FATHER MURPHY are an Italian trio comprised by freddie (vocals, guitar), Chiara Lee (vocals, keyboards, percussions) and Vittorio Demarin (drums, viola, vocals). Born in Treviso, Northern Italy, from the ashes of Federico’s several previous musical projects, Father Murphy with two albums and a plethora of ep’s and limited releases became one of the most mysterious and enigmatic musical entities coming out of Italy. If their first album Six Musicians getting unknown was still somewhat rooted in twisted psychedelic pop and sounded vaguely related to Os Mutantes (Brazil) and Italian psych pop masters Jennifer Gentle, the second record, with “…and He told us to turn to the Sun” they did a significant step ahead - out of every familiar musical genre and right into the darkness. Recorded in a church between the end of 2007 and the beginning of 2008, And He told us to turn to the sun maybe was born like a rather weird attempt to a concept album about religion, but surely sounds like a collection of dark, foreboding songs that crawl and twist and hiss like that old biblical serpent. Think of Gnostic masses, kabbalistic chanting, chiming little bells, tinny Gregorian-like drones played on toy-keyboards and the subtle but inescapable influence of 70’s Italian horror rock acts like Jacula and soundtrack masters Goblin and Ennio Morricone, and you will have some of the ingredients that make Father Murphy’s music. Add a good deal of lunacy and enough humour to keep the gloom away (just because you cannot take yourself that seriously) and the album is here, in all its strangely beguiling simplicity: an uneasy, compelling, furiously heretic yet sandblasted in Catholicism little album that could come only out of Italy.
The band grew in those years a strong fellowship in Italy as elsewhere, being often to always on tour (more than 200 shows in the last 3 year, with three Us tours, shows all over Europe, participation at SONIC CITY Festival callled by curators DEERHOOF and many more) getting the attention also of the Italian Natonial television (RAI) where they performed for almost two hours during the tv program “Larsen”. Their songs played in many radio stations, Italian as foreign, as Radio RAI, Resonance Fm London, Radio Student Lubljiana, radio stations in Moscow, Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam… WFMU, WFJC, WNYU, KDVS and more in U.S.A.
In 2009 the Italian movie “Due vite per caso/One life maybe two”, which soundtrack comprises three Father Murphy songs, with the band acting in a scene as itself during a live performance, appeared at Berlinale Festival (Berlin) Open Roads Festival (New York City) Buenos Aires Film Festival (Argentina), Milano film Festival (Italy) and Maremetraggio Trieste (Italy).
The band grew in those years a strong fellowship in Italy as elsewhere, being often to always on tour (more than 200 shows in the last 3 year, with three Us tours, shows all over Europe, participation at SONIC CITY Festival callled by curators DEERHOOF and many more) getting the attention also of the Italian Natonial television (RAI) where they performed for almost two hours during the tv program “Larsen”. Their songs played in many radio stations, Italian as foreign, as Radio RAI, Resonance Fm London, Radio Student Lubljiana, radio stations in Moscow, Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam… WFMU, WFJC, WNYU, KDVS and more in U.S.A.
In 2009 the Italian movie “Due vite per caso/One life maybe two”, which soundtrack comprises three Father Murphy songs, with the band acting in a scene as itself during a live performance, appeared at Berlinale Festival (Berlin) Open Roads Festival (New York City) Buenos Aires Film Festival (Argentina), Milano film Festival (Italy) and Maremetraggio Trieste (Italy).
Warmly embraced in the recent years also by both the UK and the US press, winning fans like Julian Cope, Deerhoof and Michael Gira, Father Murphy has just released a new EP, titled “No room for the weak”, four songs that are at the same time a confirmation and a step forward. Lyrically, the EP deals with the dubious joys of mysticism, convoluted theology, enlightenment through self-inflicted pain and a perilous, twisted way to an equally twisted idea of salvation. Musically, it is another exercise in what the guys at Aquarius Records (San Francisco) described as “woozy and ominous, dreamy and dense, a glorious deathlike dirge”. This new songs are just pure Father Murphy, off kilter and dramatic in their own peculiar way. No Room For The Weak have been released by Aagoo Records in September 2010 on 10’’ (distributed by Revolver USA, Cargo Uk and P*dis Japan) while Boring Machines Records(ITA), CD format, in october.
For promoting the new release Fr. Murphy did tour as hell, 137 shows in a year.
They started in september 2010 with a 6 weeks tour in Us and canada, opening for Deerhoof and Xiu Xiu, for then going back to Europe to join NO MAN IS booking agency, and play many other gigs in Uk, Belgium, France, Poland, Czech Republic and Italy (opening for Liars, Carla Bozulich, ZU Mahjongg... among the others).
The “No room for the weak” tour then continued till may 2011, going through Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Scandinavia (opening for Thulebasen, DK), Russia (together with SWANS and THE EX at SKIF Festival in St. Petersbourg!) and Uk again.
Between august and september they joined Us band SIC ALPS for doing another 3 weeks tour around Western Europe, with a special show in Brussels opening for THE EX, for then ending in Italy with a peculiar show in a theater in Pistoia, nearby Florence, where they did a live soundtrack for "The Cabinet of Dr. caligari", german silent movie from the 20's, together with a collective of filmakers and musicians (Jeaulosy Party, Rico/Uochi Toki, Alessandro Fiori, In Flux).
For promoting the new release Fr. Murphy did tour as hell, 137 shows in a year.
They started in september 2010 with a 6 weeks tour in Us and canada, opening for Deerhoof and Xiu Xiu, for then going back to Europe to join NO MAN IS booking agency, and play many other gigs in Uk, Belgium, France, Poland, Czech Republic and Italy (opening for Liars, Carla Bozulich, ZU Mahjongg... among the others).
The “No room for the weak” tour then continued till may 2011, going through Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Scandinavia (opening for Thulebasen, DK), Russia (together with SWANS and THE EX at SKIF Festival in St. Petersbourg!) and Uk again.
Between august and september they joined Us band SIC ALPS for doing another 3 weeks tour around Western Europe, with a special show in Brussels opening for THE EX, for then ending in Italy with a peculiar show in a theater in Pistoia, nearby Florence, where they did a live soundtrack for "The Cabinet of Dr. caligari", german silent movie from the 20's, together with a collective of filmakers and musicians (Jeaulosy Party, Rico/Uochi Toki, Alessandro Fiori, In Flux).
Meanwhile, the mysticism shows his limits, so the Legend ask to go on, a new chapter, a new record..."Anyway your children will deny it".
Eight new tracks showing the limits and the joy of hermitage, mixed by Deerhoof's Greg Saunier.
