Alexi Murdoch worked fiendishly to ensure he had all his gear packed when he stopped for a few minutes totalk about what he considers his first “real” tour.
Murdoch?s star has risen since Rolling Stone named him one of the “Top 10 Artists to Watch.”
But that was last fall and despite some great media play, including guest appearances on Carson Daly and songs on TV and movies, the London-born singer knows he?s one of many fighting for an audience.
Murdoch is one of those rare artists who took the reins of his career early on. He gambled by releasing his music independently and traveling in a van, playing wherever possible. It paid off with critics raving about his EP “Four Songs” and his newest CD, “Time Without Consequences.”
“Alexi Murdoch?s music recalls the great British folk singers of the 70s ? artists like John Martyn, Nick Drake and Bert Jansch,” according HITS Magazine review. “Murdoch draws on these influences and synthesizes them into his own fresh and evocative musical language.”
Despite the critical acclaim, though, Murdoch seems understandably tense as he prepares for the tour, but he?s not bowing to conventional wisdom and preparing set lists.
That natural element is alive in his music, too, which he recorded “live” on two-inch tape with all musicians present in the studio.
“Not a lot of people do that anymore,” he said. “You can go mad sitting and playing a few seconds over and over until you get what you want [through recording various parts separately and then fine tuning them]. That gives you sonically perfect ear candy, but you lose so much.”
So now Murdoch will take his music on the road throughout the U.S., hoping that the media buzz will catch on with the fans. Although critics have compared him to major artists, including James Taylor and Coldplay, he?s ready to establish his own niche in the U.S. and beyond.
“This year is about the tour,” Murdoch said. “I really want to give this record its due. It deserves a good,long life, and it hasn?t come out anywhere else yet, just in the U.S. right now.”
IF YOU GO
Alexi Murdoch
» Venue: 8×10, 10 E. Cross St., Baltimore (This venue is standing room only.)
» Time: 7 p.m. today
» Tickets: $12
» More info: 410-625-2000
