I caught up with singer-songwriter Laurence Murray, the frontman of the Laurence Murray Project, an indie rock band based in Edinburgh. The band spent last year recording their debut album in an isolated studio located in the Scottish Western Isles, and have just released their debut single titled 'Providence', a track that blends different genres including elements of RnB and soul. We discuss how the band formed and the inspiration behind their latest single, as well as the writing process behind their upcoming album.
Hi, tell us a bit about yourself!
We’re a quartet called ‘Laurence Murray Project’ and we’re based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The current formation of the band got together last summer when our lockdown in Scotland eased slightly for a few months. The music scene in Edinburgh is quite small and myself, Dave (drums) and Tom (bass) had played in bands together before so we already knew we had good chemistry. Incidentally Dave, Tom and Ben (keys) had all played together before too so it made sense for us to join forces. The idea was to rehearse pretty solidly over a few months and then hit the studio to record an album.
How would you describe your music?
I like to think that our sound is a melting pot of a few different types of roots music; Blues, Soul, RnB, Singer-Songwriter with a bit of a Psychedelic flavour thrown in. All of our songs started off on the acoustic guitar and evolved from that point onwards.
What got you initially inspired to start making music?
Initially it was just a really fun thing to do and a hobbie. I got into Blues music soon after picking up the guitar when I was twelve and became completely obsessed with Stevie Ray Vaughan. That then got me into Hendrix and opened the door to Albert King, Freddie King, Albert Collins and so on. I was attracted to how simple yet expressive that form of music can be. The first band that really got me thinking about how songs are crafted was Radiohead. I was captivated by how abstract, although somehow still deeply personal, some of Thom Yorke’s lyrical ideas were and the originality of their music just blew me away. They’re still probably my favourite group to this day. Thom Yorke and Jeff Buckley are the two songwriters I think of as having the most impact on me in my formative years; realising that I could simultaneously be a guitarist and a songwriter was a big turning point. I’m a latecomer to both George Harrison and Bob Dylan and both of those artists have helped me realise my love for poetic songwriting too.
‘Providence’ is the lead single from your debut album and was recorded during
lockdown, could you tell us a bit about how you came to record this single and your
experiences of recording during lockdown?
We’ve been in and out of lockdown since last March here in Scotland so I had made a bit of a promise to myself to rehearse and record whenever there was a window of opportunity to do so. Luckily things opened up again last summer so we used that opportunity to rehearse like mad. I think the threat of another lockdown seemed to help us be more efficient than we might usually be. We were all aware that society could shut down again at any time so we really made the most of the time we had together to rehearse and plan. I booked some studio time for November last year and fortunately we managed to fulfil that. We recorded at the UK’s most remote recording studio, Black Bay Studio, in the Scottish Outer Hebrides. Being so isolated really gave us a sense of respite from the outside world and helped us focus and pour ourselves into the record.
Did you have a specific direction or concept in mind when creating this album, or was the process quite experimental?
I wrote the majority of the lyrics before any of the music so the lyrical themes that I wanted to tackle were pretty set in stone from the beginning. Musically however I was open to allowing the direction of the songs to take their own journey and then follow where that leads. When you start off writing a song with an acoustic instrument, it can all sound quite bare and exposed - you never really know how things are going to sound further down the line when you bring something precious into a full band environment. Ben, Dave and Tom all put their own stamp and personality on the songs and they’ve helped create something much more sonically diverse and unique than I could’ve created alone. Musically I wanted the songs to sound organic and live, so we recorded the bulk of the tracks live in the room as a band together. Pete Fletcher at Black Bay Studio helped co-produce and almost telepathically knew what sound I was looking for after only a few chats and album references. We left some space for a bit of spontaneity in the studio and there were a few off-the-cuff moments that we managed to capture too.
"We were all aware that society could shut down again at any time so we really made the most of the time we had together to rehearse and plan."
What artists or musicians would you say have inspired your sound?
Previously the vast majority of music I wrote was inspired by guitarists and I played much more of a guitar-centric style of music - but as my tastes have changed I’ve found myself more influenced by songwriters. Some that spring to mind are Doyle Bramhall II, Jordan Rakei, Lianne La Havas, John Mayer, Althea Grace and Raphael Saadiq. Anything with Roots music at its core tends to inspire me the most.
Are there any artists or musicians you love at the moment? Could you give us some recommendations?
I’ve been getting really into Leon Bridges recently - he’s a Soul/RnB songwriter from Texas. His last album ‘Good Thing’ ticked all of the boxes for me. There’s a mixture of ballads, funky jazz stuff and RnB on the album but it’s all tied together with an underlying Blues feel and some amazing songwriting. For whatever reason a disproportionate amount of the artists I like seem to hail from Texas so Leon Bridges is the latest for me - check him out!
"...you never really know how things are going to sound further down the line when you bring something precious into a full band environment."
Do you plan to release any visuals for the album?
Yes! We have a trippy live music video we recorded for the single and the plan is to release that a couple of weeks after the single release. I can’t wait to share it.
How has the pandemic changed the way you interact with your listeners?
We would’ve normally done some gigs before we went into the studio and probably done a launch show but because that’s not been possible it’s almost reversed the whole process. We’ve gone about things back to front this time but it feels nice to have a recorded catalogue of songs under our belt at such an early stage. Live- streaming hasn’t been something that’s appealed to me very much but it does seem to be one of the best ways for artists to reach their audiences at the moment.
What do you most look forward to doing once restrictions have fully lifted?
I’m looking forward to just catching up with mates and chatting nonsense in the pub together. My biggest love outside of music is travel so I’m hopeful I’ll be able to travel to some far-flung destination with just a backpack and no solid plans for a few months in the not so distant future once again too.
What advice would you give to someone who may want to pursue a career in music?
Listen to as much music as you can, try to develop your ear as much as possible and try to be as honest as you can in what you’re doing. I think most listeners have a good bullshit radar and they know when you’re faking it. If you want to make original music then try not to pander to anyone else’s expectations and don’t follow trends just for the sake of it. As cheesy and cliche as it is - be yourself!
What is the best advice you have ever received?
“No more than one and a half pints before hitting the stage!” I also remember nervously meeting one of my favourite guitarists at the time, Philip Sayce, after a show in Glasgow a few years back and asked him to sign a poster for me. He wrote; “Play it from the heart and soul, always!” and I don’t think you can go wrong with that.
Check out Laurence Murray Project's debut single 'Providence' in the link down below!
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