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Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy

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Colleen Murphy
Murphy at the British Library in 2022
Background information
Also known asCosmo
Born (1968-08-24) August 24, 1968 (age 56)
OriginMassachusetts, United States
Occupation(s)Radio broadcaster, DJ, music producer
Websitehttps://colleencosmomurphy.com/

Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy, (born August 24, 1968) is an American DJ, radio host and curator, audiophile,[1] and founder of the album listening event and content hub Classic Album Sundays.[2] She is often a spokesperson about vinyl records.[3][4]

Career

[edit]

Radio

[edit]

Originally from Massachusetts, she attended New York University where she was Program Director and a DJ at the university radio station WNYU.[5]

Murphy has been a radio host, DJ and programme director since the age of fourteen[6][7] and today hosts Cosmodelica[8] and Classic Album Sundays Worldwide[9] on Worldwide FM and 'This Women's Work' series[10] for Public Radio International. Cosmodelica was selected by Time Out as one of the 10 best shows in London.[11]

Murphy is the writer and host of BBC 6 Music’s album series "Sounds of a City"[12] and BBC Radio 4’s documentary series "Turntable Tales".[13]

Unfold Japan, a radio series she hosted for Worldwide FM and Asahi has been nominated for an ARIA Award in 2020 Audio and Radio Industry Awards for Best Branded Content.[14]

DJ

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Murphy was mentored by David Mancuso at his seminal Loft parties in New York City[15] and became one of his most trusted friends and artistic collaborators.[16] Together they co-produced the compilation series David Mancuso Presents The Loft Volumes One[17] and Two,[18] and worked together on David's record label The Loft Audiophile Library of Music.[19] In 2000, David told Time Out New York City "She is very devoted and very pure about the music. She’s one of the only people I would trust, both with the music and with the equipment, to fill in for me."[20] She was asked by David to help manage his legacy and continues to be one of the musical hosts at The Loft in NYC.[21]

Murphy is also the cofounder of the Lucky Cloud Loft parties in London which she co-founded with Mancuso and friends[22] and DJs internationally on the world's best sound systems and dance floors.[23]

In 2019, Murphy was nominated in the DJ Mag North America Hall of Fame[24] and launched Love Dancin' Sound System with Trojan Sound System's Daddy Ad[25] at Gilles Peterson’s We Out Here Festival, sharing some of her musical and sonic passions to dancers outside of her existing communities.[26]

Music production

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As a producer Murphy has remixed Róisín Murphy,[27] the Rapture,[28] Fat Freddy's Drop,[29] Beardyman,[30] Candi Staton,[31] the 2 Bears,[32] Phenomenal Handclap Band,[33] Cantoma,[34] Horace Andy,[35] Chaka Khan[36] and more under her Cosmodelica moniker and as DarkStarr Diskotek (with Ashley Beedle). Along with former Captain Beefheart guitarist Gary Lucas, she recorded and produced as Wild Rumpus.[37]

She has also mixed her own compilations - New York Afterhours: A Later Shade of Deep[38] (Nervous Records 1998), The Disco-Tech of DJ Cosmo[39] (Yellow Productions 2003) and Psychedelic Disco-Tech: They Live by the Night[40] as Darkstarr with Ashley Beedle.

Classic Album Sundays

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Murphy's Classic Album Sundays platform tells the stories behind the albums that have shaped our culture[41] and in some cases, our lives. She founded it as a stance against the increasing devaluation of music and sound.[42] What began as a passion project is now the world's most popular album listening event[43] with satellites in four continents and the website and social media channels host content on classic albums and artists such as interviews, videos, playlists and more. BBC Breakfast Television remarked, "Classic Album Sundays treat our best loved records like great symphonies."[44]

Murphy and Classic Album Sundays are one of the leading pioneers and inspirations behind the resurgence of vinyl, listening venues and high quality sound.[45][46]

Murphy has hosted events with talent such as Jarvis Cocker, Guy Garvey, Laura Mvula, Max Richter, John Grant, Pink Floyd's Nick Mason, KT Tunstall, Jazzie B, Sister Sledge, Lisa Stansfield, Elizabeth Fraser, Thurston Moore, and many more.

References and further reading

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  1. ^ Iqbal, Nosheen (2019-12-08). "Shush... and enjoy the music: how listening bars have hit the right note". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  2. ^ Tarantino, Chris (May 31, 2012). "Q&A Interview with Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy on Audiophilia, Secret People Watching and Forcing an Audience to Pay Attention". The Village Voice.
  3. ^ Harris, John (January 7, 2015). "Vinyl's Difficult Comeback". The Guardian.
  4. ^ Nathanson, Hannah (April 26, 2013). "Vinyl Frontier". London Evening Standard.
  5. ^ Vadukul, Alex (July 12, 2012). "At a Monthly Gathering Nothing But the Sound of Vinyl". The New York Times.
  6. ^ "In Session: Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy". Mixmag. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  7. ^ "Vinyl frontier: The music-lovers behind London's big record revival". Evening Standard. 2013-04-26. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  8. ^ "Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy – Worldwide FM". Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  9. ^ "classic album sundays – Worldwide FM". Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  10. ^ "Colleen "Cosmo" Murphy". The World from PRX. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  11. ^ "London's 10 best radio shows". Time Out London. 29 August 2017. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  12. ^ "BBC Radio 6 Music - Sounds of a City - Episode guide". BBC. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  13. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Turntable Tales - Available now". BBC. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  14. ^ "Shortlist out for Audio and Radio Industry Awards 2020". RadioToday. 2020-01-15. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  15. ^ "In Session: Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy". Mixmag. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  16. ^ "VICE - David Mancuso Taught Us That Being Selfless Is The Ultimate Act of Rebellion". www.vice.com. 16 November 2016. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  17. ^ "David Mancuso - The Loft". Discogs. 31 August 1999. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  18. ^ "David Mancuso - The Loft - Volume Two". Discogs. 2 October 2000. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  19. ^ "Under Balloons – David Mancuso's 'Love Saves the Day'". Boy's Own. 11 December 2016. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  20. ^ Murphy, Colleen (2016-11-17). "David Mancuso Taught Us That Being Selfless Is The Ultimate Act of Rebellion". Vice. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  21. ^ Murphy, Colleen (2016-11-17). "David Mancuso Taught Us That Being Selfless Is The Ultimate Act of Rebellion". Vice. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  22. ^ "In Session: Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy". Mixmag. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  23. ^ "In Session: Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy". Mixmag. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  24. ^ "Voting for DJ Mag's Best of North America awards is now open". DJMag.com. 2019-04-12. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  25. ^ "Love Dancin': The story of an audiophile sound system". The Vinyl Factory. 2019-08-30. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  26. ^ "Gilles Peterson's We Out Here is well on its way to becoming a fixture of the UK summer". Mixmag. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  27. ^ Brayden, Kate. "LISTEN: Róisín Murphy shares funk-infused Cosmodelica remix of 'Murphy's Law'". Hotpress. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  28. ^ "The Rapture - Children (DarkStarr Diskotek Remix)". Discogs. 2 July 2012. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  29. ^ "Fat Freddy's Drop - Mother Mother / Never Moving". Discogs. March 2014. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  30. ^ "Beardyman - Mountain Side". Discogs. December 2015. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  31. ^ "Mavis (5) Featuring Candi Staton - Revolution (DarkStarr Mixes)". Discogs. April 2010. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  32. ^ "2 Bears* - Church (Darkstarr Diskotek Remixes)". Discogs. July 2011. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  33. ^ "The Phenomenal Handclap Band - Remixes". Discogs. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  34. ^ "Cantoma - North Shore / Dix Vertes". Discogs. October 2011. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  35. ^ "Horace Andy & Ashley Beedle - When The Rain Falls". Discogs. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  36. ^ "Róisín Murphy, Sinéad O'Connor, Amanda Ghost, Micachu, thecocknbullkid* and Alessi's Ark - I'm Every Woman". Discogs. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  37. ^ "Wild Rumpus". Discogs. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  38. ^ "Various - New York Afterhours: A Later Shade Of Deep Volume 1, Record 1". Discogs. 1998. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  39. ^ "D.J. Cosmo* - The Disco-Tech Of..." Discogs. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  40. ^ "Various - DarkStarr's Psychedelic Disco-Tech". Discogs. June 2010. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  41. ^ "About Us". Classic Album Sundays. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  42. ^ Hennessy, Kate (2017-05-09). "In full, on vinyl, no talking: have we lost the art of listening to music?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  43. ^ Iqbal, Nosheen (2019-12-08). "Shush... and enjoy the music: how listening bars have hit the right note". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  44. ^ Sillito, David (2011-01-18). "The anti-shuffle brigade". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  45. ^ Iqbal, Nosheen (2019-12-08). "Shush... and enjoy the music: how listening bars have hit the right note". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  46. ^ Brayden, Kate. "LISTEN: Róisín Murphy shares funk-infused Cosmodelica remix of 'Murphy's Law'". Hotpress. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
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