Moloko - Fun For Me

JUL 01 1995 · 12:00

Moloko - Fun For Me (1995) Director: Dawn Shadforth Era: Britpop / Mid-90s Alternative Dance (1995) - A pivotal moment in UK independent electronic music, where trip-hop, synth-funk, and post-rave dance culture collided with art-school irreverence and Sheffield's vibrant DIY music ecosystem. High curatorial value as a confirmed early work by Dawn Shadforth, one of Britain's most significant music video directors, and as a rare visual document of Moloko's pre-breakthrough debut era. The video predates Shadforth's internationally recognised work by several years, making it a critical origin point for scholars of both her oeuvre and of 1990s UK alternative dance culture. Its fast-cut, warm-saturated, choreographically energised aesthetic represents a formative expression of the Sheffield electronic art-music scene and of the broader mid-90s UK indie-dance moment. Context: Released in August 1995 on Echo Records, 'Fun for Me' appeared on Moloko's debut album 'Do You Like My Tight Sweater?', a record that fused trip-hop, synth-funk, dance-punk and art-pop at a moment when the UK music industry was dominated by Britpop guitar acts. Moloko, formed in Sheffield by Irish vocalist Róisín Murphy and producer Mark Brydon, represented a countercultural alternative to the Britpop mainstream, drawing instead from electronic club culture, post-rave sensibility, and playful avant-garde aesthetics. The single later gained significant US exposure via the Batman & Robin soundtrack (1997), bringing the duo transatlantic recognition well ahead of their commercial breakthrough with 'Sing It Back' (1999) and 'The Time Is Now' (2000). Director Dawn Shadforth, herself embedded in Sheffield's art and music ecosystem, brought a fine-art sculptural sensibility to the promo, consistent with her later reputation for choreographically rich, visually daring music video work. Director notes: IMVDb and IMDB both confirm Dawn Shadforth as director of Moloko's 'Fun for Me' Version 1 (1995). Producer is credited as Caroline Cooper (per IMVDb). This is one of Shadforth's earliest known music video directing credits, predating her award-winning work for All Seeing I (1997), Garbage (1999), and Kylie Minogue (2001). The Sheffield connection between Shadforth (Sheffield Hallam University graduate, early Sheffield activist film work) and Moloko (formed in Sheffield) is a documented biographical overlap. The video's high saturation, warm tones, and rhythmic fast-cut editing are consistent with Shadforth's known aesthetic of tightly choreographed, performance-led promos. A second version of 'Fun for Me' (Version 2, 1996) was directed separately by Bill Fishman.