Joshua Murphy – SIDE-LINE

Crime & The City Solution continue reissues series on Mute

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 12:40:06 +0000

(Photo by Christiania Krueger) Crime & The City Solution continue their reissues series on Mute with their 1985 mini-LP, “Just South of Heaven”, and their debut full-length album, “Room of Lights” (1986). Both reissues will be out on June 7. The band recently released their sixth studio album, “The killer”.

The band will perform two very special shows next week in Berlin with the three-piece acoustic line up of Bronwyn Adams (violin and vocals), Simon Bonney (vocals) and Joshua Murphy (acoustic guitar and vocals). Crime & The City Solution will perform acoustic shows at Eschschloraque Rümschrümp in Berlin on the 17 & 18 April before a tour across the island of Ireland in May.

“Just South of Heaven” (available in limited edition blue vinyl) features Crime’s London line up of Simon Bonney, Mick Harvey, Rowland S. Howard, Harry Howard and Epic Soundtracks. The material was recorded between the legendary Hansa Tonstudios in Berlin and London’s Strongrooms with producer Flood (Frank Tovey, Depeche Mode, Erasure).

1986’s full length debut album, “Room of Lights” (available in limited edition yellow vinyl), would be the final recording by the London line up. The album includes one of their most beloved songs, “Six Bells Chime”, and this lineup reached its zenith with a historic swansong performance of the track in Wim Wenders’ 1987 cinematic masterpiece “Wings of Desire”.

Formed in Sydney by Simon Bonney at the age of 16, Crime & the City Solution’s early performances from 1977-1979 had a big impact on key figures of the early Melbourne art-punk/post punk scene. In 1984, Bad Seed Mick Harvey shipped Bonney to England to form the London based Crime & The City Solution with their friend Rowland S Howard, with his brother Harry Howard on bass and Epic Soundtracks on drums. The London incarnation – encapsulated by these two reissues – disbanded soon after their performance in “Wings of Desire”.

The first Berlin incarnation which followed is represented by three albums recently reissued on Mute – “Shine” (1988), “The Bride Ship” (1989) and “Paradise Discotheque” (1990), and the live album, “The Adversary”. Another 20 years would pass before the band, then based in Detroit, would return with their fifth studio album, “American Twilight”.

Watch the band perform a brand new, exclusive session version of “Witness” from the album for Le Cargo.

Crime & The City Solution (Acoustic)

17 April – Berlin, Eschschloraque Rümschrümp
18 April – Berlin, Eschschloraque Rümschrümp
10 May – Inis Oírr, Áras Éanna Arts Centre
11 May – West Cork, Levis Corner House
14 May – Belfast, Accidental Theatre
15 May – Doolin, The Attic
16 May – Borrisokane, The Barn
17 May – Galway, Taibdhearc

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Crime & the City Solution start UK/EU tour to support new album out now on Mute

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Thu, 23 Nov 2023 12:52:36 +0000

(Photos by Martyn Goodacre and Steve Gullick) Following the release of their first LP in 10 years on Mute, the Berlin-based collective Crime & the City Solution gets on the road UK/EU tour. The new “The Killer” album is out on CD, vinyl and as digital download or streaming.

The new Crime & the City Solution album began life as a PhD application that came to life when the band’s core members’ nomadic lifestyle put on pause by the pandemic. Simon Bonney and Bronwyn Adams found themselves stuck in their native Australia, under one of the world’s strictest lockdowns. “Naturally”, says Simon, “I sat and I pieced together a PhD application about decision making in Afghanistan in the late 80s. But as it turned out, it was actually more of a record than it was a PhD.”

The PhD and, by turn, the album found inspiration from Bonney’s work delivering aid programs across the Indo-Pacific region. Through that work, he visited places with high levels of violence and the album, in part, acted as a way in which to process the effect that turmoil has had on his psyche, of the “dead bodies in my dreams,” that he sings about in the title track. He explains, “There’s no mention of American decision making in Afghanistan on the album, but in terms of subject matter there’s a lot that’s pretty similar; a lot of the record is about loss of faith. There’s a veneer of normalcy and civilization that people hold onto until they just can’t hold on anymore, I’m interested in normalcy that exists within what we would consider to be extraordinary situations.”

While the idea came from Simon Bonney and Bronwyn Adams, the musical aspect was created by the combination of artists that became the second Berlin-lineup of Crime & the City Solution. Core members Simon Bonney and Bronwyn Adams were joined by Frederic Lyenn (piano, bass, synth), Donald Baldie (guitar), Georgio Valentino (synth, guitar), Chris Hughes (drums, percussion) and Joshua Murphy (piano, guitar), and for the first time they worked with a producer, Martin J. Fiedler, who also added synth and mellotron to the album.

Tour dates Crime & the City Solution

*All dates – supported by Joshua Murphy.

23/11/2023: Haacht, BE – Can’t Live In a Living-Room
24/11/2023: London, UK – The Moth Club
25/11/2023: Bristol, UK – The Cube Cinema
26/11/2023: Colchester, UK – Colchester Arts Centre
29/11/2023: Paris, FR – La Boule Noire
30/11/2023: Geneva, CH – L’Usine
1/12/2023: Karlsruhe, DE – P8
2/12/2023: Ebensee, AT – Kino Ebensee
3/12/2023: Zagreb, HR – Vintage Industrial
4/12/2023: Milano, IT – Arci Bellezza
5/12/2023: Munich, DE – Muffatwerk
6/12/2023: Prague, CZ – Fuchs2
7/12/2023: Budapest, HU – Instant
8/12/2023: Linz, AT – Stadtwerkstatt
9/12/2023: Poznan, PL – 2Progi
10/12/2023: Warsaw, PL – Niebo
12/12/2023: Dresden, DE – Chemiefabrik
13/12/2023: Hamburg, DE – Hafenklang
14/12/2023: Copenhagen, DK – BETA
15/12/2023: Oslo, NO – Salt
16/12/2023: Stockholm, SE – HUS7
17/12/2023: Gothenburg, SE – Musikens Hus
19/12/2023: Berlin, DE – Urban Spree

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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Crime & The City Solution announce details new album, ‘The Killer’, their first in over a decade

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 18:34:10 +0000

(Photo by Elvira Akzigitova) Crime & the City Solution have announced details of a new album, “The Killer”. It’s their sixth studio album, and their first in over a decade and is set for release via Mute on vinyl, CD and download on 20 October 2023.

You can already listen to a first track shared from the album, “Peace in my Time”. Simon Bonney explains the song is “about acceptance, more than just ‘peace’; I don’t think there’ll ever be ‘peace’ – nothing surprises me any more about what people to do to each other; but the song is about the acceptance of uncertainty, and also an acceptance of who you are.”

The video was made by Berlin based artist Elvira Akzigitova.

Working briefly in post-invasion Ukraine following the album’s completion, Simon Bonney saw that uncertainty again: “There was a building that was absolutely destroyed by a missile that was half a mile off the actual target. The buildings on either side were perfectly intact, but in the middle was a crater. Yet, in the face of such uncertainty, there was this incredible resilience that seemed to be born of accepting life as it was at that moment, no matter how challenging and uncertain.”

“The Killer” was recorded in Berlin by the second incarnation of the band to be based in the German capital. Core members Simon Bonney and Bronwyn Adams were joined by Frederic Lyenn (Piano, Bass, Synth), Donald Baldie (Guitar), Georgio Valentino (Synth, Guitar), Chris Hughes (Drums, Percussion) and Joshua Murphy (Piano, Guitar), and for the first time they worked with a producer, Martin J. Fiedler, who also added synth and mellotron to the album.

The band will also depart on a EU tour later this Fall:

23 Nov – Haacht (BE), Can’t Live In a Living-Room
24 Nov – London (UK), The Moth Club
25 Nov – Bristol (UK), The Cube Cinema
26 Nov – Colchester (UK), Colchester Arts Centre
29 Nov – Paris (FR), La Boule Noire
30 Nov – Geneva (CH), L’Usine
1 Dec – Karlsruhe (DE), P8
2 Dec – Ebensee (AT), Kino Ebensee
3 Dec – Zagreb (HR), Vintage Industrial Bar
4 Dec – Milano (IT), Arci Bellezza
5 Dec – Munich (DE), Muffatwerk
6 Dec – Prague (CZ), Fuchs2
7 Dec – Hungary (HU), Turbina
8 Dec – Linz (AT), Stadtwerkstatt
9 Dec – Poznań (PL), 2Progi
10 Dec – Warsaw (PL), Niebo
12 Dec – Dresden (DE), Chemiefabrik
13 Dec – Hamburg (DE), Hafenklang
14 Dec – Copenhagen (DK), BETA
15 Dec – Oslo (NO), Salt
16 Dec – Stockholm (SE), HUS7
17 Dec – Gothenburg (SE), Musikens Hus
19 Dec – Berlin (DE), Urban Spree

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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Joshua Murphy – Lowlands (EP – Aufnahme + Wiedergabe)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Sat, 21 Jan 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Dark-Folk, Chanson.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Joshua Murphy is an Australian artist who lives in Berlin (Germany). The official debut EP “Lowlands” features four songs which have been written in Berlin.

Content: The sound universe of this artist is clearly driven by darkness. The songs are composed with guitar and piano arrangements with some melancholic violin-sounds on top. The artist’s deep, timbre of voice reminds me to Leonard Cohen.

+ + + : This work took me by surprise. First there’s the hypnotice and somewhat bewitching voice of Joshua Murphy. But next there’s the way he matches this cavernous and yet sexy voice together with dark, dreamy, Chanson compositions. Some passages make me think of ‘film-noir’. I like the melancholia hanging over the work. There’s something to say about each song but I’ve a little preference for “The Fault Was Lain There Too”.

– – – : When you’re listening to a little sonic jewel like “Lowlands” you can only but regret it’s just an EP. I hope there’ll be an album soon.

Conclusion: “Lowlands” sounds as a sweet, dark, sonic caress in a grey sky…

Best songs: “The Fault Was Lain There Too”, “A Twon With No Fear”, “The Killing Floor”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/JoshuaMurphyMusik

Label: www.aufnahmeundwiedergabe.de / www.facebook.com/aufnahmeundwiedergabe

About Joshua Murphy

Joshua Murphy is a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter born and raised in outback Australia who relocated to Berlin, where he became active in the local scene as a band member, promoter and club owner. His debut EP “Lowlands” was written in Berlin during 2019 and 2020, produced by Martin J Fiedler, and released via aufnahme + wiedergabe on 2 December 2022, reviewed here. Murphy is also involved in the projects Crime and the City Solution, MILK ME and Total Temporary.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.