I Am The Manic Whale keyboardist explores his ambient, instrumental side
Inspiration springs from many unexpected sources but for John Murphy, it came from regular domestic exposure to ‘Minecraft’s mesmeric theme tune.
Coupled with his love of classical and choral music, Murphy, I Am The Manic Whale’s keyboardist and composer, has drawn together these influences in ‘Songs For Lost Voices’, the debut album from his new project, Goodbye Mountain.
The album comprises seven interconnected chill-out, instrumental compositions, all a far cry from his work with Manic Whale and acoustic trio Merfy.
Explains Murphy: “I did stuff with Merfy but was looking to do something different as I’d hit a bit of a wall with that.”
“I then got this weird compulsion to listen to classical composers like Fauré and Mozart which made me realise there was this whole part of what made me a musician. I’d also learned so much from being in a choir – it’s where I get much of my understanding about harmony.”
The ‘Minecraft’ theme was then wafting through the Murphy household courtesy of his nine-year-old son. “It’s really quite meditative, repetitive and minimalist with long builds that make use of space.”
For his Manic Whale creations, Murphy admits he tends to throw all his ideas together at once. But for ‘…Lost Voices’, the process was completely different.
“For this album, I thought what if I did less: what can I do if I explore space and texture? Then the idea for how the album would be structured and what was going to happen in it came to me in one sitting.”
Long time friend Sally Minnear (Celestial Fire, Pendragon) plus trumpet player Jonathan Lewis and violinist Emilie Edelenbos also make contributions on the album.
Murphy had very definite ideas about Minnear’s vocal part. “It reminds me of Karl Jenkins’ ‘Adiemus’ which was something we did in the choir.”
The songs, all with four letter titles, flow into each other. “ ‘Rise’ ends with a minor chord which acts as a sound collage to get us into the next song, ‘Lone’. ‘Inci’ is based on a piece I wrote called ‘Incident’ when I was 14 which has a weird, suspended chord sequence. That’s what you hear at the very beginning.”
Bandmate Michael Whiteman, now with his own side project Whimsical Creature, mastered the album. “After I finished it, I thought I would tell people in the prog community about it. I’m delighted they have said some lovely things because it’s very prog adjacent.”
Whale aficionados may also spot references in the album’s accompanying write-ups to four fictional band members, characters included in the book of short stories that came with ‘The Bumper Book of Mystery Stories’.
Murphy adds: “I couldn’t turn off the tap afterwards, so I’m now about halfway through album two though it’s currently at the writing stage. I’m having all the ideas but leaving space for other things to happen.”
He doesn’t rule out live performances further down the line. “I’ve been thinking about putting together an ensemble of eight to ten players. I would love to do something like that.”
– Alison Reijman
Prog File
LINE-UP: John Murphy (keyboards), Sally Minnear (vocals), Jonathan Lewis (trumpet), Emilie Edelenbos (violin)
SOUNDS LIKE: Ambient, expansive, hypnotic instrumental soundscapes with shades of Mike Oldfield, Jean-Michel Jarre and Adiemus.
CURRENT RELEASE: ‘Songs For Lost Voices’ is out now
From "Limelight - Goodbye Mountain" Prog Issue 160 Reprinted with permission.
Lots of great contemporary prog rock awaits on this week’s Prog-Watch! We’ll hear from Cosmograf, Glass Island, and the Flower Kings, plus three more artists who are featured in this month’s PROG Magazine—The Ash Twin Project, Goodbye Mountain, and Phil Mercy! As if that was not enough, our friend and resident reviewer, Dr. Rob Fisher, returns […]