Paul Murphy Sheds a Light on Wintersleep's <i>New Inheritors</i> As He Takes Postdata Across Canada

BY Alex HudsonPublished Mar 12, 2010

As the front-man of Wintersleep, Paul Murphy has become one of the most recognizable voices in Canadian indie music, with his group's breakthrough Welcome to the Night Sky helping them take home the Juno Award for Best New Group of the Year in 2008.

Taking a temporary break from his band, the Halifax native recently released an album of homespun acoustic songs under the moniker Postdata. Recorded with his brother Michael on keyboards and synthesizer, Postdata's self-titled album is a sombre, stripped-down collection, with Murphy's warm melodies paired with austere production and harrowingly personal lyrics.

Now, Murphy is taking Postdata on the road, playing a handful of Canadian shows with fellow folkies Clinton St. John (of Calgary's the Cape May) and Julie Fader. Speaking with Exclaim! about the shows so far, Murphy explains that performing as Postdata is a higher-pressure experience than he is used to with Wintersleep.

"If anything happens that goes wrong, it's definitely linked to you and only you," he laughs. "It's comfortable, but if anything goes wrong, it's not that comfortable."

And although he says the shows have gone well, he has experienced the occasional hiccup. "Tim's computer died at one of the shows just before we went on," he recalls, speaking of his Wintersleep band-mate Tim D'eon, who is currently touring with Postdata. (Murphy's brother Michael is attending law school and was unable to come on the road.)

Of the shifting line-up, Murphy explains, "Julie Fader is also probably going to sing backups and play keys or something as well, so it might end up being a trio by the time we make it to Vancouver."

After the tour wraps up in Vancouver on March 20, Murphy will reconvene with his Wintersleep band-mates. The five-piece will be releasing their fourth album this May. The disc is called New Inheritors, and was recorded in September and finished over Christmas. Murphy describes the title track as a "Northern soul throwback," and reveals that it will be released as a single sometime next week.

"With every record, we move closer to how we sound live," he says of the new album, explaining that much of it was recorded live off the floor. "It's nothing crazy different, but it's definitely a progression from our other records."

With his focus returning to his band, Murphy will be setting aside his Postdata project, possibly for good. "I don't have any plans for releasing anything more," he admits. "[Michael] is my brother, so we hang out quite a bit. We've always done that kind of stuff, we've always recorded things. I don't think it's going to stop, but I don't know."

Tour Dates:

3/12 Toronto, ON - The Music Gallery
3/13 Toronto, ON - The Rivoli (CMW)
3/16 Ottawa, ON - Blacksheep
3/18 Calgary, AB - The Republik
3/19 Edmonton, AB - Brixx
3/20 Vancouver, BC - The Media Club

Tour Dates

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