Cheersquad is super pleased to give you ‘Fakin It’, the first single under the moniker Murphnick, by “the other” Melbourne musician Nick Murphy, who suddenly found that his namesake had taken over his digital presence.

‘Fakin It’ is based upon a true story, in which a more famous Melbourne singer-songwriter decided to change his stage name back to his real name, which happens to be Nick Murphy. In the digital age, if an artist can’t be found via dominant search engines, they are lost, non-existent. Suddenly Nick was invisible to the world, seeing pictures of the other artist next to his own work, finding his name had been removed from a famous online music platform. Legal options were limited. Hence, Nick Murphy became Murphnick, and this story is the inspiration for ‘Fakin It’.

Before releasing his debut solo album, ‘Breaking The Light’ in 2006, Nick Murphy had firmly established his reputation as a key founding member and songwriter for Melbourne pop psych outfit, The Anyones, who toured the US and Australia on the back of two highly acclaimed and internationally released albums with the likes of The Killers, The Vines, Jet, Sloan, Morrissey, The Music, Youth Group, Dallas Crane, You Am I, Even and more.

Nick released a second record, ‘What’s In Your Mind?’ in 2011. Both records received wide critical acclaim, received lots of airplay on ABC community radio as well as TV shows such as Home & Away, Neighbours and Tripping Over. Meanwhile, Nick’s solo bands toured the country with such local heroes as Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males, The Gin Club, Even, Ross McLennan and The New World Orchestra, Screamfeeder & 78 Saab.

Recorded at Trapdoor Studios, drums for ‘Fakin It’ were tracked and mixing and mastering completed by Tim Harvey and Marcel Borrack (The Minibikes) at Pow Wow. Marcel and Tim were so great to work with, graciously carrying out all weird requests; such has adding a vocal delay reminiscent of Bowie’s vocal in Moonage Daydream! Special guests included Al Barden on drums, Ben Mason & Tim Harvey on backing vocals (answering Murphnick in the chorus) and Ross McLennan (Snout) on the mellotron. All other instruments played by Murphnick.

Praise for ‘Breaking The Light’ and ‘What’s In Your Mind?’:

“Nick Murphy is a talented man. He has recorded an album of stunning harmonic depth, divine orchestration and a gentle humanity. In the tradition of Brian Wilson and Tony Asher’s teenage symphonies to God, these songs are sumptuous paeans to the Australian suburbs and domestic love. Live, his band and he pull it off with style and subtlety. At their album launch at the Hopetoun Hotel in Sydney they made that tiny pub sound like a concert hall.” – TOBY MARTIN, YOUTH GROUP

“Breaking the Light is… a pop album in the old-fashioned sense, a confident collection of impeccably well written, sweetly sung songs that reveal a sensitive and perceptive musician’s heart.” – 4 STARS, THE AGE (Melbourne)

“Nick Murphy has taken a more confident, intimate and visionary approach to his first solo album, imbuing his subtle, well-crafted songs with warm psychedelic emotion and gentle country elements… but it’s Murphy’s honest talent and sweet voice that really stand out.” – 3 STARS, ROLLING STONE

“Such great singing and writing and playing. Shit that’s not easy to do. Of course, it is easy for people to record and so many do, but not many have Nick’s talents.” – Dave Graney, Dec ‘11

Nick “has the melodic and instrumental gifts to match his transistor radio dreams, and a voice that is pure enough to sing multiple rings around them”. – THE AGE (Melbourne)

“Murphy mixed too many different styles and emotions into this album, and hasn’t yet developed a sound to call his own. It isn’t focused enough to become a classic but is an interesting listen, and slows to a finish with the lovely piano, strings and echoey vocals of This Crooked Generation. By the time it’s over, you’ve dozed off on the couch with a smile on your face.” – Sheshtyn De Souza

“Nick Murphy has truly outdone himself with this recording and deserves the kudos of both music lovers and critics alike. What’s In Your Mind is one of the fantastic local albums that is highly recommended for the fans of adult contemporary music and even those who are as so bold as to describe their taste as ‘indie’.” – The Dwarf

“What’s in your Mind? is a delightful mix of psych-folk, soul, country and pop. It’s the ideal album to listen to if you want to sit back, relax and appreciate the finer moments of life. You’ll hear influences of a wide range of bands including The Beach Boys; Ben Lee; The Shins; and Elliot Smith, but they just linger for a moment and then are gone, leaving you with dreamy melodies; poetic lyrics; and a warm, mellow voice.” – City Hub