Murlo

Murlo serves as the working moniker for producer and illustrator Chris Pell, who makes his home in London after hailing originally from the East Midlands. Linked to the U.K. grime community, his productions emerge as lively and jubilant while carrying pronounced echoes of soca, dancehall reggae, bassline, and additional styles geared toward the dancefloor, all undercut by a subtle introspective and wistful quality. His initial visibility came through remix work, including reworkings of tracks by Cold Pumas in 2009, Water Borders in 2010, and Slackk in 2011, plus additional projects. Original material followed in EP form, beginning with Nectah 004 on Pollinate Records in 2011 and continuing with the Quartz EP on Lowup Records in 2012. During 2013 he issued Adder on Unknown to the Unknown along with the Last Dance EP on Glacial Sound, and he joined Famous Eno for the Mixpak release “Ariel.” The 2014 Plume EP, created in tandem with JT the Goon for Oil Gang, and the Into Mist EP on Rinse marked a point at which Caribbean references grew less prominent, although the work stayed vivid and emotive. In 2015 Murlo issued the pop-leaning single “Jasmine” featuring vocalist Gemma Dunleavy, after which he devoted much of the year to performances across North America and Asia and then unveiled the eight-track Odyssey EP that spotlighted the single “Moodswing.” Two years afterward he returned with the Club Coil EP, which contained further collaborations with Dunleavy as well as the single “Tired of You.”