Moloko

Moloko
Moloko in 2003: Mark Brydon and Róisín Murphy
Background information
Origin	Sheffield, England, United Kingdom
Genres	Electronica alternative dance trip hop dance-pop experimental pop
Years active	1994–2003[1]
Labels	The Echo Label, Warner Bros.
Past members	Róisín Murphy Mark Brydon

Moloko /məˈloʊkoʊ/ were an English-Irish music duo from Sheffield, England. The duo consisted of vocalist Róisín Murphy and producer Mark Brydon.

History

Murphy had no prior professional experience as a singer when Moloko was formed.^[1] Brydon, had previously worked on music as a producer with musicians such as Boy George and Cabaret Voltaire on releases from the 1990s.^[2] In 1994, the two met at a party in Sheffield, where Murphy approached Brydon with the chat-up line, "Do you like my tight sweater? See how it fits my body!"^[1] The query became their début album's title, recorded while Murphy and Brydon had begun dating.^[1] The name Moloko comes from the narcotic-filled milk drink, Moloko Plus, in the Anthony Burgess novel A Clockwork Orange,^[3] based on the Russian for milk, "молоко" ("moloko").

The group signed to Echo Records and released their single "Where Is the What If the What Is in the Why?"^[1] The group's debut album Do You Like My Tight Sweater?, was released in 1995.^[1] The group toured with Pulp following the release.^[1]

The single "Fun for Me" was featured prominently on the Batman & Robin soundtrack and received radio airplay and strong MTV rotation.^[4] It reached no. 4 in the US Dance chart.

After Moloko finished the tour, they built a home studio and recorded their second album titled I Am Not a Doctor which was released in 1998 in the United Kingdom.^[1] The album wasn't a success, reaching only no. 64 in the UK album chart. However, a Boris Dlugosch remix of "Sing It Back", the third single from the album that originally failed to reach the Top 40 in the UK Singles Chart, was a huge hit, reaching no. 4 in the UK chart and no. 1 in the US Dance Chart.

Their third album Things to Make and Do was released in the year 2000^[5] and reached no. 3 in the UK album chart. The first single, "The Time Is Now" was their biggest hit, charting at no. 2 in the charts.

Their 2003 album Statues produced two hit singles, "Familiar Feeling", which reached no. 10 in the UK, and "Forever More", which reached no. 17. Brydon and Murphy ended their romantic relationship after the album's release and, following a tour, disbanded the group.^[1]

Style

Moloko's music has been described as alternative dance^[1] and trip hop,^[6] as well as dance-pop,^[1] experimental pop,^[7] and electropop.^[8] Heather Phares of AllMusic described the sound of their debut album similar to that of Portishead and Massive Attack with elements of dance, funk, and trip hop, while noting the group had "a sense of humor and sass unique to Moloko."^[1]

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions										Certifications
		UK [9]	AUS [10]	AUT [11]	BEL (Fl) [12]	FIN [13]	FRA [14]	GER [15]	IRE [16]	NLD [17]	SWI [18]
Do You Like My Tight Sweater?	Released: 20 October 1995[19] Label: Echo Formats: CD, cassette, LP	92	179	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	UK: Silver[19]
I Am Not a Doctor	Released: 24 August 1998 Label: Echo Formats: CD, cassette, LP	64	137	30	—	—	—	91	—	—	45
Things to Make and Do	Released: 10 April 2000 Label: Echo Formats: CD, cassette, LP	3	38	21	6	26	—	14	10	66	25	UK: Platinum[19]
Statues	Released: 3 March 2003 Label: Echo Formats: CD, cassette, LP	18	34	19	1	12	135	12	59	28	26	UK: Silver[19] BEL: Gold[20]

Compilations

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		UK [9]	AUS [10]	BEL (Fl) [12]	GER [15]	IRE [16]	NLD [17]
All Back to the Mine	Released: 2 October 2001 Label: Echo Formats: CD, cassette	149	—	47	—	—	—
Catalogue	Released: 17 July 2006 Label: Echo Format: CD	82	142	7	98	70	65

Singles

Title	Year	Peak chart positions										Certifications	Album
		UK [9]	AUS [10]	AUT [11]	BEL (Fl) [12]	FRA [14]	GER [15]	IRE [16]	NLD [17]	SWI [18]	US Dance [21]
"Where Is the What If the What Is in Why?"	1995	—	189	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Do You Like My Tight Sweater?
"Fun for Me"		36	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	4
"Dominoid"		65	148	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Day for Night"	1996	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	37
"The Flipside"	1998	53	107	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		I Am Not a Doctor
"Sing It Back"	1999	45	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Sing It Back" (Remix)		4	20	—	31	35	47	—	24	18	1	UK: Silver[19]	Things to Make and Do
"The Time Is Now"	2000	2	36	—	15	—	49	10	46	41	—	UK: Silver[19]
"Pure Pleasure Seeker"		21	119	—	—^[A]	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Indigo"		51	—	—	—^[B]	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Familiar Feeling"	2003	10	46	59	29	—	72	26	100	84	—		Statues
"Forever More"		17	—	—	26	—	96	—	77	—	—
"Cannot Contain This"		97	—	—	—^[C]	—	—	—	—	—	—

• A^ : "Pure Pleasure Seeker" did not chart on the Flemish Ultratop 50, but peaked at number 15 on the Ultratip chart.
• B^ : "Indigo" did not chart on the Flemish Ultratop 50, but peaked at number 16 on the Ultratip chart.
• C^ : "Cannot Contain This" did not chart on the Flemish Ultratop 50, but peaked at number 3 on the Ultratip chart.

Awards and honours

"Best International Live Act" - Belgian TMF Awards 2004

See also

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart

References

1. Phares, Heather. "Moloko Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
2. "Mark Brydon Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
3. DeLong, Donnacha; Fox, Olivia. "Moloko - Greek for Wanker". Sorted magAZine. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
4. Phares, Heather. "About Moloko". MTV Artists. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
5. "Moloko – Things To Make And Do". Discogs.com. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
6. Fact Magazine - Róisín Murphy: A Junkie for Love
7. Scotsman
8. DuJour
9. "Chart Log UK (1994–2010): M – My Vitriol". zobbel.de. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
10. Australian (ARIA Chart) peaks:
    • Top 50 peaks: "australian-charts.com - Discography Moloko". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
    • Top 100 peaks: Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
    • "Where Is the What If the What Is in Why?", "Dominoid", "Fun For Me", "Day For Night", "The Flipside", "Pure Pleasure Seeker", "Indigo", "Forever More" and "Cannot Contain This": "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 15 July 2015". imgur.com. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
    • "Do You Like My Tight Sweater?", "I Am Not a Doctor" and "Catalogue": "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 17 February 2016". imgur.com. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
11. "Discographie Moloko - austriancharts.at" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
12. "ultratop.be - Moloko - Sing It Back" (in Dutch). Ultratop and Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
13. "finnishchars.com - Discography Moloko". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
14. "lescharts.com - Discographie Moloko" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
15. "officialcharts.de - Suche nach Moloko" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
16. "irishcharts.com - Discography Moloko". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
17. "dutchcharts.nl - Discografie Moloko" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
18. "Moloko - hitparade.ch" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 November 2014. Click "Charts" and select either Songs or Alben (Albums) to see peaks.
19. "Certified Awards". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 16 November 2014. Enter "Moloko" in the Keywords field, select "Artist" under Search by, tick the exact match box and hit search.
20. "ultratop.be - Goud en Platina 2003" (in Dutch). Ultratop and Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
21. "Moloko - Chart history on the Dance Club Songs chart". Billboard. Retrieved 16 November 2014.

External links

• Moloko discography at Discogs
• Moloko at WhoSampled