C.M. Murphy returns to the record industry fueled by Petrol

He was the manager of INXS, the founder of rooART records and is currently CEO of Digitalone. Now C.M. Murphy is back fronting a record company called Petrol.

He sold rooART six years ago at the height of its success after breaking acts like Wendy Matthews, Ratcat and You Am I.

Chris talked to Undercover and discussed his return to the biz. He explains his return as "I like music again basically. I think in the middle of the 90s I wasn't enjoying music and if I don't enjoy it I have a lot of trouble coming up with creative ideas. That is one of my bigger reasons for being in the business. When that part left I had to leave the business because basically I was bored".

His revitalized spark came via his current broadcasting venture with Digitalone. "Through the digital broadcasting we have been doing and Digitalone, some of the sexier compilation albums with the Groove series for example gave me access to a lot of music. The music business became exciting again".

One of the more interesting compilations Petrol has put together is 'Cuba', the Greatest Songs Ever', a collection of the biggest acts to come from the Caribbean. When quizzed if these artists were the Beatles and Rolling Stones of Cuba Chris was taken somewhat aback but then commented "Cuba, that's what these guys are ... The Beatles and The Rolling Stones of Cuba. That's a good analogy actually".

One of the better known songs on a Petrol compilation is "Precious Heart" by Taul Paul Vs INXS. This is full circle for Chris, who started off 20 years ago as the manager of INXS. "It's very funny, the irony is immense. In the early 80's I was one of the first people to do remixes. At that stage everyone thought I was a nutcase for taking a band like INXS and doing remixes. We made that a big part of their career. When I saw the songlist for the Geezer album I couldn't believe it when the first track was Taul Paul and INXS. It was very, very funny".

Petrol have their first big hit with Talisman P meets Barrington Levy's 'Here I Come (Sing DJ)'. "Yeah, that seems to be firing up" says Chris. "It could be a serious summer hit at this stage. Nova have kicked in big time on it, Triple J are on it. Nova Melbourne have it across the board. It's my first commercial single for five or six years. If my first single ends up being a hit, I'll be very happy. Simon M found it very quickly, the guys in the office heard it and rang and said we've got this great track. I was a but iffy as to if we would be able to get it away but it was my daughter who convinced me. She said this is going to be a huge summer hit. I can just see everyone driving around with the windows down singing 'Sing DJ'. It's got that great hook".

Murphy also sees the future of music and the Internet is still to happen. "Digitalone is its own arm now. I've always said music will be delivered digitally one day. That may be 2001, 2002 or 2010, it doesn't matter to me. We have taken a long term view. Digitalone will still be there in 2010 and Petrol has now developed its own character". (by Paul Cashmere)

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