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Originally from Philadelphia, Monica Murphy has made her home in New York City for over ten years. She worked during her college years at a state-of-the-art recording studio with owners/producers Lance Quinn and Obie O'Brien where she was exposed to the creative, technical, and business aspects of music. "The Warehouse was just an extraordinary place in those days," Monica says, "These people were special, and they encouraged me." Murphy acquired some modest recording equipment, and has been writing and producing ever since. For info re: monica's recent trip to Analucia flamenco course click here...

When her band V broke out of the Philly/Jersey underground and began playing New York clubs, Monica was seduced by the city. She quickly developed working relationships with producers, writers, artists and musicians that continue to this day. From her home studio in the West Village she says, "When I came to New York I knew I'd found my home, a place with so many creatures like me - artists, writers, freaks on a mission." She lives to collaborate with said freaks, which led to the WONDERBOX records with Boris & Beck (and her club classic Turn Me Over), as well as cuts on Expansion Union's World Wide Funk, Ernie Lake's From the Hamptons to Ibiza, and Renee Stakey's top ten dance hit Rainy Day, among others. "I discovered electronic music around the same time I discovered New York, so I was learning to live in a different way, and also to make music in a different way. There's a synergy here, making a life and making music, and that's still going on," she says. "The technology keeps changing, my life keeps changing, the city keeps changing, and so does the music."

SWITCHED?
Speaking of technology, Murphy appears to immerse herself iin it thoroughly. She just acquired a new ProTools setup, along with the requisite new Mac, but is having diffiiculty giving up the PC platform entirely. "ProTools is great," she says, "But so is Sound Forge, Acid, and other stuff I'm much more proficient with. Usually I end up working on both platforms for most projects, one way or another." But she sees her future landscape looking more like a Mac. "The more I work with the Mac, the more comfortable it feels for me, and so it's becoming a lot more fun - and that's important."

WRITER? PRODUCER? ARTIST?
"If I had to choose, I guess I'd consider myself a songwriter first and foremost. And the reality is if I stay true to the muse as a writer, every song I write is not necessarily going to be right for me as an artist or as a producer. I'm really very happy wearing many different hats in the studio. Like producing a track for someone else to write to, or, say, writing words and melody to another producer's track. I try to let a song take shape without any limits in mind - like who's going to sing it, produce it - hell, even finish it!" And it's working: Murphy is still busy writing and recording - and poised to soar in every facet of her career.

xxx-Iris Vander Pluym