MOLOKO Schallplatten & CDs

Review: There's an argument to suggest that Boris Dlugosch and Michi Lange's 'Musical' remix of Moloko's 'Sing It Back' is one of the greatest reworks of all time. Initially released in the UK in 1998 and reissued due to popular demand the following year, the nine-minute workout saw the pair turn a quirky jazz-funk number into a gloriously colourful fusion of live disco instrumentation and radio-friendly sing-along house. This reissue 12" - a reproduction of a US promo from the late 90s - naturally places it on side A. Over on the flip, we get two other lesser-celebrated takes from the time: a glitchy, wonky, mind-mangling 'Tasteful' deep house dub courtesy of Matthew Herbert, and a bouncy, jazzy and bass-heavy house take from NYC legend Todd Terry.

Review: Moloko's third album was a landmark success for the firecracker partnership of Roisin Murphy and Mark Brydon, and it saw them break through from cult favourites to chart-topping champions. Admittedly, a lot of that success was thanks to Boris Dlugosh doing a savvy remix of 'Sing It Back' from their previous album I Am Not A Doctor, but it was all the encouragement the public needed to latch onto Moloko's charms, and follow-up hit 'The Time Is Now' cemented their reputation. Balancing deep-rooted club nous and cavalier flair with a strong pop backbone, Things To Make And Do is every inch a millennial classic and it's not aged a jot.

Review: As Roisin Murphy gets ready to wow festivals and release her latest hyped solo album, the DJ Koze-produced Hit Parade, Music On Vinyl delivers a reminder of where it all began for the Irish star via a new pressing of Moloko's debut album, Do You Like My Tight Sweater. The set received plenty of plaudits when it first dropped in 1995, and it remains a fabulous album - an impossible-to-pigeonhole eccentricity in which Murphy delivers her own oddball lyrics over magical musical fusions (trip-hop, jazz-funk, P-funk, ambient, lo-fi soul, warped deep house, drum & bass, post-punk rock and twisted experimentalism are all thrown into the pot with vibrant results) conjured up by then musical (and life) partner Mark Brydon. It's brilliantly bonkers and one of the best records to emerge from Sheffield during the 1990s.

Review: Music On Vinyl completes their Moloko reissue series with a new pressing of the Sheffield-based duo's final album, 2002's "Statues". The set was recorded while Roisin Murphy and Mark Brydon's relationship was falling apart, giving the set an added level of poignancy - something heightened by the pointed, bittersweet nature of some of Murphy's lyrics. Musically, it has stood the test of time well, with the skewed, low-down jazz-funk of "Come On", the string-laden pop melancholy of "Familiar Feeling", the heart-aching poignancy of "the title track and the jaunty electrofunk hum of "100%" amongst the many highlights.

Review: 2000's "Things To Make & Do" was Moloko's third album and marked something of a new direction in sound for the British electronic outfit. This time round, the band looked to more live musicianship and each track brimmed with life and vitality as a result. The biggest single off the album was the band's biggest ever, "The Time Is Now" - with Roisin Murphy's vocals front and centre but never repeating the same sounds, styles or moods, the album was a real musical journey of highs and lows, and plenty in between.

Review: While Moloko's debut album, 1995's "Do You Like My Tight Sweater", was undoubtedly superb, it was actually 1998 follow-up "I Am Not A Doctor" that turned Mark Brydon and Roisin Murphy into international stars. The set, which is here reissued on vinyl for the first time since, was a far more forthright, confident and funky affair, building on their left-of-centre trip-hop blueprint by incorporating elements of drum and bass, jazz-funk, IDM and new wave synth-pop, but 21 years on still sounds otherworldly and unique. Highlights are plentiful, from the doom-laden, off-kilter original version of "Sing It Back" (decidedly different to the Boris Dlugosch remix), the rubbery jungle-pop of "The Flipside" and the beat-free bliss of "Caught In A Whisper".

Review: "Do You Like My Tight Sweater?" is the album that announced Moloko to the world, but is also one of their most experimental. The dance duo's debut featured big singles like "Dominoid" and the UK Top 40 charting "Fun For Me", which was also used in the Batman & Robin soundtrack of 1997. The album finds producer Mark Brydon combining elements of trip hop, big beat, disco and electronica with Roisin Murphy's sensuous and widescreen art-pop vocals, despite the fact that at the time she had zero prior professional experience. This timely limited reissue comes on heavyweight turquoise vinyl and reminds us of a golden era of UK electronica.

Review: Barcelona's Domestica label continue their experimental excursions into the underbelly of contemporary coldwave and industrial synth-pop with a reissue of the self-titled LP from mid '80s darkwave outfit Moloko +. Taking their name from Clockwork Orange, Moloko+ self-released this set in 1986 and it's bristling with the sort of percussion-driven electronic melancholia we expect from Domestica. From "Fields Of War" to "In Meiner Taschen", Moloko + grinds and chugs its way across vast soundscapes of proggy guitar riffs and vocals very typical of the period. Punk, coldwave, pop and funky synthesizer sounds are mashed up and broken down into an unforgettable journey, the sort of music you want to pump through your car speakers on a journey across the universe. Classy and edgy.

Review: Cast your mind back for just a moment to a time when the world was preparing itself for the catastrophe that was meant to be the Y2K computer meltdown and across Europe and Asia millions marveled at a total solar eclipse. In the background, drifting on the summer's breeze were the distant sunny pearls of David Morales' "Needin You", ATB's "9PM" and Phats & Small's "Got To Turn Around", echoing around the UK and becoming the soundtracks to every sun kissed afternoon. During that summer, dance music reigned supreme and notably, one song stood head and shoulders above the rest. Deservedly, it governed the airwaves, lodging itself in our memories and became the hit of the summer - that song was "Sing It Back" by multi-million selling trip-hop duo Moloko and the year was 1999. Taken from 2000's "Things To Make And Do", the song catapulted Mark Brydon and vocalist Roisin Murphy into the mainstream, selling over half a million copies and became the springboard for follow up single "The Time Is Now" which peaked at #2 and lead to the album achieving Platinum status. Now for the very first time, these tracks have been brought together on one album with a selection of Moloko's other finest moments to celebrate their stunning career. "Catalogue" is a compilation of the band's 4 inspirational studio albums and highlights the diversity they achieved from the outset with debut LP "Do You Like My Tight Sweater" - hailed today as an innovative benchmark of its genre - through 1998's considerably darker affair "I Am Not A Doctor", 2000's "Things To Make And Do" and finally "Statues" which spawned timeless hit "Forever More". The Bonus Disc - recorded live at Brixton Academy in 2003 - was the culmination of an 8 month world-wide tour. Moloko's live performances since 2001 have become legendary and the highlights are captured here. From the fantastic 16 minute version of "Sing It Back", through the uplifting "Time Is Now" and into the deeply delicious "Forever More" which will always be hailed as the festival favourite. This is an incredible performance from the top of their live tree and has never been released on CD before.

Review: Cast your mind back for just a moment to a time when the world was preparing itself for the catastrophe that was meant to be the Y2K computer meltdown and across Europe and Asia millions marveled at a total solar eclipse. In the background, drifting on the summer's breeze were the distant sunny pearls of David Morales' "Needin You", ATB's "9PM" and Phats & Small's "Got To Turn Around", echoing around the UK and becoming the soundtracks to every sun kissed afternoon. During that summer, dance music reigned supreme and notably, one song stood head and shoulders above the rest. Deservedly, it governed the airwaves, lodging itself in our memories and became the hit of the summer - that song was "Sing It Back" by multi-million selling trip-hop duo Moloko and the year was 1999. Taken from 2000's "Things To Make And Do", the song catapulted Mark Brydon and vocalist Roisin Murphy into the mainstream, selling over half a million copies and became the springboard for follow up single "The Time Is Now" which peaked at #2 and lead to the album achieving Platinum status. Now for the very first time, these tracks have been brought together on one album with a selection of Moloko's other finest moments to celebrate their stunning career. "Catalogue" is a compilation of the band's 4 inspirational studio albums and highlights the diversity they achieved from the outset with debut LP "Do You Like My Tight Sweater" - hailed today as an innovative benchmark of its genre - through 1998's considerably darker affair "I Am Not A Doctor", 2000's "Things To Make And Do" and finally "Statues" which spawned timeless hit "Forever More". The Bonus Disc - recorded live at Brixton Academy in 2003 - was the culmination of an 8 month world-wide tour. Moloko's live performances since 2001 have become legendary and the highlights are captured here. From the fantastic 16 minute version of "Sing It Back", through the uplifting "Time Is Now" and into the deeply delicious "Forever More" which will always be hailed as the festival favourite. This is an incredible performance from the top of their live tree and has never been released on CD before.