Murphy Lee

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Lore & Background

Murphy was born and grew up in Princeton Junction, New Jersey, and graduated from West Windsor-Plainsboro High School in 1988. He is of Irish descent through both his parents. He attended New York University, where he was an English major but later dropped out. At age 22, Murphy was offered a job writing for the sitcom Seinfeld. He did not expect the show to be successful and chose to continue with music instead. In the late 1980s, Murphy picked the name Death from Above after seeing a helicopter emblazoned with the slogan in the film Apocalypse Now. He has used this name for various projects over the years including as nickname for a signature PA set developed for Six Finger Satellite during the mid-90s. In 2000 Murphy engineered Northern Irish DJ David Holmes' album Bow Down to the Exit Sign and was introduced to the record's co-producer, Tim Goldsworthy (formerly of UNKLE). Goldsworthy and Murphy would DJ together on the Lower East Side, doing so with diverse genres of music. They went on to found DFA Records with Jonathan Galkin in 2001. The name "Death from Above" led to a dispute with a two-man Canadian band also using the same name. In response to a legal threat, the Canadian group changed their name to Death from Above 1979.

In Their Own Story

In 2002, Murphy started the electronic dance-punk band LCD Soundsystem, releasing a string of singles through DFA Records. The most successful of these initial singles was "Losing My Edge", which peaked at number 117 in the UK. The band released its self-titled debut album in 2005 to critical acclaim. A double album, a second disc featured all of the band's previously sold out vinyl singles and B-sides, including "Yeah" and "Yr City's a Sucker". Murphy's second LCD Soundsystem album, entitled Sound of Silver, was released on March 12, 2007. In its aftermath, he quipped to Mojo: "You don't have to work very hard to write an article about us ... Just use the words 'unlikely frontman', 'bear-like', 'unshaven', 'Talking Heads', blah blah blah". In October 2009, Pitchfork Media named the track "All My Friends" off Sound of Silver, the second best song of the decade, and a week later, the album was ranked at #17 in the "Top 200 Albums of the 2000s" list. LCD Soundsystem's third album This Is Happening was released on May 17, 2010, in the UK and May 18 in the US. The album is dedicated to Jerry Fuchs (1974–2009), who had performed drums live with the band on occasion. Murphy announced his retirement from LCD Soundsystem with the release of This Is Happening, and made his last television appearance under that name on February 14, 2011, on The Colbert Report. His last concert at Madison Square Garden was simulcast streaming on Pitchfork Media's website on April 2, 2011.

Reader's Guide

After the disbandment of LCD Soundsystem (between 2011 and 2015), Murphy pursued other artistic projects including remixing, producing, directing, and even developing his own espresso. Murphy stated that dissolving LCD Soundsystem made it possible for him to experiment with other projects: "So [these projects] [become] possible, which is incredible. I get to do all this crazy shit – and if I ever [want] to be in a band again, I can probably figure that out." In early 2016, the band announced a reunion as well as an appearance at the 2016 Coachella Festival, with their fourth album American Dream and respective tour following afterwards in 2017. Murphy credits David Bowie for helping convince him to reunite LCD Soundsystem. On May 4, 2017, Murphy announced two new LCD Soundsystem singles entitled "Call the Police" and "American Dream" were to be released at midnight, coinciding with their performance on Saturday Night Live. American Dream was released on September 1, 2017, through DFA Records and Columbia Records. In May 2018 and in August 2024, LCD Soundsystem was a headliner at All Points East festival in Victoria Park, London.

Did You Know?

• Murphy was offered a job writing for the sitcom Seinfeld at age 22 but turned it down because he did not expect the show to be successful.
• The name 'Death from Above' was inspired by a helicopter emblazoned with the slogan in the film Apocalypse Now.
• Murphy engineered Northern Irish DJ David Holmes' album Bow Down to the Exit Sign in 2000.
• Pitchfork Media named the LCD Soundsystem track 'All My Friends' the second best song of the 2000s decade.
• Murphy credits David Bowie for helping convince him to reunite LCD Soundsystem in 2016.