Satellite Voices

Dubai

Inside/Out: Caitlin Murphy

May 25

Delve a little deeper in Dubai's live music scene and you'll discover the city's hidden gem

• Text by Kate Hazell

While Dubai may not excel in the hidden-backstreet-bar area where unknown talents are accidently discovered, one singer-songwriter making waves in the underground music scene is 27-year-old Caitlin Murphy. The Australian melancholy artist has been recently attracting the crowds at The Music Room and Peanut Butter Jam at the WAFI Rooftop with her mix of original music and covers and talks to Satellite Voices about being a musician in our city.

Satellite Voices: Where do you live in Dubai and how does it inspire you?
Caitlin Murphy: I live in Jumeirah Lakes Towers in the new part of Dubai so it's pretty much a series of high rise buildings surrounding a sometimes empty sometimes full manmade lake. Dubai is still mainly a construction site around there so it doesn't tend to inspire me much. But a kilometre west is the Arabian gulf and a kilometre east is the uninhabited desert so I'm essentially surrounded by natural beauty. Quite a contrast from the concrete and traffic. The music I've written in Dubai mostly speaks of longing for home and being part of a place that doesn't quite nurture or fulfil the creative expectations of an artist.

SV: What do you think about the local culture scene?
Caitlin Murphy: Even though there is a lot of negativity said about Dubai's art scene (I'm no stranger to expressing my own issues with it myself) there is a lot of opportunity, especially within the music industry. Dubai brings some of the biggest bands and artists to town and it's these international connections that give local musicians the chance to play gigs they wouldn't normally be offered back home. Friends of mine have supported Maroon 5, Guns n Roses and Justin Timberlake to name a few which proved as the perfect platform to get them recently signed to Sony. So if you've got the talent then you're quite a big fish in a small pond out here.

SV: Can you tell us about the local creative youth cultures in Dubai?
Caitlin Murphy: There are these fantastic art spaces in the industrial areas that support local artists no matter what age they are.  One of them is The Fridge, a big split level warehouse that has three rules if you want to perform there: 1. You've got to be original. 2. You've got to be local. 3. You've got to be good. So the standard is pretty high but every now and again you see these luminous artists emerge out of the concrete jungle who are studying or doing everyday jobs but not letting their passions disappear in the chaos and wonder of making a living in Dubai.

SV: What are your plans for the weekend?
Caitlin Murphy: Plans for the weekend? Well if I was in town [I’m in Australia this week] I probably would have gone to The Music Room, one of the best live music venues in Dubai to see a local band. They are big supporter of up and coming artists and are either launching a bands EP or showcasing a local cover band. One of my favourite haunts in town.