Chris Murphy’s Final INXS project ‘Original Sin’ set for release

The final INXS project spearheaded by Chris “CM” Murphy is about to see the light of day.

From July 17, Petrol Records and Universal Music Group launch Original Sin – The 7 Sins, a short film soundtracked by the songs and music of the iconic new wave outfit.

Directed by Amy Tinkham, the movie is inspired by Dante Alighieri’s Inferno and the spiritual journey through the “Seven Sins of Purgatory,” built into a modern context.

Autumn Miller and Trevor Jackson star in the film, exclusively available for a 48-hour window in Australia through Veeps, the platform founded by the Madden brothers.

“I was so honoured to be asked by the legendary Chris Murphy to explore telling a story through INXS music, but was also overwhelmed with how to start because it is such an iconic and incredible catalog,” says Tinkham of the project.

Instead of freezing up, she sat with the music for “many, many weeks and let it tell me a story. It was an out-of-body experience actually because it feels more like the songs and the times we are living in, wrote this film than anything I consciously tried to do.”

Accompanying Original Sin is a 13-song soundtrack of INXS-related works, highlighted by George Alice’s version of ‘Suicide Blonde,’ Tricky’s cover of ‘Mediate,’ and the late Michael Hutchence’s take on Eric Burdon & War’s ‘Spill The Wine’.

It’s said to be the first-ever INXS-specific project between Petrol Records and UMe.

British composer, arranger and producer Giles Martin, son of legendary Beatles producer George Martin, joined the INXS team in 2018 to take creative duties on all audio projects as executive music director.

On Original Sin, Martin collaborated with Amy to shape the concept, while Oscar-winning sound engineer Chris Jenkins mixed the 5.1 audio.

Stream Original Sin – The 7 Sins trailer.

Both projects are stamped with Murphy’s vision. The entrepreneur, for so long a guiding force in the career of INXS, passed away Jan. 16, aged 66.

Murphy managed the band from 1979 until 1995 and again in the 2000s, and achieved the near-impossible task of reinvigorating a band which was no longer active, and whose charismatic frontman had passed on.

Through a range of strategic music releases, small-screen specials, visuals and media partnerships, Murphy helped make INXS the biggest-selling act in Australia in 2014.

Last week, founding band member Kirk Pengilly presented the Original Sin project at a virtual press conference.

“Some of these songs are over 30 years old and we performed them up to 2,000 times. So you kind of hear them that way,” he recounts. “To have someone pull it apart and put them back together in a different way is inspiring, it’s fantastic. I love the music in the film.”

Knowing that Original Sin was Murphy’s “last passion project makes it even that much more impactful,” he continues. “We are deeply grateful that we are now able to share Amy’s emotive and thought-provoking short film with our audience. Play it loud.”

Tickets are available at originalsininxs.veeps.com.

Original Sin: The Seven Sins -Soundtrack

1. Drum Opera – performed by Jon Farriss (INXS)

2. Let it Ride – performed by INXS

3. Kill The Pain – performed by Ida Redig

4. Never Tear Us Apart – performed by Global Network & Sophia Amato

5. Mediate – performed by Tricky & INXS

6. Suicide Blonde – performed by George Alice

7. Mystify – performed by Loane & INXS

8. What You Need – performed by Wyatt Stromer & Eric Stromer

9. Spill The Wine – performed by Michael Hutchence

10. Taste It – performed by Ida Redig

11. Don’t Change – performed by Vimala & Aden Jaron

12. Need You Tonight – performed by Trevor Jackson & Wyatt Stromer

13. New Sensation – performed by Alterboy

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.