Toad Murphy is not a person -or two for that matter- but a loosely defined collective of artists and musicians based (mostly) between Los Angeles and New York City. The group has been collaborating on projects and performances since 2005, although the exact origins of the collective are unknown. In 2023, Xandre Borghetti (pronounced Shawn-dray) took on the collective’s mantle to publish some of his own acoustic work with SAUNDIA, this places Xandre in the unofficial role of the “frontman”, though in the way he describes it, I believe “Prime Creative Instigator” sounds like a better fit:

“I see this more as a provocation to my friends to keep the magic of our collaborations alive… And it’s working. We’re planning to release more as a group in the coming months…” -Xandre

Toad Murphys’ journey sort of beings cutting their teeth in the underground music scene of the LA and SF area, which they did for years before finally deciding to record and release their music. The collective has played a wide variety of genres, including rock, jazz, DJ sets, and darker electronic music with string arrangements. They have also collaborated with artists from all over the world.

The band’s presentation to the world is a surprising one indeed, a singer-songwriter ballad full of heart and guts titled “Javel”, a starkly powerful anthem to longing and the desire to intertwine your life with a special someone for good. The song is bittersweet in the best possible way: It sounds kind of sad, but the lyrics themselves are actually quite full of joy:

“I wrote this 5 min after one of my best friends told me he proposed to his now fiancé. They were living on a street called Javel in Paris, which was also the name of a cocktail they created with absinthe and mezcal! I wrote it all in almost one take – it just sort of poured out of me”

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