http://www.soundenterprises.com/As someone who has tens, possibly hundreds of records cut by Mr Murphy, I was saddened to hear of his passing.
Murphy was known as the 'go-to' engineer for electronica artists in Detroit. I can tell you for an absolute fact that a very high proportion of the recordings that were brought to him were recorded at home studios, with poor acoustic conditions. Although Murphy's facility wasn't exactly Abbey Road, he had the ability to fool me into thinking that the music had been recorded at far more lavishly-equipped facilities, on more than a few occasions. I guess this really illustrates that, in mastering, whilst it's useful to have Abbey Rd's equipment list, chops are what counts in the end.
When I heard the news, I did some Googling and found
many artists posting the same sentiment, i.e. 'it was a low budget recording - I never thought you'd get it to sound professional - but he certainly did'.
From the records I have in my collection, I would never have known Murphy to have such a modest setup - they have a real balance and clarity to them.
More historically-important electronic music has come from Detroit in last 20 years than any other single area worldwide IMHO. Murphy played an important role in this and his legacy will live on.
Murphy LinkJustin