Louder: Róisín Murphy, a Disco Queen of Her Own Galaxy

September 18, 2020

By Caryn Ganz

Pop Music Editor

In a year stocked with disco-leaning pop albums (from Lady Gaga, Dua Lipa and Jessie Ware, just to name a few), the time is ripe for Róisín Murphy to be hailed as one of our most influential pop queens. Elisabeth Vincentelli Zoomed with the Irish musician, whose latest release, “Róisín Machine,” is on the way. “It’s not just Black music, it’s not just alternative music, it’s not just dance music,” she said of the LP, “it’s all of them things clashing and beautifully melding and becoming something that’s about individualism and freedom. This is what we need.”

We have two blasts from five decades ago this week: Marcus J. Moore tells the story behind a new Thelonious Monk release, a concert that was recorded at a California high school in 1968 and sat gathering dust, until now. And Robert M. Marovich writes about Voices of East Harlem, a choir whose funky, groovy 1970 release “Right On Be Free” did something rare in gospel — married the music to protest.

Plus, two profiles of inspiring artists following their muses to self-discovery: Grayson Haver Currin on Beverly Glenn-Copeland and Jenn Pelly on Angel Deradoorian.

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Róisín Murphy, a Disco Queen Ruling Her Own Galaxy

The Irish innovator has been putting her own spin on glittery music for two decades. In a year full of dance-pop releases, she’s returning to shake things up yet again.

By Elisabeth Vincentelli

THE CRITICS & POPCAST

critic’s pick

Alicia Keys Has Passion, Advice and Aplomb on ‘Alicia’

The singer and songwriter’s seventh album grapples with other people’s expectations and offers words of uplift.

By Jon Pareles

the playlist

Justin Bieber and Chance the Rapper’s Wholesome Team-Up, and 10 More New Songs

Hear tracks by Sam Smith, Salem, Steve Arrington and others.

By Jon Pareles, Jon Caramanica and Giovanni Russonello

Is TikTok a Music Industry Friend or Troll?

“Old Town Road” showed the app’s potential as a hit generator. But its relationship to the business is far more complex.

FEATURES

Lee Tanner

52 Years Ago, Thelonious Monk Played a High School. Now Everyone Can Hear It.

An ambitious student named Danny Scher booked the jazz great at Palo Alto High School in Northern California. A recording of the event gathered dust for five decades.

By Marcus J. Moore

Paul Atwood for The New York Times

Listeners Found Beverly Glenn-Copeland. It Was Time.

In the 1970s and ’80s, his music went largely unheralded, but an audience finally caught up. A new career-spanning mixtape, “Transmissions,” traces the evolution of a life fully in bloom.

By Grayson Haver Currin

GAB Archive/Redferns, via Getty

50 Years Ago, They Did Something Rare in Gospel: Tied Music to Protest

The Voices of East Harlem went from community stages to the Isle of Wight Festival, blending the soul-cleansing power of Christian songs with R&B, funk and rock on “Right On Be Free.”

By Robert M. Marovich

Phylicia J.L. Munn for The New York Times

Angel Deradoorian Channels Cosmic Energy (and Ozzy Osbourne)

The musician quit Dirty Projectors and searched for her own voice and a new musical family. She found them among the collaborators on her latest album of neo-psychedelic rock and in a metal cover band.

By Jenn Pelly

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Kanye West’s Perplexing Run as a Potential 2020 Spoiler

Even those around the hip-hop artist struggle to explain his motivations for a presidential candidacy that some Democrats worry could siphon votes from Joe Biden.

By Danny Hakim and Maggie Haberman

NEWS

the charts

Big Sean Ends Taylor Swift’s Reign on Album Chart

The rapper opened at No. 1 with his latest album, “Detroit 2.”

By Ben Sisario

OBITUARIES

Michael Putland/Getty Images

Toots Hibbert, a Father of Reggae, Is Dead

The first to use the word reggae on a record, he sang in a soulful tone and wrote songs with subtle social commentary, helping bring the sounds of Jamaica to the world.

By Ben Sisario

Ed Quinn

Stanley Crouch, Critic Who Saw American Democracy in Jazz, Dies at 74

A prolific author, essayist, columnist and social critic, he challenged conventional thinking on race and helped found Jazz at Lincoln Center.

By Sam Roberts

Gary Wolstenholme/Redferns via Getty Images

Simeon Coxe, Whose Silver Apples Presaged Synth-Pop, Dies at 82

In the late 1960s, playing a homemade electronic instrument, he created “the mating call between a jackhammer and a Veg-O-Matic.”

By Jon Pareles

Gilles Petard/Redferns, via Getty Images

Hal Singer, Influential Saxophonist, Is Dead at 100

A Tulsa massacre survivor, he worked with Duke Ellington and others contributed to the birth of rhythm and blues and rock ’n’ roll.

By Sara Aridi

Pursell Family Archives

Those We’ve Lost

William Pursell, Musician of the Nashville Sound, Dies at 94

The two-time Grammy nominee was a studio pianist for country stars. His performance of “Our Winter Love” in 1963 hit the Billboard singles and album charts. He died of the coronavirus.

By Sam Roberts

via Williamson family

Those We’ve Lost

Bruce Williamson Jr., a Latter-Day Temptation, Dies at 49

A gospel music prodigy as a child, Mr. Williamson went on to sing with the Motown group for nearly a decade. He died of the coronavirus.

By Steven Kurutz

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How Dev Hynes Went From Being in ‘We Are Who We Are’ to Scoring It

The musician and composer, widely known as Blood Orange, talked about helping create the mood of Luca Guadagnino’s new HBO series and about blending synthesizers with Schubert.

By Coralie Kraft