it’s murph Talks Authenticity, Upcoming Projects, and More at Electric Forest

Rising producer it’s murph stopped by to chat with us at Electric Forest where we dove deeper into his merch drop, recent productions, upcoming tour, and more!

Garrett Murphy, aka it’s murph, has been making waves in the electronic dance community with every set he plays. Taking the stage at huge events like the Do LaB stage at Coachella, Lightning in a Bottle, Bonnaroo, and most recently, Electric Forest, there seems to be no slowing down the momentum he’s gained. At his core, it’s murph exudes a genuine love for production and dance culture, which shines brightly through his energy on stage and refreshingly down-to-earth demeanor.

With tons of unreleased new music in the quiver and a new tour looming, this year is already shaping up to be an extraordinary one for this talented up-and-coming artist. This month, he’ll kick off his first headline tour, Food For The Soul, on July 14 at LA Historic Park during Day Trip in the Park, with additional stops in San Diego, New York, Dallas, Seattle, Toronto, and more. Additionally, he also has a run of shows in Europe planned in August, including performances at Creamfields and Leeds Festival, among others.

With so many exciting projects in the works for it’s murph we were thrilled to have the opportunity to speak with him at Electric Forest and dive deeper into his newest merch drop, upcoming releases, set curation, and much more. Read on for the full interview with this phenom.

Stream it’s murph – “Food for the Soul” on Spotify:

Hey Garrett! Thank you for taking the time to speak with us here at Electric Forest! You’ve been on a tear lately with sets at the Do LaB at Coachella, Lightning in a Bottle, and Bonaroo, to name a few. What has been a highlight for you so far this year, and what makes you most excited to play Electric Forest?

It has been crazy. So, Do LaB was actually last year, but it was the first show I played after my project started taking off, and I was at USC at the time. I graduated in 2023 and played the Do LaB right before graduation. It was cool because I was living in LA at the time, and I was going to Coachella every year, but that’s kind of what kicked everything for me.

Since then, it’s been super crazy. I came to Electric Forest last year and played a Grand Artique surprise set. That’s where I was able to meet Ian, who also does Lightning in a Bottle and Do LaB, and it was kind of a huge full-circle moment because this year when I came back, I got to play another surprise set at Grand Artique on Thursday, but I brought Levity and Superfuture, and we did a b3b. It was unbelievable, and the energy was crazy. The Trading Post, magic happens at Grand Artique.

Your set at the Woogie stage was a dedicated two-hour block, and you have multiple sets here at Forest. How do you prepare for the different vibes and time slots allotted?

A big part of my sets and music making, in general, is that I don’t ever want to recycle the same set. So, the first thing is I am always crate digging hard, and sometimes that’s easier on the road because I hear so much good music. I’ll try to Shazam some things, but you know, all good songs are never Shazamable.

But, when I’m putting together a Woogie set, you must know or envision the crowd you’re playing for. Another example is when I played Space Miami for two hours, I wouldn’t play what I played last night at Electric Forest at the Carousel Club. Last night was the chance for me to play some bass songs.

I just released a song with YDG at 145 BPM, and so for about an hour and fifteen slots, you’re really packing it in with high energy or as fast as you can take it. I tend to start off at around 126 BPM because I make house, then I went all the way up to 175 last night.

The Woogie for me, the sunset was happening, and I wanted to play some euphoric style melodies for the first hour. Kind of gets people to really buy into it. I’m not a big fan of coming out with your hottest song or a big bass house song because where do you go from there?

I’d rather play 20 minutes of some vibey stuff, and once I get a little further into the set, I can crank it. And when you curate a set like that, you can get the crowd in the palm of your hand. I’m also a big GA goer, so I think, “What would I want to hear if I was in the crowd?” I kind of pretend like I’m listening to my own set.

I do like to cater to the crowd, but I also like to stay true to my artistry. People are attracted to that. If I’m dancing on stage because I’m enjoying the music I’m playing, then the people in the crowd will want to dance. If I’m not having fun, no one will have fun.

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You just released “Down Low,” which has been ripping dance floors nationwide. How did this track come to fruition, and did you approach it differently than any of your previous releases?

This song started… I was coming off touring and got back on a Wednesday to LA. The next day, I had a scheduled session with Sorana and Novatore, who helped Kalenna Zanders and some other artists. So I went into that session, which I asked to cancel the night before to my management because I was so tired, but they said no, you can’t cancel the day of.

I went in the next day, and we started this first idea. We were trying to make a club record because I was listening to some old Chris Lake on the way into the studio, “Turn Off The Lights,” maybe we should try something in that lane, but it was just not coming out right. The lyric we were coming up with was so stupid I think it was “I’m a fireman; make it hot, make it hot.” And, at some point, I thought we had to start over.

While they were working on the first idea, I put headphones on and started producing on my computer for a second. I wrote one chord, and then Sorana started singing melodies. We were voice memoing, and she sang that melody you hear on “Down Low,” and we were like, “Woah, woah, hold on a second,” we got something.

Then I started thinking, I wanted this track to be anthemic, so we spent eight hours that day just writing lyrics and recording vocals. I took like 80 vocal tracks. Then, I took the consolidated vocals the next day into the studio I shared with my old college roommates who produce as Twin Diplomacy. They’re really good producers, and we made the song in three days after spending 12 hours a day in the studio just flushing it out.

But once we had that vocal, I could see the vision before the song started. Sometimes, I need to have something grabbing my attention where it makes me see where the song is going. So I just produce until I get to that point, and for “Down Low,” once I had that vocal, I knew the song was there; I just can’t let it go down.

I don’t want to be putting out music just for the sake of streaming numbers. I needed a song on my catalog for the dancefloor, so it was a good test for me. I needed something like that. I listen to dance music in my free time, and at Electric Forest, it is translated very well. It’s not only a singing song, but it’s also very euphoric, and it has a dark, grittier side. So, it was a good test for me, and I got to stay true to myself and not make songs to appease other people.

You are embarking on your first tour, Food For The Soul, which kicks off in Los Angeles on July 14. When bringing this vision to life, what were the most important factors you considered to make the end product as close as possible to your initial idea?

The most important thing for me was not rushing to go on a big tour. I’ve been releasing music for around the last two years… It’s a slow burn. As an up-and-coming artist, I waited until I had a big enough catalog of music to tour with. I think I have eight or nine songs out right now, but I have like 20 more ready to go.

So before I did a headline tour, that was the most important thing. How do I bring the music side where people are coming for the it’s murph songs. I’m not just a DJ playing other people’s music. Which I do love! I will play other people’s edits, but to go on my tour, I wanted to have at least an album’s worth of music, and I am so excited!

Being from Nashville, where rock n roll and so much other music history resides, how did growing up in that region influence your musical career? Any specific moments you reflect on that were pivotal in your creative journey?

I never really went downtown too much because I was outside the city in the suburbs. But, music-wise, it’s great. I remember seeing Odesza at the outdoor theatre. I saw Porter Robinson at Rights of Spring, which was a monumental moment. I saw Pretty Lights outside Titans stadium in a parking lot, and it was one of the first concerts I had ever attended. At the time, it was all new to me.

EDM kind of takes a while to get into. You start off with some mainstream stuff, but then you go deeper and deeper. Now I listen to the wonkiest stuff, but I love it. And the cool thing about Nashville is that it’s a melting pot for music.

You get live music, a bunch of super-talented musicians coming through, and a lot of EDM, and it’s all over the place. I love it in Nashville and love going back there. I spend about six months out of the year between LA and Nashville.

Reflecting on your career so far, what advice would you give to young murph or other growing artists with the knowledge you have now?

The biggest piece of advice I try to hold myself to is when I started making music and posting on social media. I used to judge myself on what my followers thought of me, but the second you stop doing stuff in your life for the inner circle of people around you, that’s when you start to dive into your creative potential.

Do it for yourself, and the success will come. That was the biggest “Aha” moment. Kind of letting go and chasing what it is you truly want. I used to stay up at night and dream of this. I’d sit and imagine myself playing in front of thousands of people and force myself to visualize it.

There’s this quote from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: “You are what your deep, driving desire is. As your desire is, so is your will. As your will is, so is your deed. As your deed is, so is your destiny.” When you start visualizing things, it manifests in your subconscious, and that’s when you can start really making things happen.

You just had a merch drop and meet and greet here at Electric Forest. Can you share what connecting with your fans feels like as an artist? Does it boost your confidence as you continue your ascent?

Working with Grassroots was cool because they’re based in Denver. They crush the music scene. I didn’t want to make some quick turnaround-for-profit merch. I wanted to make merch that I would wear. I love Super Mush and their organic, lionsmane, self-health mushrooms. So, partnering with them on their merch was super cool because I love everything they do and am super inspired by them. We have cool hoodies and fuzzy bucket hats.

As far as connecting with fans, at the festival in GA, I am the first person to go in there and hang with them because they support me, which means so much to me. They are the reason I get to do what I do. For them to go out of their way to come support and say hi, I mean, I’m 23. I’m just a normal guy trying to make it.

I think that’s also helped because people see an organic come up, and my success is only because they’re there pushing me forward and supporting me. I wouldn’t have any success if it weren’t for my fans. It’s fun to see a story unfold like that, and it’s amazing to be the protagonist in this story.

Looking forward to the rest of 2024, what projects, releases, or additional information can you divulge for your fans out there?

I have so much new music ready. I want to get that remix of Justin Timberlake’s “My Love” out on Spotify, but I must get everything cleared or re-sung. I also have a deep tech remix of Nicki Minaj and BIA’s “WHOLE LOTTA MONEY.”

I’m also working on this new track, “Supersonic,” which is the next song I’m putting out. It was the first track in my Bonaroo set I just posted. I’m just really excited about all this new music. It’s going to be a big catalog-building year.

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