Knights Of The Turntable | Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy on Acid, High Fidelity and Remixing Crazy P

Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy breathes new life into Crazy P’s Stop Space Return with a pair of cosmic, acid-tinged reworks. We spoke to her about the remix, her connection to acid house, and honouring the spirit of Danielle Moore.

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E. Note: This interview has been originally published on Knights Of The Turntable's website and is reproduced here with their permission.

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Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy is a true steward of the dancefloor. A lifelong music obsessive, her journey began as a teenage radio host in Massachusetts, before moving through the undercurrents of New York’s club scene and into the inner circle of Loft legend David Mancuso. Few selectors today carry the same gravitas, technical fidelity, and spiritual connection to sound.

Now, in a powerful moment of alignment, she returns with a pair of extraordinary remixes for Crazy P’s ‘Stop Space Return’, a package that lands via 20/20 Vision as part of the label’s 30th anniversary celebrations. Originally released in 2008, ‘Stop Space Return’ has long been a centrepiece in Crazy P’s storied catalogue: a cosmic, rolling slice of UK nu-disco that still hits with emotional force. Yet, these latest versions arrive with added weight. Danielle Moore, the band’s radiant vocalist and magnetic heart, sadly passed away in 2024. Though this release was not designed as a tribute, Colleen’s remixes now feel like a deeply resonant offering, vibrant with life but dialled into a higher frequency.

Her Cosmodelica Remix reimagines the track as a slow-burning acid house ritual. Built on trippy percussion, warped 303 lines and filtered disco euphoria, it brings Danielle’s vocal into a new light: ethereal, untethered, almost devotional. The accompanying dub takes things deeper, twisting the TB-303 into wilder shapes and letting the rhythm breathe and spasm in signature Cosmo fashion. It’s a bold, beautiful trip, part sonic séance, part dancefloor sermon.

Colleen is no stranger to the deeper philosophies of sound. Through her long-standing radio work, Classic Album Sundays and years spent as Mancuso’s protégé, she’s been a fierce advocate for intentional listening and the transformative power of music. But she’s also remained grounded in the visceral joy of dancing, the pure, physical energy that makes acid house, disco and soulful grooves such enduring forces.

With this remix, Colleen doesn’t just rework a classic. She reframes it, allowing both grief and celebration to coexist in a shimmering, slow-release dancefloor moment. It’s a reminder that the best DJs are not just technicians or tastemakers, but emotional translators. In her hands, ‘Stop Space Return’ becomes an ode to legacy, to love, and to the alchemy of sound. You can purchase the release here.

We caught up with Colleen to talk early inspirations, the legacy of acid house, her remix process for ‘Stop Space Return’, and how she continues to navigate the intersection of fidelity, feeling and the fierce joy of dancing together.

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THE INTERVIEW

Career & Early Influences

1. You began DJing and hosting radio shows at just 14 years old like “Punk, Funk and Junk”. What was your earliest memory of falling in love with music?

I was in love with music from the get-go,but hearing David Essex’s ‘Rock On’ pulse from the transistor radio whilst sitting alone in a dark room with an illuminated ultraviolet ‘Easy Rider’ poster at the age of five is forever etched in my memory. That bassline!

2. How did your time in New York’s underground scene shape your outlook as a selector and curator? 

New York is one of the world’s greatest music cities and there is so much on offer all day every day after I moved there in 1986 partially because its many musical subcultures were beckoning. I was heavily into the indie and hip hop scenes and went to loads of live gigs including The Butthole Surfers, The Sugarcubes and Tackhead at the Ritz in the East Village, The Residents and Diamanda Galas at Lincoln Center, The Reverb Mutherfuckers at CBGB’s, Public Enemy at the Harlem Apollo and hundreds of others. I also partied with the Queens at The Pyramid in the East Village, discovered house music at clubs like Tracks (where I saw Adeva), got sweaty on the dancefloor at the Shelter and Louie Vega’s Underground Network Party, grooved to acid jazz with Groove Collective at Giant Steps, experienced the city’s undercurrent at murky afterhours spots like Save the Robots and of course, got into the psychedelic family vibe at The Loft parties held by my friend David Mancuso at his home on East 3^rd Street. These bands, DJs and venues greatly inspired me but then nearly everything influences me and not just music but also art, film, books and nature.

3. You’ve worked in both radio and live club environments. How do you approach each format? 

Everything is about context – time, place, atmosphere and what is expected of you. Hosting a morning radio show (such as my Tuesday morning Balearic Breakfast) requires a completely different tone to a Cosmodelica dance programme hosted on a Friday night; broadcasting to 100,000 people in Japan (as I did in 1989) required a voice different to the one I used on the syndicated indie music magazine shows I hosted in the early 90’s.

Similarly, playing an opening set in a club is different to doing a peak set, a closing set or playing from beginning to end. The type of space influences the selections as a big dancefloor and a festival set on the other side of the spectrum to a small intimate party. DJ-ing on a Saturday night is different to DJ-ing on a Sunday afternoon. The main thing is to take in your surroundings and know the audience: Who is listening to the radio and what are they doing right now? Who is on the dance floor and what’s their vibe? How one delivers is down to intuition and experience. 

4. You’ve often spoken about your love for vinyl. How has that passion evolved over the years, especially in the face of digital culture?

Digital culture gave me a greater appreciation for vinyl but that isn’t because I feel either format is ‘better’ quality than the other. Digital formats and hardware are getting better all the time. But many moons ago, when I embarked upon my radio & DJ journey, everything I played was on vinyl as there wasn’t another option. CDs then came in and were great as I could play unreleased tracks gifted from other DJs. USB sticks and hard drives have allowed me greater choice as I could never pack that many tunes into a record bag. But I think these formats have also further endeared me to vinyl as it’s become more ‘special’.

I feel a tangible and visceral connection with a record I have played for decades; I’m not only in love with the music, but also the object held in my hand. I have never felt that way about a series of ones and zeros. Playing vinyl also requires more skill in terms of setup, optimum playback and mixing (which is much more fun on turntables as CDJs display the BPM). Vinyl requires investment and not only monetarily although that is a hefty consideration. It requires time and personal investment and practice and the skills that are well earnt are the ones that are most significant. 

Acid House & Underground Culture

1. Acid house rarely gets mentioned in your interviews. Can you tell us about your personal connection to it?

When acid house culture exploded in the UK, I was living in New York but connected with it via osmosis. Between 1991 and 1994 I interviewed dozens of British artists for Music View, a weekly nationally syndicated radio show I produced and hosted at the time. I interviewed Aphex Twin, Orbital and The Orb, and also crossover bands like Primal Scream (for Screamadelica), New Fast Automatic Daffodils and The Shamen. Hearing these albums, reading NME and Melody Maker articles and chinwagging with the artists gave me a good insight into what was happening in fields, festivals and clubs in Britain. At the same time, I was going out to clubs in NYC, but the places I truly connected with were more populated by Black and Latin American DJs, dancers and music.

There are many records that were big on the British acid house scene that didn’t really make it over onto those dancefloors. But there were a lot of crossovers and in fact, the first time I heard the still fresh sounding ‘Plastic Dreams’ by Jaydee was at the Shelter and Timmy Regisford played it twice! I spent all day Sunday locating a copy and got the last import pressing in the city at Eightball Records. Acid house resonated with me because it unified the indie rock world with the dance world and at that time, I had one foot firmly planted in each.

2. What were some of the first acid house tracks or nights that really made an impact on you?

Mr Fingers Introduction is still one of my favourite albums of all time. In fact, all of Larry Heard’s work – ‘Can You Feel It’, ‘Moonglow’, ‘Washing Machine’ – hugely impacted me. The aforementioned ‘Plastic Dreams’ by Jaydee still rocks a floor and is so darn funky. David Mancuso turned me onto Psychotropic’s ‘Hipnosis’ and ‘Only for the Headstrong’ and I fell in love with its deep psychedelia. And the italo-house tunes that really resonated with me was Soft House Company’s ‘A Little Piano’ and K Tronics Ensemble ‘Calypso of House’.

3. How do you think acid house aligned or clashed with the ethos of The Loft and David Mancuso’s musical philosophy?

They both align on social values. I read Dreaming In Yellow, The Story of the DiY Sound System and felt the free party early rave scene certainly matched with David’s ideal hippie values and its quest for egalitarianism. Probably best not to compare the sound systems 😉

4. What’s your take on the resurgence of interest in acid house sounds among newer DJs and producers? 

It’s kind of like the resurgence of disco when I started DJ-ing in clubs and the resurgence of 60’s acts like Velvet Underground when I was on college radio. I longingly looked back to those eras and wished I had been part of their blossoming music scenes. It’s funny because now younger audiences and my 20 year-old daughter are getting into 90’s house and I actually not only experienced it while it was in play, but was part of it as I was DJ-ing in New York and beyond, worked at the legendary record shop Dance Tracks and I also hosted a weekly two and a half hour live mix show called Club 89 on 89.1FM. Recently I started listening back to some of these shows including one in which my guest was Romanthony and our excitement about the unifying aspect of house music really shone through. I’m glad younger audiences are discovering it and am proud to have played a small part.

5. Your new remix & dub of “Stop Space Return” by Crazy P is a real Acid-tinged affair, can you talk us through your remix process for this release?

It’s definitely acid-tinged but I was also inspired by electro, freestyle and broken beat. Crazy P are some of the best nu-disco producers out there. They are geniuses at crafting a slinky sexy 4-to-the-floor groove. My philosophy when doing a remix is to offer something different. Crazy P’s original version of ‘Stop Space Return’ is the definitive disco-house version (and their recorded live version is incendiary). It’s still one of my favourites so rather than reinvent the wheel, I just took it into another direction that would give the dancers a funky rhythm that’s different but fun. I also like to challenge myself and don’t have a cookie-cutter production style. In the last few months, I’ve remixed The Cure (indie-dance), The Street People for the Spring Revisited series (uptempo disco-house), Saint Etienne (downtempo samba vibes) and Santino Surfers (mid-tempo Balearic chugger). My Cosmodelica remixes are varied and reflect my multi-faceted musical styles.

6. The world lost an icon and a true visionary in Danielle’s passing, you’ve spoken before on your own grief, nearly a year later, how have you channelled or dealt with the loss of Danielle?

I’ve lost a few more friends since Danielle’s tragic passing and it has taught me not to take anything or anyone for granted. Danielle was one of a small group of women from my generation who are still spinning and performing in the disco-house arena and she was an ally. We shared many festival stages, and I had enormous respect for her – she just wowed me with her presence. The last time I saw her perform live was at Gala Festival and she floored me with her cartwheels and the audience adored her! We also DJ-ed on the same bills and she was a great DJ, too. She was on top of her game, but you never know what somebody is dealing with internally and that goes for all of us. We lost a great one and I miss her talent, compassion, and humour.

Sound, Legacy & Philosophy

1. As someone who prioritises high-fidelity audio, how do you approach more raw or lo-fi genres like acid house?

Good question as once I got into high fidelity audio, some of my old records didn’t sound so great! In the 90’s, many dance 12-inches were cut very loud, often distorted and had too much bass. We only had vinyl and record labels and mastering engineers wanted the records to sound bigger and louder for the dance floor. However, once you have a great system and train your ears accordingly, very annoyingly you hear the sonic flaws.

Sometimes I prefer playing an AIFF of an old house track if I feel it doesn’t sound great on vinyl. But I also try not to be snobby about high-fidelity as I know sometimes lo-fi is a sonic choice and I came up through the indie scene.

2. David Mancuso once said you were one of the only people he trusted with both the music and the equipment. What did that trust mean to you?

It meant the world to me and still does. I started playing records back-to-back with David in my early twenties and not only did he trust me with the music and dancers but he also entrusted me with his incredibly fragile and expensive Koetsu moving coil cartridges which at the time, over 3 decades ago, were $2,000 each. If I broke one, he would have to do the party with one turntable. Decades later I asked him why he trusted me at such a young age to musically host at The Loft and he replied, ‘It starts with a vibe long before one hits the turntable.’

3. How does your experience at The Loft influence the way you build a dancefloor journey, especially when playing something like acid house?

I draw from all of my experiences when DJ-ing for a dance floor and although I may play songs I wouldn’t necessarily play at The Loft, the one thread that runs through everything I do is tapping into the healing force of music and how it can elevate people’s life energy and vibration. That’s what I endeavour to do with every club set, radio show and Classic Album Sundays event. I want to lift people’s spirits.

4. Do you think contemporary club culture has lost some of the values of intentional listening and sonic quality that pioneers like Mancuso and yourself championed?

Honestly, I feel things are getting better as I feel David’s philosophy that ‘good sound is a human right’ is becoming more widespread. In 2003 when we started the Loft parties in London together, it was the only audiophile dance party in the UK and most likely Europe. It then inspired other sound systems like Rotation in Staffordshire, Bonsai Hi-Fi in Liverpool and Cosmic Slop in Leeds. Now there are travelling audiophile-club sound systems like our Love Dancin’ system we use at We Out Here and Floating Point’s new sound system. And British clubs of all sizes are focussing more on the sound, improving various elements and doing the best they can with whatever their budget and space allows. Good sound has become a goal and I’m very happy to see modern club culture evolve in this way.

5. Are there any modern artists or collectives who you feel are carrying the torch of acid house in a meaningful way?

Acid house for me is an older term so I just say house as it encompasses more. I love what I call the new sound of New York: musclecars, Lovie and Toribio are all part of that gang and I like featuring up and coming DJs at our Love Dancin’ tent at We Out Here. In the UK we have fresh young collectives like Brighter Days and some of them come to my gigs, as well. These younger DJs inspire me with their fresh sounds and perspectives, and I try to champion them the way people like David and Francois K championed me when I was coming up.

Classic Album Sundays & Broader Impact

1. Classic Album Sundays has become a global phenomenon. Did you ever imagine it would resonate so widely?

I felt it was something that had to be done but I had no idea it would have the impact it has had. When I started the event and content platform 15 years ago, the vinyl renaissance and the listening bar trend hadn’t yet happened. Classic Album Sundays brought the threads of my entire musical vocation all together – music journalism, DJ-ing, event hosting and my knowledge of sound which I gained through my mentorship with David and my university studies. In 2010, I felt that listening habits had changed and not for the better as people were ‘consuming’ music via MP3s which reduces the original audio by 75-95%. Shuffle culture was in, and album listening was out. We also weren’t listening communally but isolated from others on our headphones.

As I had a great audiophile sound system, an extensive record collection and the musical knowledge gained from over a quarter of a century working in music, I felt it was a duty. I wanted to allow people to fully immerse themselves in an entire album, gain a new experience and hear details in the recording they had never heard before. The BBC Arts Editor David Sillito came to the third Classic Album Sundays session at the Hanbury Arms and featured it on BBC Breakfast and loads of other platforms and then my phone didn’t stop ringing for two weeks. I then knew it had legs.

2. You’ve hosted some incredible sessions with artists like Nick Mason, Laura Mvula and John Grant. What have been some personal highlights?

After every interview I feel that particular one has been the highlight, so it is difficult to answer. When I interviewed Nick Mason of Pink Floyd that was a real moment as for those of us who grew up in the 70’s, Dark Side of the Moon was ubiquitous – you heard it everywhere and it sounded amazing (it was engineered by Alan Parsons). Having the opportunity to explore the album with Nick Mason for a surround sound event at the V&A Museum as part of Pink Floyd’s ‘Their Mortal Remains’ exhibition was a true pinch-me moment.

Nick enjoyed it so much he asked if we could do another session, so we went up to Suffolk and hosted a CAS session featuring his personal favourite Pink Floyd album, Saucerful of Secrets, at the John Peel Archive. It was so lovely as Nick hadn’t seen John’s wife Sheila in decades and they had been good friends. Another memorable CAS was also held at the JPA in which I interviewed Julian Cope about Teardrop Explodes – probably one of my most wild interviews as it was a real feat keeping up with his fast-moving and expansive mind. His wife said I handled him well.

3. You’ve worn many hats including DJ, producer, radio host and curator. Which role feels most “you” at this stage of your journey? 

Musical curator and educator ticks the box of everything I do whether it is Classic Album Sundays, my remixes, my radio shows and/or my club sets. I want to turn people onto music both from the past and the future. It’s what keeps me going.