Alexi Murdoch

Alexi Murdoch was born in London to an English mother, singer Louise Cordet, and a Greek father and lived in Greece until the age of ten, when his family settled in Scotland.Hoard, Christian (21 September 2006), "Alexi Murdoch". Rolling Stone. (1009):24Wise, Catherine (6 June 2003), "A New Reason To Say No." Entertainment Weekly. (713):78

Murdoch moved to the United States in 1992 to study at Duke University, before moving to Los Angeles, California to live with his then girlfriend.

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He first gained attention when Nic Harcourt began playing his music on KCRW. Despite increased interest, Murdoch largely turned down advances from record labels and continued to release his music independently.

He self-released the EP Four Songs through independent record stores and website CD Baby in November 2002.Langer, Andy (December 2003) "(Derek Sivers)". Esquire. 140 (6):173 CD Baby sold over 50,000 copies of the release, becoming the site's all-time best-selling record.Newman, Melinda (10 December 2005), "Rock Hall of Fame Names Class Of '06". Billboard. 117 (50):44

In 2003, he performed at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Conference and that year's Sundance Film Festival,Newman, Melinda (29 March 2003), "The Beat". Billboard. 115 (13):9 and, in 2004, at the Hollywood Reporter/Billboard Film & TV Music Conference.Hay, Carla (6 November 2004), "Director Columbus Shopping 'Underground' Film". Billboard. 116 (45):12–26(2 November 2004), "Film & TV Music Confab Adds McG To Marquee Speakers". Billboard. 116 (47):14 In 2004, the song "Orange Sky" from the EP also became the most-played song on Philadelphia indie station WXPN.Newman, Melinda (24 June 2006), "Spread The 'LDN' Love, Please". Billboard. 118 (25):58{{Cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/Music/12/01/hln.hot.hit.alexi.murdoch/index.html|title=The 'Britney' backlash: Budding songwriter rejects record contract|website=CNN|date=2 December 2003}}

Murdoch's first album, Time Without Consequence, was released on 6 June 2006 on his own label, Zero Summer. As with the EP, Murdoch continued to turn down the record deals he was offered from numerous major labels to maintain creative control. (The record was distributed nationally through Sony BMG.) Time Without Consequence peaked at No. 25 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.{{cite web|author=Alexi Murdoch |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/alexi-murdoch-mn0000741752/awards |title=Alexi Murdoch – Awards |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=23 March 2013}}

On 9 June 2006, Murdoch began a 34 city tour in conjunction with the Coalition of Independent Music Stores, with most bookings at independent record stores.

The album became one of the most licensed albums of the decade, receiving placements on dozens of films and television shows:

• "Orange Sky" appeared in The O.C., House, Prison Break, Ugly Betty, Dirty Sexy Money, Ladder 49, Suburgatory, and Southland, as well as in promotions for Oscar nominated foreign film, Paradise Now and a Honda commercial.
• "Home" appeared in a season 2 episode of Prison Break.
• "All My Days" was featured in The O.C., Grey's Anatomy, Scrubs, Without a Trace, Stargate Universe, Conversations with Friends, and a promo for Southland. It featured as the opening song in the movie Real Steel, the final episode of Years of Living Dangerously, and in the movie Away We Go. It featured at the end of the documentary "Lord Montagu", about the life of Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu.
• "Song For You" appeared in Everwood.
• "12" appeared in two television series: Brothers & Sisters and One Tree Hill.
• "Blue Mind" was featured in the 2008 adventure film The Sharp End,{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}, played over the final credits sequence of the 2014 independent film WildLike, and was used in several episodes of Dawson's Creek.
• "Wait" was used in the shows Defying Gravity and Parenthood; as well as the movies "Different Flowers" and "Away We Go."
• "It's Only Fear" was used in the Brothers and Sisters.
• "Breathe" and "All My Days" were used in Stargate Universe, and the 2008 film Tenderness, where the album Time Without Consequence is also shown on a scene of the film.
• Nine of Murdoch's songs were used in the 2009 film Away We Go, constituting most of the soundtrack. Three of these were unreleased at the time; "Towards the Sun" and "Crinan Wood" were later released on Murdoch's 2011 album "Towards the Sun".{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/notes/away-we-go/alexi-murdoch-sets-the-tone-for-away-we-go/97813371976/|title=ALEXI MURDOCH SETS THE TONE FOR AWAY WE GO|website=Facebook }}
• Several songs were used in a surfing documentary One California Day. "Crinan Wood" was used in the episode "Chuck Versus the Masquerade" from the show Chuck.

Murdoch's second album, Towards the Sun, was initially released in 2009 in the US by Zero Summer Records. It was later released in the UK and Germany in 2011 by label City Slang.{{cite web |url= https://www.discogs.com/master/363335-Alexi-Murdoch-Towards-The-Sun |title= Alexi Murdoch – Towards The Sun |author= |date= |website= discogs.com |publisher= Discogs |access-date= 3 January 2023 |quote= }}{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/towards-the-sun-mw0002092898 |title= Towards the Sun |author= William Ruhlmann |date= |website= allmusic.com |publisher= AllMusic |access-date= 3 January 2023 |quote= }} The song "Some Day Soon" appeared in a season 1 and a season 4 episode of This Is Us.{{citation |author=Philiana Ng |url=https://www.etonline.com/tv/201384_this_is_us_every_clue_that_tipped_us_off_on_jack_fate |title=This Is Us Every Clue That Should Have Tipped Us Off on What Happened to Jack |publisher=ET}}

In the spring of 2009, Murdoch embarked on a headlining tour, during which he distributed an early version of a new album entitled Towards the Sun in a limited edition packaged in a hand-printed, cardboard sleeve.{{cite web|url=http://carryyouaway.blogspot.com/2009/04/concert-review-alexi-murdoch.html |title=Carry You Away: Concert Review: Alexi Murdoch |publisher=Carryyouaway.blogspot.com |date=21 April 2009 |access-date=23 March 2013}}

Other bookings by Murdoch include two concerts in Berlin, one small club appearance and a second as part of the City Slang label's 20th anniversary. In February 2011, he performed in New York City as part of Lincoln Center's prestigious "American Songbook Series".{{cite web|url=http://aleximurdoch.com/news_tour.php |title=Alexi Murdoch |publisher=Alexi Murdoch |access-date=23 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130318165620/http://www.aleximurdoch.com/news_tour.php |archive-date=18 March 2013 |df=dmy }} Afterwards, he went on a sold-out tour of major markets throughout North America, including Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, Chicago, and Minneapolis.{{cn|date=June 2025}} 2011 also saw the official release of his third recording, Towards The Sun.{{cite web|last=Hilton |first=Robin |url=https://www.npr.org/2011/02/27/134033490/first-listen-alexi-murdoch-towards-the-sun |title=First Listen: Alexi Murdoch, 'Towards The Sun' |publisher=NPR.org |date=27 February 2011 |access-date=23 March 2013}}

Murdoch has been compared to the late British singer-songwriter Nick Drake.{{cite web|url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/39901/Alexi-Murdoch-Time-Without-Consequence/|title=Alexi Murdoch - Time Without Consequence|date=27 October 2010|publisher=sputnikmusic.com}} His first album Time Without Consequence was met with wide critical praise, gaining him five stars with Alternative Press as well as placing him on Rolling Stone's Top Ten Artists list. His second release Towards the Sun gathered high praise in both the US and Europe. PopMatters, giving the record a 9/10 calls Murdoch's performance "hauntingly beautiful" and "heartbreakingly lovely".{{cite web|last=Horowitz |first=Steve |url=http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/137322-alexi-murdoch-towards-the-sun/ |title=Alexi Murdoch: Towards the Sun |publisher=PopMatters |access-date=23 March 2013}}

• Time Without Consequence (Zero Summer Records, 2006)
• Towards the Sun (Zero Summer Records, City Slang, 2009)

• Four Songs (Mindblue Music, 2002, EP)

• Away We Go (Zero Summer, 2009)

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.aleximurdoch.com/ Official website]
• [http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/Music/12/01/hln.hot.hit.alexi.murdoch/index.html CNN: The 'Britney' backlash: Budding songwriter rejects record contract]
• [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15002010 Alexi Murdoch at NPR Music]
• {{Discogs artist|281297}}

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Category:1973 births

Category:Living people

Category:21st-century English singers

Category:21st-century English male singers

Category:City Slang artists

Category:Duke University alumni

Category:English expatriate musicians in the United States

Category:English male singer-songwriters

Category:English people of French descent

Category:English people of Greek descent

Category:English people of Scottish descent

Category:Musicians from London