Peter Murphy Interview

CASCADE biography

At the conclusion of his 1992 "Holy Smoke" world tour, Peter Murphy knew he was at a crossroads. After working with his longtime backing band The 100 Men, beginning with his '88 solo album "LOVE HYSTERIA" - the artistic energy had dissipated. So he followed his gut instinct: he dissolved the band and moved from his native England to Turkey along with his family. Questions regarding a creative future had to be left, for the moment, unresolved. The immediate need was for a new view.

"I set out to burn bridges, to give myself a feeling of freshness and vitality," says Murphy. "That burning of bridges went as far as - potentially - accepting that I'd finished in the music business. It was a purging period - making a clean break. The splitting up of the band although as much for economic reasons as any, seemed to be an appropriate part of that. I wanted to put myself in the position where I psychologically freed myself from being in that album - tour cycle and being PETER MURPHY. Perceptions of such things can change ones' hopes and desires and motivations."

A year after moving to Turkey, Murphy began to explore the artistic dividends of his personal and professional liberation. The rewards came in the form of melodies, a set of strong vocal statements, and, eventually, rough draft demo recordings for what would become his fifth solo album, "CASCADE". "Part of me wondered whether my involvement with making records was simply a result of being connected to a culture that propagated that", says the Northampton born Murphy. "So there I was in a totally different culture, without any connections to the entertainment world or the media output I had access to in London. I didn't have any obvious outside influence to write songs." In Turkey, Peter - the former Bauhaus and Dalis Car vocalist and co-writer, an acclaimed live performer, a successful solo artist, and considered by many to be a musical pioneer - was also removed from an association with a public image or external notions about his life and work. Instead, he was this man who'd written some songs and wanted to take a crack at making an album. "I realised I didn't need to be in a frame of mind of being an artist or having a self-image of being an artist," says Murphy. "The songs happened anyway. It confirmed my belief that writing - like painting or any art form - comes from a very silent place that's not dependent on outside stimulus. It was like rediscovering the initial innocence and purity that's there when you join your first band."

This album "CASCADE" was written with Paul Statham. Musical sketches and backing track ideas from Statham formed the framework to Murphy's melodies and vocal structures. "There's no fixed agenda between Paul and I," says Murphy. "He has an eclectic spectrum of tastes that aren't limited by style. That gives me a very wide canvas to experiment on. There's a love and respect for each other's role. It's an interesting dynamic. By the time we had completed twenty or so songs for this record, it was obvious to us that we had something very special on our hands." The effectiveness of his creative relationship is revealed in "CASCADE's" broad sonic scope. From track to track, songs make bold musical shifts form the dark, edgy quality of "Disappearing," to the melodic pop of "The Scarlet Thing In You," to the fluid, experimental sound of "CASCADE." still, there remains an intangible cohesiveness. While the songs may all have different origins, they arrive with a unified strength as a complete work.

For Peter, the success of the project would hinge, in part, on the willingness of a producer to suspend normal work methods and preconceived sound ideas. Enter producer Pascal Gabriel (Inspiral Carpets, EMF). "I had to find somebody who didn't come with a set of expectations," says Murphy. "I didn't want someone to come in and diplomatically pay lip service to being stylistically open while they were actually coming on board with a definite directions for the album. Pascal was very versatile. I met him and I just knew it was going to work."

Also key to the success of the project were contributions from guitarist and noted solo artist Michael Brook. In addition to work with Brian Eno, Jon Hassell, and Xymox member Pieter Nootan, the aptly-named "infinite guitarist" played on and co-produced the "Captive" motion picture soundtrack with the Edge. There are solos of Michael's on the record that are simply impossible to play, basically because they are one-off's," says Murphy. "I like that unrepeatable quality. The best performances are done instinctively."

Peter's commitment to instinct further applies to the moods and imagery generated by his "CASCADE" lyrics. Through the course of each song, he directs phrases towards the centre of an idea, an emotion, a feeling. One example is Peter's guitar driven track "Disappearing." "It's about the disappearance or the loss of one's own personality within a partnership, within your mate ... which, dare it be said, is one aspect of love," says Murphy. "Love is a word that more often than not denotes states that seem limited solely to sentiment or sensuality. So to write about that meeting or marriage, I do it in a way that offers a set of images, and a collage of words that attempt to explore a wider context. Oblique imagery is used purposefully to be non-specific because, if you fix an idea when you describe it, the idea dies."

Peter takes a similar approach to the album's first single, "The Scarlet Thing In You." A lyrical sequel to "DEEP's" 1990 hit single "Cuts You Up," the song discusses an attraction between two people and the electricity of that mutual recognition. "Wild Birds Flock To Me" takes its cue from the aspirant poetry of the love drunk - 13th Century Turkish mystic Jelaladdin Rumi. The lyrical impact of each song - complete with its hinted themes and inherent contradictions - is heightened by Peter's beautifully emotive vocals. With "CASCADE," Murphy is again finding new ways to instil his songs with a greater depth and tension while communicating the basic melodic core of each track. "I'm always trying to develop and play around with different styles to see what else is there," says Murphy.

While Peter hesitates to call the making of "CASCADE" a new beginning, the process did provide the invigorating atmosphere he'd been missing. "Recording the album was refreshing ... and frightening, really," says Murphy. "I'd put myself in a position that was very dangerous: I didn't have the security of the band, that known quantity."

Much of Peter's adeptness as an artist has come from his ability to find and assemble the optimum comrades to see a project through. It began after the 1983 break-up of Bauhaus when he joined with former Japan bassist Mick Karn to record '84's "THE WAKING HOUR" as Dalis Car. The trend continued when Murphy recruited guitarist keyboardist Howard Hughes to record his '86 solo debut "SHOULD THE WORLD FAIL TO FALL APART." He picked up with The 100 Men at that point for a string of albums that included "LOVE HYSTERIA," "DEEP," and '92's "HOLY SMOKE."

As for the legacy of Bauhaus, the group's influential sound and vision continues to this day. "CRACKLE" has been selling briskly since recently being made available in the States - a further indication of the band's indelible mark on contemporary music. Fifteen years after the group split, they continue to be discovered by new audiences of new devotees.

For Peter, however, the past isn't nearly as interesting as the present and where he's headed. Wherever that is, you know it's his gut - and his heart - that will get him there.