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Murk

 
Album Review: Murk
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Albums

Murk

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Dance Mix NYC, Vol. 3, Au Rêve, Renaissance Ibiza, Global Underground: London, Movement in Still Life, Surrender, Leftism
  • Artist: Murk
  • Rating: StarStarStarStar
  • Release Date: September 23, 2003
  • Type: Mix-album
  • Genre: Electronica

Review

Arguably, Oscar Gaetan & Ralph Falcon -- collectively known as Murk -- have been to '90s and 2000s dance/club music what Dr. Dre has been to West Coast hip-hop: producer/writers who have one eye on the mainstream and the other on the underground. They won't be mistaken for the ultra-slick Stock, Aitken and Waterman team, but they don't confine themselves to rave music's lunatic fringe either. A nonstop 65-minute dance/club mix that Murk provided for Tommy Boy in 2003, this self-titled release is a rewarding example of their ability to balance mainstream and underground considerations. This mix is about the beat, but it's also about vocal personality -- and that certainly sets it apart from the totally underground dance collections that are strictly for the rave crowd. Gaetan & Falcon get the CD off to a very accessible start with the familiar "Some Lovin'," which features singer Kristine W., and favors a conventional verse/chorus/verse/chorus song structure. And they continue in that vein whether they're featuring Greg "Stryke" Chin on "Time," Jennifer Carbonell on "Doesn't Really Matter," or Tamara Wallace (of Funky Green Dogs fame) on "True" and "Believe." But things take a more underground turn toward the end of the CD with tunes like "Afro-Cuba" and "Baba-Sulei," which aren't as accessible by pop standards. In a sense, hearing this CD is like attending a concert by a mildly avant-garde jazz musician who has an inside/outside perspective -- the sort of improviser who might pull you in with an inviting Duke Ellington melody before going on to challenge you with some free-form outside playing. For Murk, an hour-plus dance mix is all about timing and pacing -- and their pacing is excellent on this captivating release. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Some Lovin' Ralph Falcon, Oscar Gaetan Murk (6:40)
Time Ralph Falcon, Oscar Gaetan Murk (5:57)
Believe Ralph Falcon, Oscar Gaetan, Tamara Wallace Murk (7:03)
Alright Ralph Falcon, Oscar Gaetan Murk (6:15)
Doesn't Really Matter Ralph Falcon, Oscar Gaetan Murk (7:45)
Let Me Go Ralph Falcon, Oscar Gaetan, Greg "Stryke" Chin Murk (6:19)
True Ralph Falcon, Oscar Gaetan Murk (4:15)
Baba-Sulei Ralph Falcon, Oscar Gaetan Murk (5:29)
Opera Ralph Falcon, Oscar Gaetan Murk (7:35)
Afro-Cuba Ralph Falcon, Oscar Gaetan Murk (8:08)

Credits

Ralph Falcon (Producer), Ralph Falcon (Mixing), Murk (Main Performer), Kristine W (Vocals), Oscar Gaetan (Producer), Oscar Gaetan (Mixing), Greg "Stryke" Chin (Vocals), Victor Lee (Executive Producer), Jennifer Carbonell (Vocals), Tamara Wallace (Vocals), Timmy Collins (Construction), Timmy Collins (Scenic Design)
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Artist: Murk
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Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Artists

Group Members:

Oscar Gaetan, Ralph Falcon

Similar Artists:

Ballistic Brothers, BT, Club 69, Deep Dish, Masters at Work

Followers:

Hernán Cattáneo

Formal Connection With:

Liberty City
  • Formed: 1991, Miami, FL
  • Genres: Electronica
  • Representative Albums: "Murk: The Singles Collection," "Essential Murk & Funky Green Dog Mixes," "Murk"

Biography

The toast of the American house underground during the 1990s, Cuban-American producers Oscar Gaetan and Ralph Falcon stand behind several of the decade's best house tracks, dark numbers whose soulful vocal lines and high charting position bely an acid-tinged ruggedness at odds with the candy-floss arrangements of many dance hits. Most were recorded for their Murk Recordings label -- later licensed through MCA/Tribal America -- under a variety of aliases and projects including Liberty City, Funky Green Dogs, Deep South and Coral Way Chief. Gaetan and Falcon grew up together in Miami, and though Falcon spent four of his teenage years at a Georgia military school, both discovered and began enjoying house music independently. The duo gradually entered the Miami dance scene, influenced by early domestic producers Farley Jackmaster Funk and Todd Terry as well as later British comers including A Guy Called Gerald.

After producing a single called "Tricky Jazz" for the local DSR Records, Gaetan and Falcon followed with Mission Control's "Outta Limits, which appeared on an Atlantic compilation in 1992. By that time the pair had already set up Murk Recordings and released singles as Intruder and Interceptor. Their next production was Liberty City's "Some Lovin'," a sublime piece of hypnotic mellowed-out trance recorded with singer Bebe Dozier, a family friend. The single broke them to an international audience, and the Murk boys were soon being called on to DJ around the world.

In 1993, MCA's division of Tribal America responded to the fame, licensing the Murk catalogue in total and issuing Murk: The Singles Collection. That same year, another Liberty City single, "If You Really Love Someone," became another club hit. The duo remixed Madonna, Pet Shop Boys, the Beloved and RuPaul. During 1994, both Gaetan and Falcon concentrated on label ventures of their own (Gee Man Soul and Miami Soul Records, respectively) but then came together to record a Liberty City LP. When the album came out in 1996, however, it was under yet another alias from their early Murk days, Funky Green Dogs. Get Fired Up became a crossover hit, thanks to the number one dance single "Fired Up!" and another club hit, "The Way." In 1999, the pair released a volume in the mix series United DJ's of America. [See Also: Funky Green Dogs] ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
Wikipedia: Murk (band)
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
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Murk
Origin Miami, Florida
Genres House music
Years active 1991–Present
Labels Murk Records
TRIBAL America/IRS/EMI Records
TWISTED America/MCA Records
Tommy Boy Entertainment
Associated acts Funky Green Dogs
Mission Control
Interlude
Interceptor
Liberty City
Deep South
Coral Way Chief
Members
Ralph Falcón
Oscar Gaetan
Tamara Wallace
Former members
Pamela Williams

Murk (also known by several other names, including Funky Green Dogs) is a house music production team composed of Ralph Falcón and Oscar Gaetan). They formed in Miami in 1991.[1] They had 7 consecutive singles reach #1 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.[2]

Contents

Career

Murk has a vast back catalog of compositions dating from the early 1990s, including "Some Lovin’" and "Every Now and Then," and many newer tracks such as "Fired up!" (#80 on the Billboard Hot 100), "The Way," "Dark Beat," "Doesn't Really Matter," and "Believe." Murk has also performed as Funky Green Dogs. Besides Murk’s two members, the group included vocalist Pamela Williams, who left the group after the release of the Get Fired Up! album. She was replaced by Tamara Wallace, who has been the lead singer for the duo ever since.

Gaetan and Falcón have also released songs under the names Liberty City and Oscar G & Ralph Falcon. Falcon has recorded solo as the The Fog and Gaetan as Oscar G and Dynamo Electrix. Murk is also credited for a remix of "Fever" by Madonna on the 12-inch single of the same name.

Murk scored a major hit in 2003 called "Some Lovin" with American singer Kristine W. Murk is currently signed to the label Tommy Boy Entertainment.

In addition, Ralph and Oscar have established themselves as skilled DJs, being in demand around the world at clubs such as Space, the various Crobar nightclubs, the various Pacha venues, and many others. Both of them continue to create hits both together and as solo artists.

Discography

Albums

  • 1993 The Singles Collection, as Murk
  • 1993 The Remix Collection, as Murk
  • 1996 Get Fired Up, as Funky Green Dogs
  • 1999 Star, as Funky Green Dogs
  • 2002 Super California, as Funky Green Dogs
  • 2003 Murk, as Murk

Singles

Murk/MURK
  • 1993 "Bugged Out", as Murk in Association with The Big Bang (with Ian Tregoning)
  • 1998 "Reach For Me '98"
  • 2002 "Some Lovin'" (with Kristine W)
  • 2003 "Alright"
  • 2003 "Believe" (with Tamara Wallace)
  • 2004 "Time" (with Greg Chin)
  • 2005 "Doesn't Really Matter" (with Jennifer Carbonell)
Funky Green Dogs
With Pamela Williams from 1995 to 1998, with Tamara Wallace from 1998 to the present)
  • 1992 "Reach For Me", as Funky Green Dogs From Outer Space (with Shauna Solomon)
  • 1994 "High Up", as Funky Green Dogs From Outer Space (with Club Z)
  • 1996 "Fired Up!"
  • 1997 "The Way"
  • 1998 "Some Kind Of Love"
  • 1998 “Until The Day"
  • 1998 "I Can't Help It"
  • 1999 "Body"
  • 2001 "Super California"
  • 2001 "You Got Me (Burnin' Up)"
  • 2002 "Rise Up"
  • 2005 "Reach For Me 2005"
  • 2007 "Reach For Me 2007"
Oscar G & Ralph Falcon
  • 2002 "Dark Beat" (with OBA Frank Lords)
  • 2002 "Circles" (promo only)
  • 2005 "Dark Beat 2005" (with OBA Frank Lords)
  • 2007 "Classics Volume 1"
  • 2008 "Classics Volume 2"
Deep South
  • 1993 "Believe"
  • 1997 "Lemon Puff"
  • 1997 "Untitled/Monday Air"
  • 2000 "Deepin' You", as MN2s meets Deep South (with David Elkabas)
  • 2001 "Tribal America"
Liberty City
  • 1992 "Some Lovin'" (with Bebe Dozier)
  • 1994 "If You Really Love Someone" (with Shauna Solomon)
  • 1995 "That’s What I Got" (with Shauna Solomon)
  • 2008 "If You Really Love Someone 2008" (with Shauna Solomon)
Interceptor
  • 1992 "Together"
  • 1993 "Higher Love"
  • 1994 "Together '94"


Other aliases
  • 1992 "U Got Me", as Intruder (with Carlos Fernandez)
  • 1992 "Release Myself", as Coral Way Chiefs (with George Pugh)
  • 1994 "Just Wanna Love You", as Ralph, Oscar & Me (with Aldo Hernandez)
  • 1995 "Pain", as Fury (with Chantel)
Production for other artists
  • 1993 Marcy Lee - "Fever"
  • 1993 Bobby Pruit - "Tried So Hard"

Charts

Year Song U.S. Pop U.S. Club/Dance U.S. Dance Airplay U.S. Dance Singles Sales
1996 "Fired Up!" 80 2 - 1
1997 "The Way" - 1 - 6
1997 "Some Kind of Love" - - - 28
1998 "Changes" - 1 - 35
1998 "Until the Day" - 1 - 7
1999 "Body" - 1 - 12
2000 "Can't Help It" - 33 - 22
2002 "You Got Me (Burnin' Up)" - 1 - 21
2002 "Rise Up" - 1 - -
2003 "Some Lovin'" feat. Kristine W - 1 20 5
2003 "Alright" - 1 - -
2003 "Dark Beat" - 1 5 -
2004 "Believe" - 1 - 18
2004 "Time" - 1 - 21
2005 "Doesn't Really Matter" - 6 30 12

References

  1. ^ Bush, John. "Murk > Biography". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=MURK&sql=11:avfrxqugldke~T1. Retrieved 2007-08-04. 
  2. ^ "Murk > Charts & Awards". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=MURK&sql=11:avfrxqugldke~T5. Retrieved 2007-08-04. 

External links

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