FATHER MURPHY (IT)
AVANT! RECORDS, RAMP LOCAL

In the early noughties, “Italian occult psychedelia” band Father Murphy initially formed remotely between
the U.S.A. and China, seldom meeting for fleeting recording sessions. However, by 2008’s …And He Told
Us To Turn To The Sun the band had all returned to Italy, and their sound soon solidified into something
both deeply unpredictable and blackly psychedelic. The group’s core members (and allegedly Father
Murphy’s own two children), Freddie Murphy and Chiara Lee, have told the story of Father Murphy over
more than half a dozen albums and EP’s, documenting a deep personal descent into turmoil.
Although the myriad influences of Beijing Opera, Joy Division, Asian folk, Arvo Pärt, Jarboe (with whom
the group recently collaborated) and M. Gira’s Swans were all key to Father Murphy’s development, the
church was where the group first got in touch with music.
As the Father Murphy narrative progressed, so did their increasingly strange sound world. Furiously
touring for the last seven years—performing with the likes of Carla Bozulich, Deerhoof, MXLX, Xiu Xiu,
Dirty Beaches, Iceage, the aforementioned Jarboe, plus many more along the way—has also kept the
project fresh. Father Murphy have actively sought out fresh inputs for their music, to keep it in a state of
constant change. They expanded from the psych rock tunes of Six Musicians Getting Unknown (2005) to
far more sombre rituals on …And He Told Us To Turn To The Sun (2008), the increasingly leftfield
experimentation of Anyway Your Children Will Deny It (2012), Pain Is On Our Side Now (2014), and the
almost theatrical Croce (2015).
Rising. A Requiem For Father Murphy , the latest and final offering from the iconic Italian occult duo, will
be released next April 20th by post-punk Italian label, Avant! Records and the eclectic Philadelphia
taste-makers, Ramp Local . With Rising, the legend of Father Murphy reaches its culmination. Composed
in the classical requiem format, it brings an end to the recounts of the journey of the fictional character
Father Murphy and subsequently to the band itself.
The release of the album will be followed by a last series of concerts/celebrations of life.

This Italian group are a cult band in every sense of the word. – THE QUIETUS
They make music that’s fantastically fucked up… – EXCLAIM!
An outsider operatic hellscape that calls to mind the starkest visions of Cormac McCarthy. – THE
GUARDIAN
Italian Father Murphy conjure up a funereal atmosphere somewhere between homemade Morricone and
toytown Goblin… That ol’ devil Dario would surely approve – THE WIRE
Impressive but nightmarish, like a beautifully rendered self-portrait splattered with blood and self-loathing.
– ROCK-A-ROLLA
Like punks who secretly learned classical. – SAN FRANCISCO WEEKLY

http://fathermurphy.org/

As part of their first European tour since 2011, the acclaimed duo Charalambides will visit OCCII for a rare live concert in support of their new album release.

CHARALAMBIDES us
Charalambides’ Tom & Christina Carter create a vision of iconoclastic music as transformative force. Touching on the outer limits of acid folk, psych rock, and improvisation, their sound is uniquely personal & consistent. Since 1991, they have released albums on labels like Siltbreeze, kranky & Wholly Other. Despite Tom and Christina’s solo careers and other projects, Charalambides has existed in an unbroken trajectory for over two-and-a-half-decades, outlasting the genres that critics have tried to cram them into. Their recent performances and recordings retain the directness and delicate menace that mark their early releases. Charalambides’ newest album (to be released on Drawing Room in October) entwines their best known approaches into a raw, fragile, wordless and hypnotic whole. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to catch this unique duo live on stage.
https://charalambides.bandcamp.com/

Nina Garcia & Maria Bertel DUO.

nina garcia // france // guitar
maria bertel // denmark // trombone