BIOGRAPHY
Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders releasing on Lucidia Records, fuses the twang of 'Irish-Americana', with ‘Latino', with 'death country', with brash and anthemic choruses, soaring into the sky. With the help of rousing guitars, keys and brass, you are taken on a roller-coaster ride, from beautiful heart-torn ballads, to sublime ethereal harmony laden, majestic choruses filled with life affirming spiritual positivity.
The one and only 6 Towns Radio Live Music Award winners, Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders, perform like it's their very last performance at every live show and it’s going to be new music vibes with a brand-new physical CD album of 18 songs in tow. Think 'Irish-Americana' meets ‘Latino’ with loads of energy, balls of audience participation, death country chaos and huge anthemic choruses that’ll hit you right in the gut. Greg and his posse are bringing you music straight from the heart with lush harmonies, soaring keys, lap steel, guitars and that “dance-like-there's-no-one’s-watching-but-also-cry-a-bit” energy. Hints of Springsteen, Waterboys, Villagers, Arcade Fire, Mavericks.
The entirely Northern Irish Greg Murray writes the lyrics and melodies, plays the guitar, harmonica and sings. He has recruited a great bunch of close friends with a wonderful array of talent to join him put his songs onto the world's musical map. This is original music played by a gang of friends who want you to listen, get involved and feel the emotion that is put into each and every song.
Greg's recently released 18 track CD album “The Pain and Glory” can be bought at our shows or via www.GREGMURRAY.co.uk & www.GM7W.com or downloaded via Bandcamp (https://jamesgregorymurray.bandcamp.com/) or from any of the streaming platforms (https://open.spotify.com/album/3LzhoDRKnZoKaNZvf1GCtx).
ABOUT GREG MURRAY
Greg was born in Lurgan, Co. Armagh, Northen Ireland. He picked up his first guitar at the age of 14 and put it straight back down again, in favour of the tenor sax. With regular live music sessions happening at his dad's bar and with musical aunts and uncles singing and playing Irish favourites; the sax was not the best instrument to compliment the session, and so it was quickly dropped in favour of the acoustic guitar.
Greg quickly got bored of playing covers and turned to writing his own bedroom material, which was released on small indie labels in the UK, Germany, USA, France and Spain. He has played in numerous bands in Ireland and England, always writing his own original material.
After a personal loss, his song writing helped turn the negative emotions in his life into something that he could manage and cope with. The huge soaring positive choruses of many of Greg's songs is testament to the spirit of positivity in his music that only his band of friends; The Seven Wonders can deliver, to an audience who wish to open their ears and hearts. With a beautiful turn of phrase and heart warming melodies, you can't help love and feel the message of positivity that is instilled in the hearts of those who listen, watch and embrace the music that welcomes you into the musical world of Greg Murray.
Work, mortgages, bills, children, life and death is added to the mix, and soon the years pass, but music and it's emotions remain the same.
"Writing music has taken me to places that I never expected; from love to loss, heartache to hope, from the best feelings, to the worst. I try to be sincere and let my heart direct the tale. Characters in the songs are friends, people around me, people who come in and out of my life, sometimes I imagine myself walking in their shoes. Even in the darkest places, it's the love, the light, the silver lining or gold nugget that keeps us listening and wanting things to turn out okay. I always gravitate to those Hollywood endings - well I try to most of the time. It's in believing in something that gives you the spirit to delve into what you're capable of achieving. I hope I'm doing something right. The secret of life - is having a wee bit of hope."
ABOUT GREG MURRAY & THE SEVEN WONDERS
Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders fuses the twang of Americana, with latino, with 'death country', with brash and anthemic choruses, soaring into the sky, with the help of rousing brass, played at one hundred miles per hour. There is Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Arcade Fire, The Waterboys, Calexico, Van Morrison, all with a slight Irish tinge.
The entirely Northern Irish Mr Greg Murray writes the lyrics and melodies, plays the guitar and sings. He has recruited a great bunch of friends with a wonderful array of talent to join him put his songs onto the world's musical map.
This is original music played by a big gang of friends who want you to listen, laugh and dance. Imagine an Irish man, sprinkled with the tears of angels, and then surround him with a cloud of musicians and singers and let them take you on a roller-coaster ride, from beautiful heart-torn ballads to sublime, ethereal choral choruses with full blast uplifting riff/brass-infused hooks with folk-Americana influences that generates the most frantic elevating energy. This incredible band, led by the charismatic singer songwriter Greg Murray, play a wide variety of song styles; including brazen barn-dances, beautiful ballads, ‘death country’, dramatic Americana, folksy 'tex-mex' tinged graceful-indie-rock, reggae-folk with added colour from unbelievably rousing guitar and piano solos! With beautiful harmonies and a band that performs their hearts out, it’s no surprise that their shows create a fantastic atmosphere.
This is a totally original brand of sincere, positive, heart-warming, life-affirming, heart-felt, hugely majestic, blend of music - making an incredible carnival of a live show not to be missed.
ALDORA BRITAIN RECORDS -INTERVIEW WITH GREG MURRAY AUG 2026
1. Hello Greg, how are you? I am excited to be talking with such a fantastic artist from the UK. It is amazing how music can bring us together. Let’s start off by travelling back in time. What are some of your earliest musical memories and what was it that first pushed you towards pursuing this passion of yours?
My dad had a bar attached to our house and family and friends would gather and sing and perform regularly many Irish tunes, poems and stories with very talented performers and singer songwriters. It was always expected that if you were present in the now that you would perform and after a few years you were expected to build your repertoire. The audiences were always the most intense, being family and friends who are always the hardest audience to play too. I loved creating new music and never really gravitated to cover music but I did start with numerous Irish traditional music, artists and bands from Ireland. Hothouse Flowers, The Waterboys, Van Morrison, the late and wonderful Glen Hansard, The Stunning, Christy Moore and Damian Rice to name just a few. I actually started by playing tensor saxophone and then switched to acoustic guitar for singing as the feeling of singing and harmonising surpassed anything experienced at the time.
2. And now, let’s take a leap forward to the present day and your brilliant solo output. I am definitely drawn in by your songcraft and songwriting. How do you approach this part of your creative process? Are you drawn to specific themes or topics? Perhaps coming from more of a personal, observational, or even fictional perspective or point of view?
Always personal and always having great meaning. Often many young artists don’t really have much to write about as they haven’t really lived and their experiences are very limited plus their sense of empathy hasn’t really developed as such. I make many vocal and worded memories through audio notes and pics on my iPhone. I have an acoustic guitar in most rooms at home and when I’ve the time and inclination, I’ll pick one up and strum and pick away and sometimes something comes out that I quite like and this triggers a melody. I’ll mouth makeshift words and a melody into my phone. I’ll listen back a few days later and if it works, and is still pleasing, original and enjoyable and most importantly; hooky, I’ll take it into Logic Pro and put it onto my Mac Studio in my home studio. If I think it could take a live direction, I play not to my band Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders and get them in to record their live parts.
The theme is personal experience of love, loss, relationships and life in many of its forms. I’ve written some very personal songs that have made me cry while writing them - I know it’s a good thing to be recording these songs almost like personal diary entries. I know my emotional vested interest is embedded strongly in those songs the most when it draws on the heart strings and delivers a very personal message close to my heart and often times the hearts of my friends and family.
3. You are fresh from the release of a superb new record called The Pain and Glory. This was also my introduction to your music, so it already holds a special place in my record collection. What are your memories from writing, recording and releasing it, and how would you say you grew and evolved as an artist throughout this process?
The record was produced in Canada by Catalyst Productions in Edmonton where Corey and Shimmer are now good friends as we collaborated on numerous songs and as a result we have built up a lovely relationship who I respect a great deal. Mark Eyden of Sun Street Studios in my home town of Newcastle under Lyme also mixed many of the tunes before Corey added his magic through production, mixing and final mastering. Mark is currently helped us work on our next two EP’s being released by the wonderful guys over at our new Liverpool record label; Lucidia records. The actual writing of the songs was by myself in my own home studio over a period of a few years. I write constantly and have thousands of songs - some are even quite good heehee. Lyrics play an integral part and come to me when you least expect them but your antenna is always up just in case inspiration, musical or otherwise hits you. It’s always been my past time even before record labels as I have been fortunate to have worked with three other labels in the past across the world each with releases stacking up and which are available on my website at www.GREGMURRAY.co.uk.
Relationship building is probably the most important part of creating an album as many people are involved with many different directions that are important to them. My job was to coordinate and keep the music directed so everyone is pulling in the same direction as the message of the song is only from one person and this focus is so important to deliver the right message and present the songs not only sonically beautiful but emotionally beautiful or as best we can really, given the talents and emotion that we have.
4. I would like to get more specific now and focus on two personal favourites, ‘World Stealer’ and ‘Love is Not a Big Enough Word’. For each, what is the story behind the song, and can you remember the moment it came to be? Did anything in particular inspire them and what do they mean to you as the writer and performer of each?
You’ve selected two interesting songs there Tom and both are about the death of two very important men in my life.
World Stealer is my personal favourite as it was written about my dad just after he died of cancer during a period of only three weeks of suffering, so it was a particular difficult time for my family and I. The video of ‘World Stealer’ attempts to deliver a message to my dad of all the memories that he’s missed through photos from all my family as we place them onto the table in real time and then as the song progresses all the photos are removed leaving a photo of my mum and dad on their wedding day with the message of “For those who were taken and missed out on the memories”. The photos depict new additions to all our families of which my dad was the head of and of good times on holidays and gatherings but each with him missing from the photos. My dad was a fabulous singer himself and likewise many of his brothers, who even toured across Ireland and England back in the 60’s and 70’s.
Ironically the song ‘Love Is Not A Big Enough Word’ also entails a message from my father in laws’ funeral where it was raining very heavily on the morning of his funeral and the undertaker told me his saying of “Happy the corpse upon which it rains” which starts the song, as it was meant to deliver a message to my wife to ease her heartache. The undertaker explaining that traditionally in Ireland, it is good luck to be buried in the rain…not altogether sure of his meaning there but that Irish romanticism of death struck a chord with me literally.
Both songs make it clear that my choice of topics are based around heartache and suffering - maybe it’s that Irish Catholic guilt that most of the Irish possess, but then the heart is the greatest driver of passion, both in giving and receiving love and it is the best songwriting motivator and inspirational purveyor we have.
5. When I listen to your recorded output, I definitely get the impression that you would put on a memorable live show. An immersive and captivating world of story and song, for sure. Is this something that you do? If so, what do you aim to bring to the stage as an artist, and what can a fan expect from their very first Greg Murray live experience?
I love playing live and my band Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders are simply sublime to play with as they are so talented and they represent the songs beautifully live. I love populating the songs with the stories behind the songs and building the atmosphere that will work with delivering the message behind the song. I enjoy getting dressed up in a suit and letting the audience know that we have all tried hard to impress just not with our music but with our presentation and the thought that goes behind each of our shows. We tend to perform for well over two hours at our own shows as we all enjoy playing live so much.
I love getting the audience involved with stories, on stage antics and dishing out percussion, but with them as the centre audience-centric experience. Performing in the middle of the audience is always a firm favourite of mine as I’ve never enjoyed the ’them and us’ stage - audience divide as it’s all about building connections and with a huge physical divide it makes that impossible. The emotional connection is by far the most important part of the show and what I strive for at every show, never getting the songs perfect but delivering them with passion and allowing emotion to play the biggest role and that goes for every member of my band also. I’ve been told and I think it’s true that I’m not at my happiest unless I have gotten everyone involved emotionally in the room. That burly gent at the back of the room with his arm soled giving me that “Now entertain me” look of disdain is like a red flag to a bull in my eyes and there is nothing I love more than getting him involved in some way so that he goes away knowing that he’s seen a cracking live band with some incredible messages to talk about. In a recent festival headline set, I addressed some of my narrative for the show towards a huge bodybuilder of a gent stood with tattooed arms folded clutching his beer stood way at the back who didn't seem to be moving nor taking any heed of either me nor the band but he was so intent on staring that is was a tad uncomfortable to say the least. At the end of show he waited patiently, as I could see him in the wings, waited for everyone to finish chatting before coming up to me in tears telling me that one of the songs (about a young man that I used to teach who had died of cancer and who the song is about) was one of the best songs he’s ever heard and thanked me from the bottom of my heart for bringing it to him and putting into song my feelings. He went off with two of my CDs under his arm.
The stories and messages can be difficult at times too deliver as all the songs are extremely personal and based upon heartache as mentioned but when some songs are so much from the heart I have got to work to get the atmosphere just right which is so worth it from the reaction of the audiences and their feedback. The best feedback ever is - 'God I wish I was part of your band’…the very best compliment!
6. I have been doing some crate-digging over on Bandcamp, leading me back to Tymes Ten. This is another fantastic snapshot of you as an artist. Let’s delve deeper with it. How do you reflect on this outing as a whole now, and is there anything that you would edit or change when looking back with the benefit of hindsight?
I love x10 and I still play numerous songs on this album in our live shows with Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders with ‘Edge’ being one of the very first songs that I first wrote many years ago. I played many of the instruments on that one with all the harmonies, sometimes as many as 50 each layering up that Phil Spector wall of vocal harmonies that I still love developing to this day and which I have added to many of my home recordings, much to Corey and Mark’s frustrations…but being great guys, they suffer me kindly and help bring my simple bedroom etchings into amazing creations.
I think in hindsight some of the topics of some of the songs are a little obscure and a little naive at times but they obviously played an important impact on my life back then.
7. As you well know by now, I love that Murray sound and your approach to making and creating music. That alternative and indie folk foundation. How would you say this style of yours came about, what goes into it for you, and who are some of your biggest influences and inspirations as an artist currently?
Irish folk was my original direction but with a huge side line of singer songwriting aplomb. We were introduced recently by the wonderful David Bash at the Cavern Club in Liverpool as part of his International Pop Overthrow Festival on one of our shows as ’Northern Irish Americana’ which is a phrase that some radio presenters and pluggers has coined for us and I quite like it as those Americana influences have become apparent through playing live with my band. I think they have developed that ‘Americana’ influence with their incredible live playing. Incidentally we got signed by Lucidia Records that night!
Irish songwriters were my first love: Van Morrison, Glen Hansard, Mary & Francis Black, Christy Moore, Brian & Bap Kennedy, Dolores O’Riordan, Shane MacGowan, Bono, Damien Rice, Liam O’Maonlai, Phil Lynott, Paul Brady but later Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Nicks, Fleetwood Mac, The Eels, The Stunning, The Smiths, Arcade Fire, Radiohead, Two Door Cinema Club, Duke Special, The Four Of Us, The Divine Comedy, Snow Patrol, U2, The Cranberries, The Catchers which are only some of the bands that come to mind. There are many more obscure artists but these are probably the broad strokes.
8. A broad question to finish. The last five to ten years have seen the world undergo so much change, both politically and culturally, with wars becoming increasing commonplace and environmental change. And then there’s the music industry, with streaming and AI. How would you say these years have impacted you, both personally and artistically?
I’ve stayed well clear of AI for inspiration but not for use in recording, if only to help me with Logic Pro shortcuts. AI music will have to be labelled accordingly. As for the present, what I’ve heard is unemotional and intent on copying other artists currently without substance not empathy.
As for world events, politics and cultural issues, this is a gigantic area that does not carry much emotional inspiration for me currently, but not to say that won’t change. With global warming and it’s impact, possibly not an area of emotional inspiration directly for me, but possibly the humane approach that's much more personal, well this could be something worth my attention later … well maybe thats something that could make for some interesting inspiration, but for now…my own experiences and relationships both empathetically and personally with my own life is my musical canvas.
I’m hopeful Tom that I’ve answered your questions well and you don’t think any less of me, heehee. But I do thank you for bringing my music and message to anyone who reads our interview and will hopefully enjoy my solo/band releases and live shows with my band; Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders.
www.GREGMURRAY.co.uk & www.GM7W.com
Quickfire Round:
1. Favourite artist or band? Bruce Springsteen/Paul Simon/Van Morrison
2. Favourite album? Graceland/No Guru, No Method, No Teacher/Born To Run
3. First album you bought with your own money? Simon & Garfunkel Concert in Central Park
4. Last album you listened to from start to finish? Springsteen - Live in Dublin
5. First gig as an audience member? Van Morrison/The Waterboys - Ulster Hall, Belfast
6. Loudest gig as an audience member? Beck - O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester
7. Which artist or band have you seen most in concert? Van Morrison
8. Style icon? George Clooney
9. Favourite film? It’s A Wonderful Life
10. Favourite TV show? The Hawke
11. Favourite up and coming artist or band? Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders
Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders releasing on Lucidia Records, fuses the twang of 'Irish-Americana', with ‘Latino', with 'death country', with brash and anthemic choruses, soaring into the sky. With the help of rousing guitars, keys and brass, you are taken on a roller-coaster ride, from beautiful heart-torn ballads, to sublime ethereal harmony laden, majestic choruses filled with life affirming spiritual positivity.
The one and only 6 Towns Radio Live Music Award winners, Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders, perform like it's their very last performance at every live show and it’s going to be new music vibes with a brand-new physical CD album of 18 songs in tow. Think 'Irish-Americana' meets ‘Latino’ with loads of energy, balls of audience participation, death country chaos and huge anthemic choruses that’ll hit you right in the gut. Greg and his posse are bringing you music straight from the heart with lush harmonies, soaring keys, lap steel, guitars and that “dance-like-there's-no-one’s-watching-but-also-cry-a-bit” energy. Hints of Springsteen, Waterboys, Villagers, Arcade Fire, Mavericks.
The entirely Northern Irish Greg Murray writes the lyrics and melodies, plays the guitar, harmonica and sings. He has recruited a great bunch of close friends with a wonderful array of talent to join him put his songs onto the world's musical map. This is original music played by a gang of friends who want you to listen, get involved and feel the emotion that is put into each and every song.
Greg's recently released 18 track CD album “The Pain and Glory” can be bought at our shows or via www.GREGMURRAY.co.uk & www.GM7W.com or downloaded via Bandcamp (https://jamesgregorymurray.bandcamp.com/) or from any of the streaming platforms (https://open.spotify.com/album/3LzhoDRKnZoKaNZvf1GCtx).
ABOUT GREG MURRAY
Greg was born in Lurgan, Co. Armagh, Northen Ireland. He picked up his first guitar at the age of 14 and put it straight back down again, in favour of the tenor sax. With regular live music sessions happening at his dad's bar and with musical aunts and uncles singing and playing Irish favourites; the sax was not the best instrument to compliment the session, and so it was quickly dropped in favour of the acoustic guitar.
Greg quickly got bored of playing covers and turned to writing his own bedroom material, which was released on small indie labels in the UK, Germany, USA, France and Spain. He has played in numerous bands in Ireland and England, always writing his own original material.
After a personal loss, his song writing helped turn the negative emotions in his life into something that he could manage and cope with. The huge soaring positive choruses of many of Greg's songs is testament to the spirit of positivity in his music that only his band of friends; The Seven Wonders can deliver, to an audience who wish to open their ears and hearts. With a beautiful turn of phrase and heart warming melodies, you can't help love and feel the message of positivity that is instilled in the hearts of those who listen, watch and embrace the music that welcomes you into the musical world of Greg Murray.
Work, mortgages, bills, children, life and death is added to the mix, and soon the years pass, but music and it's emotions remain the same.
"Writing music has taken me to places that I never expected; from love to loss, heartache to hope, from the best feelings, to the worst. I try to be sincere and let my heart direct the tale. Characters in the songs are friends, people around me, people who come in and out of my life, sometimes I imagine myself walking in their shoes. Even in the darkest places, it's the love, the light, the silver lining or gold nugget that keeps us listening and wanting things to turn out okay. I always gravitate to those Hollywood endings - well I try to most of the time. It's in believing in something that gives you the spirit to delve into what you're capable of achieving. I hope I'm doing something right. The secret of life - is having a wee bit of hope."
ABOUT GREG MURRAY & THE SEVEN WONDERS
Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders fuses the twang of Americana, with latino, with 'death country', with brash and anthemic choruses, soaring into the sky, with the help of rousing brass, played at one hundred miles per hour. There is Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Arcade Fire, The Waterboys, Calexico, Van Morrison, all with a slight Irish tinge.
The entirely Northern Irish Mr Greg Murray writes the lyrics and melodies, plays the guitar and sings. He has recruited a great bunch of friends with a wonderful array of talent to join him put his songs onto the world's musical map.
This is original music played by a big gang of friends who want you to listen, laugh and dance. Imagine an Irish man, sprinkled with the tears of angels, and then surround him with a cloud of musicians and singers and let them take you on a roller-coaster ride, from beautiful heart-torn ballads to sublime, ethereal choral choruses with full blast uplifting riff/brass-infused hooks with folk-Americana influences that generates the most frantic elevating energy. This incredible band, led by the charismatic singer songwriter Greg Murray, play a wide variety of song styles; including brazen barn-dances, beautiful ballads, ‘death country’, dramatic Americana, folksy 'tex-mex' tinged graceful-indie-rock, reggae-folk with added colour from unbelievably rousing guitar and piano solos! With beautiful harmonies and a band that performs their hearts out, it’s no surprise that their shows create a fantastic atmosphere.
This is a totally original brand of sincere, positive, heart-warming, life-affirming, heart-felt, hugely majestic, blend of music - making an incredible carnival of a live show not to be missed.
ALDORA BRITAIN RECORDS -INTERVIEW WITH GREG MURRAY AUG 2026
1. Hello Greg, how are you? I am excited to be talking with such a fantastic artist from the UK. It is amazing how music can bring us together. Let’s start off by travelling back in time. What are some of your earliest musical memories and what was it that first pushed you towards pursuing this passion of yours?
My dad had a bar attached to our house and family and friends would gather and sing and perform regularly many Irish tunes, poems and stories with very talented performers and singer songwriters. It was always expected that if you were present in the now that you would perform and after a few years you were expected to build your repertoire. The audiences were always the most intense, being family and friends who are always the hardest audience to play too. I loved creating new music and never really gravitated to cover music but I did start with numerous Irish traditional music, artists and bands from Ireland. Hothouse Flowers, The Waterboys, Van Morrison, the late and wonderful Glen Hansard, The Stunning, Christy Moore and Damian Rice to name just a few. I actually started by playing tensor saxophone and then switched to acoustic guitar for singing as the feeling of singing and harmonising surpassed anything experienced at the time.
2. And now, let’s take a leap forward to the present day and your brilliant solo output. I am definitely drawn in by your songcraft and songwriting. How do you approach this part of your creative process? Are you drawn to specific themes or topics? Perhaps coming from more of a personal, observational, or even fictional perspective or point of view?
Always personal and always having great meaning. Often many young artists don’t really have much to write about as they haven’t really lived and their experiences are very limited plus their sense of empathy hasn’t really developed as such. I make many vocal and worded memories through audio notes and pics on my iPhone. I have an acoustic guitar in most rooms at home and when I’ve the time and inclination, I’ll pick one up and strum and pick away and sometimes something comes out that I quite like and this triggers a melody. I’ll mouth makeshift words and a melody into my phone. I’ll listen back a few days later and if it works, and is still pleasing, original and enjoyable and most importantly; hooky, I’ll take it into Logic Pro and put it onto my Mac Studio in my home studio. If I think it could take a live direction, I play not to my band Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders and get them in to record their live parts.
The theme is personal experience of love, loss, relationships and life in many of its forms. I’ve written some very personal songs that have made me cry while writing them - I know it’s a good thing to be recording these songs almost like personal diary entries. I know my emotional vested interest is embedded strongly in those songs the most when it draws on the heart strings and delivers a very personal message close to my heart and often times the hearts of my friends and family.
3. You are fresh from the release of a superb new record called The Pain and Glory. This was also my introduction to your music, so it already holds a special place in my record collection. What are your memories from writing, recording and releasing it, and how would you say you grew and evolved as an artist throughout this process?
The record was produced in Canada by Catalyst Productions in Edmonton where Corey and Shimmer are now good friends as we collaborated on numerous songs and as a result we have built up a lovely relationship who I respect a great deal. Mark Eyden of Sun Street Studios in my home town of Newcastle under Lyme also mixed many of the tunes before Corey added his magic through production, mixing and final mastering. Mark is currently helped us work on our next two EP’s being released by the wonderful guys over at our new Liverpool record label; Lucidia records. The actual writing of the songs was by myself in my own home studio over a period of a few years. I write constantly and have thousands of songs - some are even quite good heehee. Lyrics play an integral part and come to me when you least expect them but your antenna is always up just in case inspiration, musical or otherwise hits you. It’s always been my past time even before record labels as I have been fortunate to have worked with three other labels in the past across the world each with releases stacking up and which are available on my website at www.GREGMURRAY.co.uk.
Relationship building is probably the most important part of creating an album as many people are involved with many different directions that are important to them. My job was to coordinate and keep the music directed so everyone is pulling in the same direction as the message of the song is only from one person and this focus is so important to deliver the right message and present the songs not only sonically beautiful but emotionally beautiful or as best we can really, given the talents and emotion that we have.
4. I would like to get more specific now and focus on two personal favourites, ‘World Stealer’ and ‘Love is Not a Big Enough Word’. For each, what is the story behind the song, and can you remember the moment it came to be? Did anything in particular inspire them and what do they mean to you as the writer and performer of each?
You’ve selected two interesting songs there Tom and both are about the death of two very important men in my life.
World Stealer is my personal favourite as it was written about my dad just after he died of cancer during a period of only three weeks of suffering, so it was a particular difficult time for my family and I. The video of ‘World Stealer’ attempts to deliver a message to my dad of all the memories that he’s missed through photos from all my family as we place them onto the table in real time and then as the song progresses all the photos are removed leaving a photo of my mum and dad on their wedding day with the message of “For those who were taken and missed out on the memories”. The photos depict new additions to all our families of which my dad was the head of and of good times on holidays and gatherings but each with him missing from the photos. My dad was a fabulous singer himself and likewise many of his brothers, who even toured across Ireland and England back in the 60’s and 70’s.
Ironically the song ‘Love Is Not A Big Enough Word’ also entails a message from my father in laws’ funeral where it was raining very heavily on the morning of his funeral and the undertaker told me his saying of “Happy the corpse upon which it rains” which starts the song, as it was meant to deliver a message to my wife to ease her heartache. The undertaker explaining that traditionally in Ireland, it is good luck to be buried in the rain…not altogether sure of his meaning there but that Irish romanticism of death struck a chord with me literally.
Both songs make it clear that my choice of topics are based around heartache and suffering - maybe it’s that Irish Catholic guilt that most of the Irish possess, but then the heart is the greatest driver of passion, both in giving and receiving love and it is the best songwriting motivator and inspirational purveyor we have.
5. When I listen to your recorded output, I definitely get the impression that you would put on a memorable live show. An immersive and captivating world of story and song, for sure. Is this something that you do? If so, what do you aim to bring to the stage as an artist, and what can a fan expect from their very first Greg Murray live experience?
I love playing live and my band Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders are simply sublime to play with as they are so talented and they represent the songs beautifully live. I love populating the songs with the stories behind the songs and building the atmosphere that will work with delivering the message behind the song. I enjoy getting dressed up in a suit and letting the audience know that we have all tried hard to impress just not with our music but with our presentation and the thought that goes behind each of our shows. We tend to perform for well over two hours at our own shows as we all enjoy playing live so much.
I love getting the audience involved with stories, on stage antics and dishing out percussion, but with them as the centre audience-centric experience. Performing in the middle of the audience is always a firm favourite of mine as I’ve never enjoyed the ’them and us’ stage - audience divide as it’s all about building connections and with a huge physical divide it makes that impossible. The emotional connection is by far the most important part of the show and what I strive for at every show, never getting the songs perfect but delivering them with passion and allowing emotion to play the biggest role and that goes for every member of my band also. I’ve been told and I think it’s true that I’m not at my happiest unless I have gotten everyone involved emotionally in the room. That burly gent at the back of the room with his arm soled giving me that “Now entertain me” look of disdain is like a red flag to a bull in my eyes and there is nothing I love more than getting him involved in some way so that he goes away knowing that he’s seen a cracking live band with some incredible messages to talk about. In a recent festival headline set, I addressed some of my narrative for the show towards a huge bodybuilder of a gent stood with tattooed arms folded clutching his beer stood way at the back who didn't seem to be moving nor taking any heed of either me nor the band but he was so intent on staring that is was a tad uncomfortable to say the least. At the end of show he waited patiently, as I could see him in the wings, waited for everyone to finish chatting before coming up to me in tears telling me that one of the songs (about a young man that I used to teach who had died of cancer and who the song is about) was one of the best songs he’s ever heard and thanked me from the bottom of my heart for bringing it to him and putting into song my feelings. He went off with two of my CDs under his arm.
The stories and messages can be difficult at times too deliver as all the songs are extremely personal and based upon heartache as mentioned but when some songs are so much from the heart I have got to work to get the atmosphere just right which is so worth it from the reaction of the audiences and their feedback. The best feedback ever is - 'God I wish I was part of your band’…the very best compliment!
6. I have been doing some crate-digging over on Bandcamp, leading me back to Tymes Ten. This is another fantastic snapshot of you as an artist. Let’s delve deeper with it. How do you reflect on this outing as a whole now, and is there anything that you would edit or change when looking back with the benefit of hindsight?
I love x10 and I still play numerous songs on this album in our live shows with Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders with ‘Edge’ being one of the very first songs that I first wrote many years ago. I played many of the instruments on that one with all the harmonies, sometimes as many as 50 each layering up that Phil Spector wall of vocal harmonies that I still love developing to this day and which I have added to many of my home recordings, much to Corey and Mark’s frustrations…but being great guys, they suffer me kindly and help bring my simple bedroom etchings into amazing creations.
I think in hindsight some of the topics of some of the songs are a little obscure and a little naive at times but they obviously played an important impact on my life back then.
7. As you well know by now, I love that Murray sound and your approach to making and creating music. That alternative and indie folk foundation. How would you say this style of yours came about, what goes into it for you, and who are some of your biggest influences and inspirations as an artist currently?
Irish folk was my original direction but with a huge side line of singer songwriting aplomb. We were introduced recently by the wonderful David Bash at the Cavern Club in Liverpool as part of his International Pop Overthrow Festival on one of our shows as ’Northern Irish Americana’ which is a phrase that some radio presenters and pluggers has coined for us and I quite like it as those Americana influences have become apparent through playing live with my band. I think they have developed that ‘Americana’ influence with their incredible live playing. Incidentally we got signed by Lucidia Records that night!
Irish songwriters were my first love: Van Morrison, Glen Hansard, Mary & Francis Black, Christy Moore, Brian & Bap Kennedy, Dolores O’Riordan, Shane MacGowan, Bono, Damien Rice, Liam O’Maonlai, Phil Lynott, Paul Brady but later Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Nicks, Fleetwood Mac, The Eels, The Stunning, The Smiths, Arcade Fire, Radiohead, Two Door Cinema Club, Duke Special, The Four Of Us, The Divine Comedy, Snow Patrol, U2, The Cranberries, The Catchers which are only some of the bands that come to mind. There are many more obscure artists but these are probably the broad strokes.
8. A broad question to finish. The last five to ten years have seen the world undergo so much change, both politically and culturally, with wars becoming increasing commonplace and environmental change. And then there’s the music industry, with streaming and AI. How would you say these years have impacted you, both personally and artistically?
I’ve stayed well clear of AI for inspiration but not for use in recording, if only to help me with Logic Pro shortcuts. AI music will have to be labelled accordingly. As for the present, what I’ve heard is unemotional and intent on copying other artists currently without substance not empathy.
As for world events, politics and cultural issues, this is a gigantic area that does not carry much emotional inspiration for me currently, but not to say that won’t change. With global warming and it’s impact, possibly not an area of emotional inspiration directly for me, but possibly the humane approach that's much more personal, well this could be something worth my attention later … well maybe thats something that could make for some interesting inspiration, but for now…my own experiences and relationships both empathetically and personally with my own life is my musical canvas.
I’m hopeful Tom that I’ve answered your questions well and you don’t think any less of me, heehee. But I do thank you for bringing my music and message to anyone who reads our interview and will hopefully enjoy my solo/band releases and live shows with my band; Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders.
www.GREGMURRAY.co.uk & www.GM7W.com
Quickfire Round:
1. Favourite artist or band? Bruce Springsteen/Paul Simon/Van Morrison
2. Favourite album? Graceland/No Guru, No Method, No Teacher/Born To Run
3. First album you bought with your own money? Simon & Garfunkel Concert in Central Park
4. Last album you listened to from start to finish? Springsteen - Live in Dublin
5. First gig as an audience member? Van Morrison/The Waterboys - Ulster Hall, Belfast
6. Loudest gig as an audience member? Beck - O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester
7. Which artist or band have you seen most in concert? Van Morrison
8. Style icon? George Clooney
9. Favourite film? It’s A Wonderful Life
10. Favourite TV show? The Hawke
11. Favourite up and coming artist or band? Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders
