Interview
Hannah Murphy aka Hannah del Soul is a fairly recent PNW transplant whose gotten busy with her short time in Portland.
As one of the organizers behind Temporal Sound, Hannah has played a part in many events such as the Dance for Palestine fundraiser, Tales from the Deep, and the playful Sunday Mass.Hannah is also a practicing massage therapist through her business Roaming Remedy - holistically balancing her time spent around the dancefloor.
Don't just take it from me though. Get to know Hannah better for yourself at the Peace Portal website.
I'm curious if you can share what brought you to the Rose City.
It was unexpected that I ended up in the Rose City last year. I had been traveling overseas and left India by the end of the first year of the pandemic. I flew back home to Vermont; uncertain if I would have returned to the States, had it not been for the trying times in Goa. In 2022 I journeyed from VT to Burning Man, which naturally re-ignited my urge to adventure. Shortly after the burn, I met a group of 13 friends I once lived with in Australia at a small music festival outside of San Francisco. We unexpectedly drove up the coast of California to Portland, where I came to visit a dear friend (who lovingly let me couch surf for far longer than anticipated). Long story short; I canceled my flights back to Vermont and spent some time exploring the city. It was then that I decided it was time for me to re-locate to Oregon in hopes of surrounding myself with more music, art, and community.
Tell us about your role with Temporal. Are there any experiences that have stood out while organizing with Temporal?
Temporal, for those unfamiliar; is a Portland based and globally focused music collective. I DJ and organize events with some of my best friends. Martìn, Tyrus, Marawan, and myself have carefully curated this project with inspiration to bring a new flavor to Portland's music scene. As event coordinators, DJ's, and artists; we have cultivated a beautiful community here. Our events are geared towards thoughtful storytelling; allowing dancers to immerse themselves in quality sights, sounds, and all senses. There have been many experiences shared in creating these events and building community that have really moved me. I would say in particular, putting on our first big production ('Tales From The Deep'), stands out. This was the first time we, as a collective, ever created something of this scale together. It was gorgeous to watch thought become idea and transform into a stunning reality. I think that seeing all of our ideas symbiotically fuse to create a performative, surprising, and immersive experience for dancers really gave me a moment of true awe. I left that event buzzing, inspired, and really grateful for all the communal efforts that allowed it to unfold. Being a small collective in our early stages of development; I really admire our resourcefulness to decorate, create art, and build things from recycled materials. While preparing for our first event (with an extremely small budget) we spent the evenings leading up to it in my backyard. We painted branches gathered from a local arborist, with very limited paint supplies, to create a dark forest ambiance for the show. It was a comedic scene filled with music, banter, building from borrowed tools, and a slight sense of chaos. These are the magic moments that give me a sense of community and connection.
Among the events you've been involved with, you've supported a number of fundraisers, and benefits for mutual aid, including the Dance for Palestine event, which raised over $11k for Palestinian families. Can you talk about the personal importance of getting involved with causes like this?
First, I'd like to shout out to all who participated in and organized this event! This was a true communal effort, and though I played my part, there were many others that had large roles in creating Dance for Palestine. I am floored at the amount we were able to raise and a big THANK YOU to the Portland people showing up to support! It has always been important to me to use my privilege and voice in a humanitarian manner. When I was living in India, I was dreaming up an art collective that used its platform particularly for social justice; thankfully I'm seeing people with similar interest in that here. At the end of the day, what we crave the most as humans is connection. I value creating environments that warmly welcome all walks, a space to be yourself. I'm not perfect, I have lots to learn, and I'm sure I can be doing better in regard to humanitarian and social justice efforts. However, I am grateful to be a part of a community that is putting in the energy to make changes on a local and global front. Little by little we can work towards changing systemic injustices. To me this is an imperative and integral moment (as it has always been) for our society to become aware and inclusive of one another.
Credit to those who helped create Dance for Palestine (thanks to all others not mentioned here who helped in many ways): @bijanberahimi / @zandi_i_i / @temporal_sound / @beyourselfpdx / @uwupdx / @swanarosepdx / @mizaji.gallery - @hasmood / @believeyoumepdx / @spendthenightpdx / @paintthetown.art / @threadtheneedle.pdx / @fiskprojects / @birthdaygurl.xo / @pbs_audio_pdx / @canyonvibration / @osmosis.world / @groupsoundpdx / @opalunderground / @lgbtqportland
Aside from DJing and organizing, you practice massage therapy professionally under your business Roaming Remedy. I'm always interested to hear, do these feel like separate worlds for you, or are there ways that your personal and professional work relate or connect to one another?
Massage Therapy and music definitely contain cross-over. I find them similar in the sense that they can create human connection and immerse you into a flow state. Massage has a much more relaxing, subdued, soft sense around it and allows people to really slow down. DJing and event production also create a flow state; yet I find it to be much more spontaneous, stimulating, and colorful. I've been doing Massage Therapy for over 10 years now and I love the quiet space it allows me to have in this busy age we live in. There is a sweetness to the slowness of sharing time and space with others in a caring, intentional manner. I also find this flow state when creating quality event spaces for people to connect with themselves and others. Both are intentional and an act of love.
As we enter the summer, is there anything that you're particularly excited for or looking forward to?
I am particularly excited to play Lovers Festival on June 30th in Medellin, Colombia! Truly looking forward to DJing abroad alongside many talented artists and grateful for such a lush opportunity. Really looking forward to exploring South America and experiencing a greater sense of spontaneity that travel always provides. When I return I will be jumping into prep for Temporal's next flagship event, Circo Bizarro! We are thrilled to have Just Emma join us from Berlin for a twisted circus themed event on July 14th. Our dear friend and collaborator Samaha will join us from Seattle; plus our very own Temporal residents MORO, Tyrus, and myself (Hannah del Soul). I trust that this will be our favorite event yet and really looking forward to some whimsical and weird performances leading us into the unknown together.