''Sequins 1'' is a limited edition

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

by Irish singer Róisín Murphy. It was released by

Echo Records The Echo Label was a British record label started by Chrysalis Group in 1994, and linked with Pony Canyon in Japan. The Chrysalis Group were the original owners of Chrysalis Records, which they sold to EMI. In 2005, The Echo Label recorded a ...

12-inch vinyl The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...

in January 2005.

Songs

The

opening track An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...

uses overdriven guitar parts and layers of

overdubbed Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...

vocals.Richardson, Mark.
"Róisín Murphy: Ruby Blue"
.

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

. 8 July 2005. Retrieved 7 October 2007. Its

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a " libretto" and their writer, ...

caution a woman who has become out of control and its title was chosen to contrast feelings of passion and melancholy.Tartan, Suzannah.
"Diva sings hot and cold on solo debut"
''

The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched b ...

''. 29 May 2005. Retrieved 7 October 2007. "Off on It", a more experimental song with an unsteady rhythm,Oculicz, Edward.
"Róisín Murphy - Ruby Blue - Review"
'' Stylus''. Retrieved 22 March 2007. precedes Night of the Dancing Flame", which combines synthesizers with 1920s jazz.Phares, Heather. _Overview".html" ;"title=""Ruby Blue > Overview"">"Ruby Blue > Overview"

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

. Retrieved 23 March 2007. It is written in waltz time and was compared to Stevie Wonder's work during his peak. The extended play closes with "Through Time", which opens with noises such as rustling and coughing, and then proceeds into a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

that was compared to those by Carole King.Endelman, Michael.
"Ruby Blue , Music Review"
''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

''. 12 May 2006. Retrieved 8 October 2007.

Cover artwork

The cover of ''Sequins 1'' was painted by Simon Henwood. Murphy met Henwood in a pub, and Henwood, who was known for his simplified paintings of teenagers, thought that she would be a good subject for a painting.Sullivan, Caroline.
"Her time is now"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. 27 May 2005. Retrieved 7 October 2007.Pearson, Gemma
"Roisin Murphy"
. ''Fused'', issue 23. Retrieved 7 October 2007. Henwood came to Murphy's house the next week and, while they were looking through her wardrobe, decided to have her dressed in

sequin A sequin () is a small, typically shiny, generally disk-shaped ornament. Sequins are also referred to as paillettes, spangles, or ''diamanté'' (also spelled ''diamante''). Although the words sequins, paillettes, lentejuelas, and spangles can ...

s. Murphy positioned her body in abstract shapes for Henwood to paint. She developed a character, which Henwood described as a "disco electro pop diva with a 1940s look". His canvases were displayed at The Hospital in

Victoria, London Victoria is an area of Central London in the City of Westminster. It is named after Victoria Station, which is a major transport hub. The station was named after the nearby Victoria Street. The name is used to describe streets adjoining or n ...

, and Murphy purchased them "for erkids so they can see what heonce looked like."

Track listing

All tracks written and composed by Róisín Murphy and Matthew Herbert. # "Ruby Blue" – 2:48 # "Off on It" – 5:22 # "Night of the Dancing Flame" – 3:26 # "Through Time" – 5:58

Personnel

The following people contributed to ''Sequins 1'':''Sequins 1'' (LP liner notes).

. 10 January 2005. *Róisín Murphy –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

*Matthew Herbert –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

, bass, keyboards, synthesizer, production *Dave O'Higgins –

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

*Trevor Mires –

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

*Pete Wraight –

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

*Max De Wardener – bass *Phil Parnell – keyboards *Geoff Smith –

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

*Simon Henwood – art direction *Steffan Macmillan – design

References

External links

Official website
{{Róisín Murphy 2005 debut EPs Róisín Murphy albums