Presented by our guest reviewer, Ellis May.
Boston-born Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy is a force. Exceptional selector, talented DJ, sound system aficionado, Murphy has spent her life dedicated to sound and this in turn has earned her unwavering respect as an unofficial guardian of our scene.
Whether she’s DJing the world’s most cultured clubs and festivals, curating Classic Album Sundays at the Royal Albert Hall, presenting her weekly Balearic Breakfast radio show or remixing The Cure and Róisín Murphy, her love of turning people on to new sounds has no limits.
Murphy is a true music obsessive, whose standing in the global dance music community has never been higher. Here we catch up with Colleen to talk about her ‘Love Dancin’ Soundsystem’ that – alongside her husband Adam – she recently took to Gilles Peterson hallowed We Out Here festival in Dorset.
It’s a real pleasure to talk to you Colleen, how are you doing and what are you up to today?
I’m back in my home state of Massachusetts visiting family before heading to New York for a party playing back-to-back with Francois K this Sunday.
You’re based in London’s East End. How long have you been living there, and what is it you love about where you live?
I’ve lived in the East End for 23 years now, before London won the Olympic bid. Since that time, there has been a lot of investment in Tower Hamlets and Hackney, so the transport links, public services and schools have greatly improved.
I love living in the East End as it has a rich history of immigration and was home to the suffragette movement. I also love how it’s populated by people from many different cultures and backgrounds and there are a lot of creative people, as well. We also have a lot of green space with Victoria Park and nearby Epping Forest.
Your history, your work and your involvement in this thing we call music is vast. How would you describe your role today.
As I’m a radio broadcaster, DJ, producer/remixer and founder of Classic Album Sundays I would say it’s the mission to turn people on to music that is my motivating force. I feel I’m a musical curator and educator.
I’d love to talk to you about the Love Dancing Sound System which you and your husband Adam took recently to We Out Here.
We started Love Dancin’ at the first We Out Here festival back in 2018 and it has been a fixture and highlight at the festival ever since. And it just gets better.
Our initial sound system set-up was based on David Mancuso’s Loft and we brought in our Klipschorns and Class-A amplifiers, but it turned out it wasn’t robust enough to withstand some of the DJs and the festival environment. Our main engineer Iain had to repair drivers on site and one of the amps even went up in flames due to power surges and dips from the generator!
We also wanted to expand the featured talent to include younger DJs and other DJs who have not had the experience playing music on a high-end sound system, so we have made several adjustments and feel this past year was the best sounding yet.
My husband Adam (Daddy Ad of Trojan Sound System) brings a true hi-fi approach to the reggae world and the two of us coordinate the system with our main audio partners Iain Mackie and Blair from A-Live Sound & Danley Distribution and Andrew Pirie and Alan Boyd from Loud & Clear Glasgow. We feature Danley Sound Labs Synergy horn loudspeakers and Linear amplification, Isonoe and MasterSounds DJ mixers, Audio Technica cartridges and styli, dCS DACs and Master Clocks (Digital to Analogue Converter) for the CDJs, Moon by Simaudio phono stages for the turntables and The Chord Company cabling and power conditioning throughout. This allows our DJs to use either a rotary or a linear fader mixer and higher end moving magnet cartridges whilst also improving the output of both the CDJs and turntables so the digital and vinyl playbacks sound more aligned. Iain also tweaked the loudspeaker layout so that it sounded more uniform throughout the tent and only used the Midas front of house mixer for vocalists and musicians. The music bypassed the mixer and went straight into a world class mastering studio suite, and I feel it was our best sounding system yet.
We Out Here has the perfect vibe for Love Dancin’ as the festival hosts a diverse array of true music lovers of all ages and Love Dancin’ is all about music, love and dancing. Our wooden dancefloor allows the dancers to fully express themselves and we get some of the best dancers on-site joining us each day. Thursdays are curated by Daddy Ad of Trojan Sound System and this year he had up and coming younger DJs like Ari, Vandorta and Brighter Days. Trojan Sound System were joined by special guests Joe ‘Hopepa’ Lindsay of Fat Freddy’s Drop and Killa P and the evening concluded with a B2B between Don Letts and Daddy G of Massive Attack.
Fridays are curated by Mr. Scruff and this year he featured DJs from the Touching Bass collective, and they brought some fresh sounds to Love Dancin’. Saturdays are curated by myself, and I replicate what Cosmodelica means to me, starting with spiritual Indian classic vibes from Sway of the Verses, followed by a psychedelic folk-soul set from Danny Skyrager of Psychemagik, then chuggy funky vibes from the Balearic London collective. That was followed by uplifting vibes from the sisterhood that is Eves’Drop Collective, a Stems set from Francois K followed by the new sound of New York from DJ Lovie, then a three-hour set by myself and concluding with a DJ set by Francois K.
So, there is an array of musical styles that all fit into the Cosmodelica vibe and both heritage and up and coming DJs. The whole day really flowed. Sunday is all about Another Sunday afternoon at Dingwalls and joining residents Gilles Peterson, Patrick Forge and Kev Beadle this year were Coco Maria, DJ Spinna and the legend that is Colin Curtis.
Does that mean that you are pretty ‘technical’?
Yes and no. I can set up sound systems, but I cannot design the components so know my limitations.
You are known for being the person who has carried The Loft party’s legacy since the great Mancuso left the dancefloor. Tell us a little about your relationship with him and what he taught you.
David and I met about 25 years ago when I started attending his Loft parties in New York. We then became friends, and he asked me to musically host several Loft parties with him in New York and beyond.
We produced the Loft compilations together, I worked with him on his Loft Audiophile Library of Music label, we played records together throughout Europe and we started a Loft party with a group of people in London, which is The London Loft (loftparty.org).
He was not only a mentor and colleague but a great friend – actually more like family as he referred to me as his daughter. There is so much that he taught me, too much to relay here, but in a nutshell he taught me about hi fidelity audio components and optimum turntable set-up and loudspeaker placement. He also taught me about the life energy of music, which is explained in detail in his favourite book by John Diamond. And he also opened my mind with his endeavours regarding social habits and progress. He asked me to be the chair of the board he put together to manage his legacy and run The Loft after his demise. I miss him dearly.
We Out Here marks its sixth year. Have you guys been there every year?
Yes we have been there every year.
Which artists did you catch this year at WHO?
Theo Parrish, Ganavya, Incognito, James Mason, Lloyle Carner.
Did you have time to explore the festival too?
I don’t really get a chance explore the rest of the festival as I’m usually at Love Dancin’ as it is like its own little festival within the festival!
What tips would you give to festival goers to help them through the 4 days?
Bring a neti pot to clean out your sinuses (and make sure to only use boiled or distilled water).
Is Love Dancin’ travelling anywhere else this summer?
We are heading to Wonderfruit Festival in Thailand in December and hope to bring Love Dancin’ to more festivals in 2026.
Colleen Cosmo Murphy on Facebook
on Instagram
Linktree
Classic Album Sundays Linktree
Download/ Stream Colleen Cosmo Murphy Presents Balearic Breakfast Vol.4 – Heavenly Recordings on Bandcamp
You must be logged in to post a comment.