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 …

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Dizzying jazz, emotional indie-rock, tantalizing electronic music and more from the week

Yussef Dayes: Blackfriars “Blackfriars” by Yussef Dayes acts an introduction to the artist’s collection with Dutch apparel brand Patta and a new album on their label, Patta Soundsystem. The track, at just over two minutes, shows Dayes in his element. The innovative, East London-based jazz drummer crafts a dizzying, almost trance-like solo filled with ups, downs, intermittent stops and an infectious underlying rhythm. Here, it accompanies …

Bearcraft: Where the Sun Sets

From Bristol, UK-based Bearcraft comes the tantalizing electronic track “Where the Sun Sets.” A mix of unsettling lyrics and moody composition, the song could be the soundtrack to a real-life occult mystery. It’s another treasure from the band’s recently released album, Fabrefactions, and comes with an equally haunting music video, directed and shot by Paul Johnson. The visuals features eerie, obscured and occult moments—many of which …