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Biography
Infobox musical artist | name = Alexi Murdoch| image =| caption =| background = solo_singer| origin = London , England , United Kingdom|UK | genre = Alternative rock|Alternative , Acoustic music|acoustic , indie folk | years_active = 2002–present| occupation = Singer-songwriter | label = independent record label|Indie | associated_acts =| website = http://www.aleximurdoch.com Official website| current_members =| past_members =| notable_instruments = Alexi Murdoch is a singer-songwriter born in London and raised in Scotland , Greece and France , now living in Berlin .
Background
Murdoch was born in London to a Greek father and Scottish-French mother and raised in Greece, just outside of Athens until he was ten, when his family moved to Scotland.Hoard, Christian (September 21, 2006), "ALEXI MURDOCH". Rolling Stone . (1009):24Wise, Catherine (June 6, 2003), "A NEW REASON TO JUST 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 be with a girlfriend. He first gained notice when an influential Los Angeles DJ, Nic Harcourt , began playing his music on the radio station KCRW . It led to much interest from the LA's music industry, which Murdoch largely ignored, turning down advances from record labels and opting to release his music independently.
Four Songs EP
He self-published the Extended play|EP Four Songs (Alexi Murdoch EP)|Four Songs through independent record stores and website CD Baby Langer, Andy (December 2003) "(Derek Sivers)". Esquire . 140 (6):173 in November 2002. CD Baby sold over 50,000 copies of the release, becoming the site's all-time bestselling record.Newman, Melinda (December 10, 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 (March 29, 2003), "The Beat". Billboard . 115 (13):9 and, in 2004, at the Hollywood Reporter/Billboard Film & TV Music Conference.Hay, Carla (November 6, 2004), "Director Columbus Shopping 'Underground' Film". Billboard . 116 (45):12-26(November 2, 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 (June 24, 2006), "Spread The 'LDN' Love, Please". Billboard. 118 (25):58
Murdoch's first album, Time Without Consequence , was released on June 6, 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 in order to maintain creative control. (The record was distributed nationally through Sony BMG .) Time Without Consequence peaked at #25 on the Billboard magazine|Billboard Heatseekers chart.Allmusic|class=artist|id=p580775/charts-awards|pure_url=yes Billboard, Allmusic
On June 9, 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 (song)|"Orange Sky" appeared in The O.C. , House (TV series)|House , Prison Break ,UglyBetty , Dirty Sexy Money , Ladder 49 , and in promotions for Oscar nominated foreign film, Paradise Now , Southland (TV series)|Southland 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 (TV series)|Scrubs , Without a Trace , Stargate Universe (TV series)|Stargate Universe , and a promo for Southland . It has also featured as the opening song in the movie Real Steel . "Song For You" appeared in Everwood . "12" appeared in the show " Brothers & Sisters (2006 TV series)|Brothers & Sisters " and " One Tree Hill (TV series)|One Tree Hill ." "Blue Mind" was featured in the 2008 adventure film The Sharp End ,Citation needed|date=February 2010, and several episodes of Dawson's Creek . "Breathe" was used in Stargate Universe (TV series)|Stargate Universe , and the 2008 film Tenderness (film)|Tenderness , where the album Time Without Consequence is also shown on a scene of the film. "Wait" was used in the shows Defying Gravity (TV series)|Defying Gravity '' and Parenthood. "It's Only Fear" was used in the Brothers & Sisters (2006 TV series)|Brothers and Sisters . 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 (TV series)|Chuck .
Recent activities
In the spring of 2009, Murdoch embarked on a rare U.S. headlining tour, during which he has been distributing an early version of a new album entitled Towards the Sun in a limited edition packaged in a hand-printed, cardboard sleeve. http://carryyouaway.blogspot.com/2009/04/concert-review-alexi-murdoch.html Carry You Away: Concert Review Blog
Several of these new songs quickly appeared on the internet. Later, the song "Through the Dark" was used in the final scene and end credits of actor Ben Affleck's directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone , as well as the television series "The Vampire Diaries". Several other Towards the Sun songs were used on the soundtrack to Oscar winner Sam Mendes' 2009 film Away We Go (film)|Away We Go which had a screenplay by the writers Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida . There was an album tied to the film release which contained a mix of songs from Time Without Consequence and Towards the Sun (album)|Towards the Sun alongside single songs by The Stranglers, Bob Dylan, George Harrison and the Velvet Underground. The track "Some Day Soon" was featured in the second episode of Touch (TV series)|Touch , titled "1+1=3".
Recent 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 ", http://aleximurdoch.com/news_tour.php after which he went on a sold out tour of major markets throughout North America. (i.e. Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, Chicago, Minneapolis.) 2011 also saw the official release of his third recording, " Towards the Sun (Alexi Murdoch album)|Towards The Sun ". http://www.npr.org/2011/02/27/134033490/first-listen-alexi-murdoch-towards-the-sun
Critical reception
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 newest release "Towards the Sun" is gathering higher praise still in both the U.S. and in Europe. PopMatters, giving the record a 9/10 calls Murdoch's performance "hauntingly beautiful" and "heartbreakingly lovely". http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/137322-alexi-murdoch-towards-the-sun/ Q Magazine in the United Kingdom|U.K. give the record 4 stars with this to say: "Acoustic troubadour makes stunning second outing. Anyone who harps on about how the songwriters of today don't match up to those of yesteryear should be directed to this remarkable second record."
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/aleximurdoch CD Baby: Alexi Murdoch
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
http://woxy.lala.com/music/loungeacts/index.php? id=110 Alexi Murdoch live on WOXY.com, July 11, 2006
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php? storyId=15002010 Alexi Murdoch at NPR Music
Persondata | NAME =Murdoch, Alexi | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH = | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Murdoch, Alexi Category:British male singers Category:British songwriters Category:British singer-songwriters Category:Greek male singers Category:Greek songwriters Category:Greek singer-songwriters Category:British expatriates in the United States Category:Greek expatriates in the United States Category:Living people Category:Duke University alumni
