Cornelia Murr ‘Runs To The Center’

Much like Justin Vernon secluded himself in a cabin in remote Wisconsin, New York-based songwriter Cornelia Murr absconded to a town in Nebraska called Red Cloud, home to fewer than 1,000 people. Whereas Vernon set out with the goal of making an album that reflected the wintry scenery, Murr’s sole objective was to restore a dilapidated house and, hopefully, herself.

She emerged recentered, but in that same process, she made her first full-length album since her 2018 debut. Run To The Center, the album in question, is a product of its geography; rife with meditations on self-improvement, motherhood, and financial strife, Run To The Center finds Murr doing exactly that. 

Ahead of the album’s release on Friday, Murr sat down with Uproxx to talk about Aretha Franklin, ramen, Christina Ricci, and more in our latest Q&A.

What are four words you would use to describe your music?

Soft. Shiny. River. Stone. (I never know how to describe it. I endeavor to write songs that can hold up as songs without all the bells and whistles, but I do love the bells and whistles.)

It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?

As a balm in turbulent times.

Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?

I don’t know about the style of my work, but as an artist and vessel of supreme idiosyncratic force, Nina Simone.

Where did you eat the best meal of your life and what was it?

A bowl of ramen in Tokyo.

What song never fails to make you emotional?

“Call Me” – Aretha Franklin

What’s the last thing you Googled?

online i Ching

Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?

Maharishi Vedic City, Iowa. A good Google.

What’s your favorite city in the world to perform and what’s the city you hope to perform in for the first time?

I think New York is my favorite because it feels like home. But there’s so many cities I’d love to play that I haven’t. New Orleans is one. Mexico City is another… hard to choose because I want to play everywhere.

What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?

Music is meant for other people to hear. Don’t be a hoarder.

What’s one of your hidden talents?

I’m a pretty good masseuse.

If you had a million dollars to donate to charity, what cause would you support and why?

I would somehow put that money towards changing building codes in this country far and wide to make it easier to permit natural buildings like cob and straw bale homes, which are healthy to live in and tend to be the safest in fires and earthquakes. Then I’d have tons of them built in cities like LA as free options for people experiencing homelessness. Might need a few more million but that’s the direction.

What are your thoughts about AI and the future of music?

Helllllp but also when the grid goes down there will still be human beings making music.

You are throwing a music festival. Give us the dream lineup of 5 artists that will perform with you and the location it would be held.

Jessica Pratt, June McDoom, Rahill, Clairo, and Angel Olsen in someone’s backyard and everyone can lie on the grass with pillows and blankets.

Who’s your favorite person to follow on social media?

I have cry-laughed countless hours thanks to Brian Jordan Alvarez.

What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?

Zero tattoos, happy to say. Many close calls.

What is your pre-show ritual?

No small talk and licorice tea.

Who was your first celebrity crush?

Leo D like everyone my age. And Christina Ricci in Now And Then.

You have a month off and the resources to take a dream vacation. Where are you going and who is coming with you?

I’d take my mom wherever she wanted to go. Maybe Beirut where she lived a few years as a child.

What is your biggest fear?

Indecision.

Run To The Center is out 2/28 via 22Twenty. Find more information here.