Interview: Róisín Murphy

The pop vanguard on her new album and making club music during isolation

Cult favorite Róisín Murphy has been entrenched in dance music for 20 years, but avoids labels like “disco queen,” “electro-pop icon” and even “singer-songwriter.” The Irish artist is indeed all of the above, but those categories are also too simple. Known for conceptual looks, off-kilter shows and an almost performance art approach to pop, she has been known to call herself a “conceptor.” No matter …

Google Removes Street View Images of Australia’s Uluru

In a move to prevent people from virtually climbing Uluru—a sacred, 600-million-year-old sandstone rock formation in Australia’s Northern Territory—Google removed images of the site from the internet. The Anangu people (the traditional owners of Uluru and its surrounding land) banned visitors from clambering the site a year ago, but many have defied the law and traversed the spiritually significant formation through “virtual walking tours” thanks …

SAULT: Free

Just three months after releasing the powerful Untitled (Black Is), UK collective SAULT returns with their second album of 2020, Untitled (Rise). This new record imparts a more exuberant sound through upbeat disco, funk and even house elements, but the topics remain just as poignant—exploring race, resilience and rebellion. A standout from the album, “Free” begins with classic boom-bap, a super-funky bass line and a …