Moloko () were an English-Irish electronic music duo formed in Sheffield, England, consisting of vocalist Róisín Murphy and producer Mark Brydon. Blending elements of electronica and dance music, they are best known for their UK top 10 singles "The Time Is Now" (2000) and "Familiar Feeling" (2003) as well as the 1999 Boris Dlugosch remix of "Sing It Back", which became an international hit.
History
Formation and success (1994–2000) Murphy had no prior professional singing experience when Moloko was formed, while Brydon had previously worked on music as a producer with musicians such as Boy George and Cabaret Voltaire on releases from the 1990s. In 1994, the two met at a party in Sheffield, where Murphy approached Brydon with the chat-up line, "Do you like my tight sweater? See how it fits my body!" Its first sentence became their debut album's title, recorded while the pair had begun dating. The name Moloko comes from the narcotic-filled milk drink, Moloko Plus, in the Anthony Burgess novel A Clockwork Orange.
The group signed to Echo Records and released their single "Where Is the What If the What Is in Why?" The group's debut album, Do You Like My Tight Sweater?, was released in 1995. The group toured with Pulp following the release. The single "Fun for Me" was featured prominently on the Batman & Robin soundtrack and received radio airplay and strong MTV rotation. It reached number four in the US Dance chart. In 1997, their cover of "Are 'Friends' Electric?" featured on the Gary Numan tribute album Random.
After Moloko finished the tour, they built a home studio and recorded their second album, I Am Not a Doctor, which was released in 1998 in the United Kingdom. Though the album was unsuccessful, reaching only number 64 in the UK Albums Chart, a Boris Dlugosch remix of "Sing It Back", the third single from the album that originally failed to reach the Top 40 in the UK Singles Chart, was a huge hit, reaching number four in the UK chart and number one in the US Dance Chart. Moloko toured in support of the album, opening for Garbage in UK and Ireland in January and February 1999.
Their third album, Things to Make and Do, was released in 2000 and reached number three in the UK Albums Chart. The first single, "The Time Is Now", was their biggest hit, charting at number two. They started touring as a full band alongside percussionist Paul Slowly, keyboardist Eddie Stevens, and guitarist Dave Cooke.
Statues and disbandment (2003–2004) Their 2003 album, Statues, produced two hit singles, "Familiar Feeling", which reached number ten in the UK, and "Forever More", which reached number 17. Brydon and Murphy ended their romantic relationship in 2002, just before they began work on the album. Murphy toured without Brydon for eighteen months in support of the album throughout 2003 and 2004. The concert at the Brixton Academy, recorded on 22 November 2003, was released on the live DVD 11,000 Clicks in 2004. Following the tour, the group disbanded.
Post-disbandment (2004–present) Following the disbandment, both Murphy and Brydon began solo careers, with the former releasing her first solo album, Ruby Blue, in 2005.
On 22 May 2006, the band announced their greatest hits album, Catalogue, including the unreleased track "Bankrupt Emotionally", released on 17 July. The same year, Murphy and Brydon, alongside long-time Moloko guitarist Cooke, briefly interrupted their hiatus to play a select number of acoustic radio performances.
In 2016, Moloko digitally reissued their remixes on the compilation All Back To the Mine, split into two volumes and comprising a total of 68 tracks.
In 2019, the four Moloko albums were remastered and reissued on vinyl.
Since the band's disbandment, Murphy has performed several Moloko songs on her solo tours and live performances. However, she has stated in several interviews that she has no intention of reuniting with Brydon.
Style Moloko's music has been described as alternative dance, dance-pop, experimental pop, dance-punk and electropop. Heather Phares of AllMusic described the sound of their debut album similar to that of Portishead and Massive Attack with elements of dance, funk, and trip hop, while noting the group had "a sense of humour and sass unique to Moloko".
Discography
Studio albums + Title Album details Peak chart positions CertificationsUKUK chart peaks: Top 100 peaks: Top 200 peaks to December 2010: AUSAustralian (ARIA Chart) peaks: Top 50 peaks: Top 100 peaks: "Where Is the What If the What Is in Why?", "Dominoid", "Fun for Me", "Day for Night", "The Flipside", "Pure Pleasure Seeker", "Indigo", "Forever More" and "Cannot Contain This": Do You Like My Tight Sweater?, I Am Not a Doctor and Catalogue: All ARIA chart peaks to 29 July 2019: N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.AUTBEL (Fl)FINFRAGERIREIrish chart peaks: Top 30 singles chart peaks: Peaks from 2000: NLDSWI Click "Charts" and select either Songs or Alben (Albums) to see peaks. Do You Like My Tight Sweater?Released: 20 October 1995 Label: Echo Formats: CD, cassette, LP 92 179 — — — — — — — — BPI: Silver Enter "Moloko" in the Keywords field, select "Artist" under Search by, tick the exact match box and hit search. I Am Not a DoctorReleased: 1 June 1998 Label: Echo Formats: CD, cassette, LP 64 137 30 — — — 91 — — 45 Things to Make and DoReleased: 10 April 2000 Label: Echo Formats: CD, cassette, LP 3 38 21 6 26 — 14 10 66 25 BPI: Platinum StatuesReleased: 3 March 2003 Label: Echo Formats: CD, LP, SACD 18 34 19 1 12 135 12 59 28 26 BPI: Silver BEA: Gold
Compilations + Title Album details Peak chart positionsUKAUSBEL (Fl)GERIRENLD All Back to the MineReleased: 2 October 2001 Label: Echo Formats: CD, cassette 149 144 47 — — — CatalogueReleased: 17 July 2006 Label: Echo Format: CD 82 142 7 98 70 65 All Back to the Mine: Vol. IReleased: 11 November 2016 Label: Echo Formats: Digital download — — — — — — All Back to the Mine: Vol. IIReleased: 11 November 2016 Label: Echo Formats: Digital download — — — — — — All Back to the Mine (2001) is a collection of 21 remixes (23 in Japan). Vol. I and Vol. II (2016) each contain 34 remixes, for a total of 68. Not all of the remixes on the 2001 version are included on the 2016 versions.
Singles + Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album UK AUS AUT BEL FRA GER IRE NLD SWI US Dance "Where Is the What If the What Is in Why?" 1995 — 189 — — — — — — — — Do You Like My Tight Sweater? "Fun for Me" — — — — — — — — — — "Dominoid" 1996 65148 — — — — — — — — "Fun for Me" (re-release) 36 — — — — — — — 4 "Day for Night" — — — — — — — — — 37 "The Flipside" 1998 53 107 — — — — — — — — I Am Not a Doctor "Sing It Back"1999 45 — — — — — — — — — "Sing It Back" (Remix) 4 20 — 26 35 47 12 24 18 1 BPI: Gold Things to Make and Do "The Time Is Now" 2000 2 36 — 15 — 49 10 46 41 — BPI: Silver "Pure Pleasure Seeker" 21 119 — — — — — — — — "Indigo" 51 — — — — — — — — — "Familiar Feeling"2003 10 46 59 29 — 72 26 100 84 — Statues "Forever More" 17 — — 26 — 96 — 77 — — "Cannot Contain This" 97 — — — — — — — — —
A: "Pure Pleasure Seeker" did not chart on the Flemish Ultratop 50, but peaked at number 15 on the Ultratip chart. B: "Indigo" did not chart on the Flemish Ultratop 50, but peaked at number 16 on the Ultratip chart. C: "Cannot Contain This" did not chart on the Flemish Ultratop 50, but peaked at number 3 on the Ultratip chart.
Video Video albums Year Video details2004 11,000 Clicks Released: June 2004 Label: Echo, Sanctuary Format: DVD
Awards and honours "Best International Live Act" - Belgian TMF Awards 2004
See also List of number-one dance hits (United States) List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
References
External links
Moloko at WhoSampled