 in the UK
- Statues - #1 in Belgium
Critics
- Fact: II - Best Albums of 2019: #14
