Martha Skye Murphy is releasing a new EP called Yours Truly on November 13, and with the title track having been released previously, she has today shared the set’s closing number “Self Tape”. Murphy informs us of its inspiration, saying:
“Our online identities are often misinterpreted as being a window into an HD version of ourselves, where our life, character, interests and desires are compressed into neat squares ready to be digested. We are lusting for holograms of ourselves as though constructing a genetically engineered child. It’s scary that we seem to be levitating in this digital self, where fiction is perceived as reality and judgment is expressed as ‘yea or nay’”
Although Murphy is clearly unsettled and even a little enraged by this modern phenomenon, she approaches it with a beautifully fragile sound on “Self Tape”, perfectly befitting the idea of ‘a children’s book for adults’, which is how she describes the forthcoming Yours Truly. Built on rippling piano chords and infinite expanses of synths, “Self Tape” floats in an alternate universe, making it the perfect vessel to investigate this idea of an ‘online’ self. Murphy embodies this idea of putting a ‘better’ version of yourself online by pledging “for you I’ll be iconic” – but the tone that hangs over it reflects the sadness in this desire to be someone different. “Self Tape” stretches on for a languorous six and a half minutes, which allows us to float alongside Murphy in this liminal space and truly ponder this modern mental illness.
The video for “Self Tape” was created by sister team Waterbaby – watch it below.
Martha Skye Murphy’s Yours Truly EP comes out on November 13. You can find her on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
