In terms of integrity and authenticity, Murkage Dave is hard to beat. There is a realism and an honesty that flows through his raw and visceral catalogue.
The East London crooner is in a lane of his own. Influenced by a disparate range of styles – from indie to garage, R&B to dance, Dave’s emotionally potent, refreshingly raw and sonically immersive approach has seen him become a highly respected figure in the contemporary London scene, unveiling critically acclaimed projects and working with the likes of Mike Skinner, Skepta and Caroline Polachek in the process.
Most recently, Dave returned with The City Needs… Part Deux, an anticipated sequel LP to the acclaimed 2022 predecessor, The City Needs A Hero. In typical Dave fashion, the body of work feels like a hand on your shoulder when it’s needed the most. Personal, purposeful and poignant, the album progresses in the thematic concepts of the parent record, tackling identity, romanticism and self and friend love through a mature and observant gaze.
Boasting production contributions from the likes of Ryan Hemsworth and whYJay, and features from Jaykae and Lioness, it’s a cohesive and colourful celebration of Dave’s talent and character. He’ll next be unveiling a remix album on 13th December.
We caught up with the underground hero to talk memes, heroes and villains, and the stellar new album.
Listen to The City Needs… Part Deux…
Read the exclusive interview…
How are you? How has 2023 treated you? What has been a major highlight for you?
Hello! I’m feeling good. Musically 2023 has treated me well. Personally I’ve faced a lot of challenges though, family stuff. Life will always throw a mixed bag at you, but it’s how you catch it that makes the difference. My highlight was for sure the Murkage Dave Unplugged show I just did, one of the best shows I’ve ever done. When you boil it down I’ve got two things in my corner: great songs and great fans, these are the things that you can’t fake, and stripping things down to an acoustic show helped remind me of this.
Talk to us about how you first fell in love with music and how you discovered your sound?
I’ve been in love with music since I can remember. Riding with my Dad in his old shape Golf GTI and hearing whatever he was putting in the tape deck. Whereas I’d say my sound developed more in line with me developing as a person I think. I’ve always written songs, but I’d say it was only when I developed more of a confidence in who I actually am that I realised that the key was to make music in my own voice rather than following trends or existing examples of success.
Who have been major inspirations to you both musically and personally?
My relationship with Young Fathers has been super influential. The conversations we have I really value but also as a fan, the music they release constantly reminds me to keep pushing that little further into the water where my feet don’t quite touch the bottom. Meeting and working with Caroline Polachek was similar in that respect, she really reinforced that feeling in me that it’s okay to really care about what you do, she makes it look cool lol. Mike Skinner has also been so key, I’ve been a fan of his from when I was a yout but through our friendship and working relationship I absorbed so much from him to the point where I’ve actually inherited elements of his artistic DNA, which is a deep privilege.
There’s also a few people where their interviews inspire me as much as their music. I really take a lot from James Murphy from LCD Soundsystem’s interviews. Giggs has this wicked 1on1 interview on LinkUp TV, where he talks about having to dig deep after having gone to prison and no longer being on XL Recordings, which has always stayed with me. And also any time Self Esteem pops up on a podcast best believe I’m tuning in.
Congratulations on your new album The City Needs… Part Deux. The cinematic themes woven throughout your project are intriguing. Could you share which films specifically influenced the creation of the album?
Thank you! I know there’s a lot of film references in the titles on this one, but actually the true influence of film on my music seeps through the cracks over time. Carlito’s Way has been an overarching influence over every song I have ever made. A Ghost Story is so beautiful, I’m in love with the soundtrack too. Any film with Denzel Washington in I will love, literally any film. American Honey was revolutionary to me. Queen & Slim too. Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies of course, I could go on forever… The Bourne films really influenced the colours and the locations of my press images for both City Needs albums, which I did with the photographer Jordan Curtis Hughes. And my missus is always mugging me off for The Perks Of Being A Wallflower being one of my favourite films but it is what it is mate, again another overarching influence for sure.
With each song delving into a unique topic, which one holds the most personal significance for you?
‘I Wanna See The Good Guys Win” probably asks the question that is on my mind the most right now. One of my favourite songs ever is “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want” by The Smiths, so I wanted to take the essence of what is being said in that song and rephrase it for the world I’m living in. It’s my belief that being a good person is good for business and that no matter how much longer it takes you, it’s always better to stay true to who you are while attempting to achieve your goals. But a lot of people believe it’s better to be ruthless and cut corners, and sometimes I worry if I’m wrong and they’re right, and so this is what I’m exploring on this song.
If you were to encapsulate one of the songs in a meme, which track would it be, and how would the meme manifest?
Both “Vigilante” and “Real Life Is Too Unrealistic” are super memeable in different ways. And fortunately for us the memes have manifested already and are loading. I may not be backed by big money but I am fortunate to be backed by some big minds who are helping me bring these memes to your phone screens. I’ve been working on a few different things with an incredible musician from Cardiff called Kiddus, who has threaded together a masterpiece for “Vigilante”, just you wait . And for “Real Life Is Too Unrealistic’” the claymation artist William Child has made a ‘Homer disappearing into the bushes’ style meme of me which we are about to go crazy with.
In the realm of heroes and villains, do you find yourself resonating more with the hero or the villain?
On the internet we all like to think of ourselves as the noble and heroic main character, which I think contributes a lot to the ineffectiveness of cancel culture. Nobody cares about the thing, they just care about looking like they care about the thing. I would say that the beauty of a well written villain, is that often the cause that motivates them is something a lot of us can get behind, but then when you see the lines they’re willing to cross to achieve their goal you’re like rah! For me I feel like it appeals to this element of primal fantasy, all the things I would do if I had no morals and nothing to lose.
Your collaboration with notable producers like Roska, Ryan Hemsworth, and Jon Phonics is impressive. Can you shed light on how these individual relationships with the producers came to fruition?
I’m very lucky to be working with so many talented people, not just in terms of music production but also visuals, design, fashion, everything man. With Roska we have a few mutual friends, I think we just started chatting on instagram. Ryan Hemsworth was similar, if I remember he just reached out off the strength of my first album. I’m just fans of these people, I’ve been to see them DJ, love all their Boiler Rooms etc, so it’s very natural to make things happen. I still need to meet Ryan in real life though. And with Jon Phonics I met him through my old manager who is a mutual friend. Jon is a brilliant mind, always coming up with ideas of all sorts and a great storyteller too, I really enjoy hanging out with him.
Considering your roots, do you envision yourself residing in London indefinitely, or could a return up north be on the horizon?
I’m not from up north, I was born and grew up in East London. I did live in Manchester for a lot of my formative years as a young adult, and I try to go back as much as I can to see mates, but i’ve been back in London for almost a decade now. Go listen to Murkage Dave Changed My Life or East London Smile, the story is all in there!
In moments when the world becomes overwhelming, what are some of your go-to coping mechanisms?
I really enjoy doing things on my own. Going to the cinema, or to a gallery to check some art. Getting out of the city if I can afford it. Therapy is expensive but there’s some free numbers I can call, Music Minds Matter helped me through a particularly tough spot last year. And there’s friends I can speak to as well.
As you close the chapter on The City Needs era, how does reflecting on this significant phase of your creative journey feel?
This is why I like doing interviews. It makes me think about things. Lately I’ve begun to look at my career like it’s an aeroplane. The Murkage Dave Changed My Life album was like doing all the research and the theory to work out how to get this thing to be able to fly, doing all the construction, and then I’m looking at it on the tarmac like wow that’s a plane. But then The City Needs era was about getting that plane into the air, and I’d say that creatively I feel like I’m flying now. I have the confidence, the ideas come to me more easily, so now it’s more about thinking where I want to go next…
Talk to us about 2024, what are you most looking forward to achieve artistically and personally?
I’ve been frustrated this year by the constant ghettoisation of my music and in 2024 I’m gonna have my revenge. Every journalist or gatekeeper who has lazily tried to put me in the rapper box is gonna feel like a proper dickhead when they realise they’ve been sleeping on one of the best British songwriters of a generation.
I refuse to be discouraged, and instead I’m gonna continue to push the envelope creatively, I don’t believe in playing things safe or sticking with what I think people might want from me. I also want to collaborate a lot more than I already have musically, and go against this algorithmic way of approaching collaboration which I believe is about to become very archaic.
I really miss DJing a lot, so I’m gonna start doing it again, but for pleasure. Like my mum does with gardening. And I’d say that personally my priority is being there for my family as much as I can be right now, succeeding in this area will be my biggest challenge I think.