Róisín Murphy tells us about her “slab of gold” new album and acting debut at Glastonbury 2022

Róisín Murphy spoke to NME backstage at Glastonbury 2022, telling us what to expect from her upcoming headline performance, new album and acting debut.

The former Moloko turned solo star headlined the West Holts Stage last night (Saturday June 25), but was taking it easy on site before her performance.

“I stayed in watching Larry David on the tour bus last night,” she told NME. “I’ve watched a good few episodes of Curbed. I’m trying to save my energy for the big one tonight.”

On bringing a touch of David to Worthy Farm, she continued: “I was hoping that they’d have Mick Lynch here, you know – the trade union fellow. You could have him on the Pyramid Stage.”

Murphy was last here to film her dance spectacular as part of last year’s Live At Worthy Farm livestream event. Looking back on how it felt to be at the festival site while audiences were kept at bay due to lockdown restrictions, she said: “It was weird but brilliant. The production was incredible with the filming and the way it was all done, but it was weird because it was wintertime. It was even colder than now!

“We didn’t see anybody else and we shot our bits in isolation, but it was fun and I stayed in a fancy hotel – which I won’t be doing this time!”

Meanwhile, Murphy was also recently confirmed to star in new Netflix series Half Bad – an adaptation of the book trilogy by Sally Green, following 16-year-old Nathan, the illegitimate son of the world’s most feared witch.

“I’m playing a witch, which my mother says isn’t a stretch!” Murphy told NME at Glasto. “That’s her way of being modest. It was interesting. I’ve shot it and it’s coming out in the Autumn. My character is a glamorous witch called Mercury. She’s a real minx.”

After directing her own music videos and visuals, Murphy said that she had taken to acting “out of curiosity”, adding: “Maybe I could make a film one day of my own, or maybe I could do more acting.”

Back to music, Murphy told us that work was “almost finished” on the follow-up to her acclaimed 2020 album ‘Róisín Machine’.

“I’ve worked on and off for the last five years with DJ Koze on my next album,” she said. “It’s in the final stages now, I haven’t played it to anyone and I’m not signed. Now I’m in the process of sending out this slab of gold and seeing how it goes from there.”

She added: “It’s really good! If you put the two things together and add another 22 and a half percent expectation on the top of that, you’re pretty close.”

Focussing on her Glasto set, Murphy promised “a lot of spice”.

“It’s really nice to do a long set of an hour and a half,” she said. “We don’t have to condense the energy too much. We’ve got full breadth to express ourselves.

“This is full of sing-along tracks. ‘Familiar Feeling’, ‘Fun For Me’, ‘Forever More’, ‘Overpowered’, ‘Let Me Know’, plus the new songs that the fans know like ‘Something More’ and ‘Let Me Know’ – it kicks off! It’s supposed to be a very joyful set. I don’t always make it this easy for people; especially if I’ve just done an album.”

She added: “I do feel that I am an artist who tests their audience as much as I can. I take it to what I think is the limit, and sometimes I go over the limit. Now is not the time for that. Regardless as to whether I’m playing Glastonbury or not, coming back to play these shows that have been postponed for two years, I just want to do a joyful set – for me as much as for them.”

And what will Róisín Murphy be getting up to after-hours at Glastonbury once her set is finished? “I’m going out, I’m going to go for it tonight,” she said. “I’m supposed to sleep in a yurt, but I don’t suppose that is going to happen. I’ll find some place to lay my head at about 6am or 7am.

“All the old faces are out tonight so I’ll probably go down the old Block 9. I’ll try to stay cool enough because I’ve got a little pop-up show down NYC Downlow tomorrow.”

Check back at NME here for the latest news, reviews, interviews, photos and more from Glastonbury 2022.

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