In a comment on Murphy’s personal facebook, the 50-year-old said “Please don’t call me a terf [trans exclusionary radical feminist]. But puberty blockers ARE FUCKED, absolutely desolate, big Pharma laughing all the way to the bank. Little mixed up kids are vulnerable and need to be protected, that’s just true.”

After receiving backlash from fans, Murphy took to Twitter in response to the comments saying “I have been thrown into a very public discourse in an arena I’m uncomfortable in and deeply unsuitable for. I cannot apologise enough for being the reason for this eruption of damaging and potentially dangerous social-media fire and brimstone. To witness the ramifications of my actions and the divisions it has caused is heartbreaking.”

pic.twitter.com/CljLn95Ytd

— Róisín Murphy (@roisinmurphy) August 29, 2023

BBC Radio 6 Music had scheduled to play 5 hours of the former Moloko singer’s songs, interviews and concert highlights as part of the station’s Artist Collection series between midnight and 5am on Monday September 18th.

This programme has since been replaced with a show about Mercury prize-winning rapper Little Simz, with the BBC claiming this rescheduling decision was to align with poetry, rap and spoken word programming that’s due to air in the same week.

A BBC spokesperson denied allegations that Murphy’s scheduled programme was replaced due to the recent controversial comments in a conversation with The Independent, saying “The Artist Collections from our archive are regularly on rotation and frequently change to reflect station-wide initiatives as they get confirmed. 

Little Simz was scheduled to reflect 6 Music’s Way With Words programming, which celebrates poetry, rap and spoken word, and airs the following week, tying in with National Poetry Day.

The annual Mercury Prize awards ceremony took place this week on Thursday 7th September at the Hammersmith Apollo London. The ceremony acknowledges the best of British music with their prestigious award for Album Of The Year, alongside a £25,000 prize.

Previous winners of the highly-respected award include Wolf Alice, Dave, Skepta, James Blake, and Little Simz, who took home last year’s prize with the album Sometimes I Might Be Introvert.

This year’s winners were Ezra Collective, with their 2022 album Where I’m Meant To Be, however they faced some stiff competition being shortlisted with other UK acts such as Arctic Monkeys, Loyle Carner, RAYE and Jessie Ware.

The full list of nominees for the 2023 Mercury Prize were:

• The Car by Arctic Monkeys
• Where I’m Meant to Be by Ezra Collective
• Actual Life 3 by Fred Again
• Beautiful and Brutal Yard by J Hus
• That! Feels Good! by Jessie Ware
• I Love You Jennifer B by Jockstrap
• False Lankum by Lankum
• Hugo by Loyle Carner
• Messy by Olivia Dean
• My 21st Century Blues by Raye
• Nymph by Shygirl
• Heavy Heavy by Young Fathers

Jessie Ware was nominated for her 5th studio album That! Feels Good!, which was released on April 28th of this year. The album includes singles such as “Pearls”, “Begin Again”, “Freak Me Now”, and the LP’s debut single “Free Yourself”, which the 38 year old performed live at the Mercury Prize ceremony.

Many of the other shortlisted acts performed on the Hammersmith Apollo stage, including RAYE, Shygirl, and 2023 winners Ezra Collective.

That! Feels Good! saw Jessie Ware achieve her highest placement on the American Top Album Sales chart, with the record peaking at number 16 for one week. Moreover, in the UK Albums Chart, the London-born singer celebrated her second top 3 entry, with the first being 2020’s What’s Your Pleasure?.

In July, Ware delighted fans with a new version of her song “Freak Me Now” that featured pop singer Roisin Murphy. The single was produced by electronic musician and DJ Stuart Price, who has produced for many artists including Madonna, The Killers, Gwen Stefani and more.

Jessie Ware will be hitting the road at the end of this year to promote That! Feels Good!. You can purchase tickets for the upcoming tour here.

Tour dates:

10/11/2023 – Victoria Warehouse – Manchester, UK

11/11 – Victoria Warehouse – Manchester, UK

13/11 – Barrowland Ballroom – Glasgow, UK

14/11 – Barrowland Ballroom – Glasgow, UK

17/11 – Alexandra Palace – London, UK

18/11 – Alexandra Palace – London, UK

My new album ‘HIT PARADE’ will come to you on SEPTEMBER 8TH. Pre-order the album from my store to access the pre-sale for the headline show at ALEXANDRA PALACE. My new single ’THE UNIVERSE’ is in the world RIGHT NOW and available to stream & save here! https://t.co/GMU1gAwdjG pic.twitter.com/NZbuJI6VZb

— Róisín Murphy (@roisinmurphy) May 17, 2023

The Irish singer-songwriter has also today shared the LP’s lead single, “The Universe“, a breezy, funky and decadently summery ear worm of a song that comes with its own absurdist lyric music video.

Watch the music video for “The Universe” below:

Hit Parade will be Murphy’s sixth solo album to date and will be produced by German DJ and music producer DJ Koze. The two artists have previously worked together on the single “CooCool“, the releasing of which in March 2023 marked Murphy’s signing to Ninja Tune.

Watch the music video for “CooCool” below:

Murphy outlined the collaboration between DJ Koze and herself, saying, “We worked remotely, in different countries sending tracks/ideas back and forth for several years. I always have to approach a new collaboration with openness and a willingness to learn and never more so than with this. 

The singer continued, “The studio in this case was imaginary, in the airspace between Hamburg and London. That meant we were both in a personal, private place when working on the songs. For me that brought out a more intimate approach to the songwriting, I told this album my secrets. For Koze it meant total freedom and absolute focus without the distraction of my presence. He too took a deep dive into himself and I believe that’s why the music is so vibrant and alive. It is just exploding with colour!”

Murphy expanded her views on what the album means to her as she explains, “It’s a joyful record, I’ve never been happier, that is partly down to personal reasons but also in my work I’ve been very fulfilled. For me the record is about love and sensuality but also it’s about music itself and how it’s always been there for me. There are tinges of darkness, of the abyss, as well as all the joy. There’s contemplation of mortality which is meant to serve as reminder to me (and perhaps you the listener) to really live while we can“.

After moving to Manchester from her birthplace of Arklow, Ireland at the age of 12, Murphy entered the music world after joining a post-punk band briefly as a teenager before meeting Mark Brydon at a party in 1994. The couple started dating and formed the electronic dance pop duo Moloko, releasing four albums, the third of which, Things to Make and Do, being their most successful,  reaching number three on the UK Albums Chart and containing their most popular hit, “The Time is Now“.

Watch the music video for “The Time is Now” below:

After the disbandment of Moloko, Murphy released her debut solo album, Ruby Blue, in 2005 to positive critical acclaim, and has gone on to release a further four albums, with her last release, Róisín Machine, coming at the end of 2020.

Pre-order Hit Parade here.

The record contains two remixes of singles “Incapable” and “Narcissus” from Murphy’s 2020 album “Róisín Machine“, done by London-based french producer The Reflex. The Reflex, aka Nicolas Laugier, reworked the tracks that result in “The Reflex Revisons“, available to stream but also on vinyl. You can stream and purchase it here.

INCAPABLE NARCISSUS reincarnated and packaged into THE REFLEX REVISIONS – Out now across all streaming services and vinyl in selected stores. Listen/download and order the vinyl here! https://t.co/lllTmbv3BT RM x pic.twitter.com/sA73TPZGb4

— Róisín Murphy (@roisinmurphy) July 2, 2021

“Róisín Machine” from 2020 received great reviews, with The Guardian calling it: “sharper, more focused album than 2016’s Take Her Up to Monto; one which reins in some, but not all, of its author’s eccentricities: she’s still more than capable of a weirdly striking lyric and of a camply theatrical vocal performance, as on Jealousy’s opening bellow of its title“. 

The new release follows the “Crooked Machine” remixes that came out in April. The album has been remixed by producer DJ Parrot. “Parrot doesn’t try to be ‘cool, I reckon that’s the last thing on his mind. He makes music with a real sense of responsibility to the craft. He just cannot make rubbish music, he’d be too ashamed. So everything he is and everything he has learned, is put into everything he does” – Murphy said in a statement at that time.

“I think ‘Crooked Machine’ is one of his greatest achievements so far. I left him and Fat Dave to their own devices on this and they have outdone themselves! I absolutely love it!! I think I prefer it to the original album, slightly less me and all the more ‘cool’ for it”.

Róisín Murphy will play few live shows this year. See details below, tickets are available here.

14/09/21 – SWG3 – Glasgow
16/09 – Bath Forum – Bath
17/09 – Manchester Academy – Manchester
19/09 – O2 Academy Brixton – London
24/09 – Rouken Glen Park – Glasgow
25/09 – Rouke Glen Park – Glasgow

Welcome to Crooked Machine-featuring Assimiliation. Full album available digitally from April 30 & Record Store Day exclusive vinyl available from June 12

Pre-order digital now! https://t.co/xCzmTT5gtR pic.twitter.com/AWVrzPqyCv

— Róisín Murphy (@roisinmurphy) April 7, 2021

The Irish singer-songwriter first became known As half of the trip-hop duo Moloko. Since then Murphy’s solo projects have earned much acclaim. Crooked Machine will arrive digitally on April 30. A vinyl release will follow as a Record Store Day exclusive on June 11.

Róisín Machine, released in October 2020 was Murphy’s fifth solo studio album. It was ranked among the best albums of 2020 by multiple publications and became her highest-charting album in both Ireland and the UK. The album has been remixed by producer and long-time collaborator Crooked Man, aka DJ Parrot. On the remixed album Murphy said:

“Parrot doesn’t try to be ‘cool, I reckon that’s the last thing on his mind. He makes music with a real sense of responsibility to the craft. He just cannot make rubbish music, he’d be too ashamed. So everything he is and everything he has learned, is put into everything he does.

I think ‘Crooked Machine’ is one of his greatest achievements so far. I left him and Fat Dave to their own devices on this and they have outdone themselves! I absolutely love it!! I think I prefer it to the original album, slightly less me and all the more ‘cool’ for it!”

Murphy also shared the track ‘Assimilation’ along with the album announcement. This track brings Murphy’s breathy vocals together with ambient trippy synths, driven by a confident beat and enshrined in hushed, echoey percussion.

Pre-order Crooked Machine here.

Crooked Machine Full Tracklist:

1. Kingdom Of Machines
2. Echo Returns
3. Capable Rhythm
4. Assimilation
5. Crooked Madame
6. Less Is More
7. Name Changer
8. We Are The Law
9. Hardcore Jealousy