Track-by-Track: Murdo Mitchell Muses on His ‘Cheap Hotels’ EP

High-energy folk-rock and well-written ballads combine on Murdo Mitchell’s new EP, Cheap Hotels. Released earlier this month via Drabant Music/Sony Music Norway, the EP is a culmination of the last few years of Mitchell’s life. He began the writing process for this collection of songs in 2021 when he wrote the single “One Glass.” The song is about London’s spirited nightlife and was fine-tuned over a series of live performances. It’s quite different from the EP’s second single, “French Defense,” a song paying homage to Mitchell’s youth.

The primary focus of Cheap Hotels is live performance. The goal was to capture the raw grittiness of Mitchell’s live shows and translate it into studio recordings. The tracklist comprises old and new songs, with two rather upbeat tracks and two rather downbeat ones. For a new listener of Mitchell’s music, Cheap Hotels is a great introduction to who he is as a songwriter.

Mitchell joins us today for an exclusive Track-by-Track rundown of the EP. He explains the background behind the songs, their inspiration, and what makes them special to him.

1. “One Glass”

“‘One Glass’ is about my life and probably a lot of people’s lives at a certain point in time. Living in London can be fast-paced and you can get caught up in feeling you’re doing a lot while doing nothing. You’re constantly out meeting people for drinks, etc., and you spend a lot of time communicating with others in bars and social situations, which is partly the beauty of London and why I love it so much.

“But it’s a song for myself. And it’s dedicated to all those who I meet at the bar and chat with after I play the gigs. Sometimes the higher you’re getting the lower you’re going, but I’ll meet you there nonetheless. Hope it resonates.”

2. “French Defence”

“‘French Defence’ is a social commentary song, and it’s about life as I see it. The inspiration for it is taken from all areas of my life, growing up to now. The initial inspiration when writing it was thinking back to the days my mates and I would be drinking underage in our local pub, listening to the old regulars tell mad stories whilst we soaked in the mayhem of a proper boozer… I wanted to try and capture all of those things, so that’s where the song started. Where it ended up is the state-of-play of life as I see it and how, in the end, all you can do is try and dance your way through it.”

Murdo Mitchell ‘Cheap Hotels’ album artwork

3. “Should’ve Done It Better”

“Melody and production-wise it’s more on the nose than my other stuff and I like that. It’s short and punchy, two and a half minutes long, without a middle eight, just in and out. Music isn’t always about boxing yourself into genre-specific identities, it’s about blowing up the box and picking up the pieces.”

4. “Cheap Hotels”

“‘Cheap Hotels’ is a self-reflective song about giving up and settling into the lows of life and finding some sort of acceptance. It begins with me singing about someone and how that someone is wasting and slowly the fight to drive and conquer has left them. Emphasizing nobody can help them if they don’t help themselves. As the song progresses it becomes clear that that person is me. It’s up to me to take the crunchy with the smooth. Recorded in my studio, in the darkness of the north side of London. Purposely low-fi and raw.”