Electro-singer songwriter, Roisin Murphy, has just unveiled her third solo album, Hairless Toys. The record, which follows 2005's Ruby Blue and 2007's Overpowered, features lead single, "Gone Fishing," a track inspired by the seminal documentary Paris is Burning. As the former Moloko singer explained in a statement:
"This song was written after I watched the documentary film Paris Is Burning, having read an article which referenced it in a discussion about house music's origins in black, gay culture. I was deeply moved by this film. 'I had to run this far from home' - it's about the outcasts who could never fit into mainstream society and how they created a safe place in the drag 'Ball' scene of New York in the '80s. The culture was a flamboyant reaction to persecution and disillusionment, the imagination and bravery of these kids is simply awe-inspiring."
Murphy said she also "envisioned 'Gone Fishing' almost as a song from a Broadway musical version of this story. The making of one's own world, a safer world and the creation of a new, better family in music or youth culture is a theme I touch upon elsewhere on my album Hairless Toys."
Hairless Toys releases May 11. Preorder here.