Happy new year and welcome back to AUK! What a way to start 2026. Immerse yourself in the moody soundscapes of ‘The Defeat of the Spanish Armada’ by Seven Crows, the side project of virtuoso violinist and self-taught multi-instrumentalist Chris Murphy. Murphy is known for blending and bending genres, using sustained live loops and layers to create something entirely new. His inventive use of the violin, folding sounds and textures together, strumming, plucking and bowing to contrast sweeping, elongated notes with urgent, furtive flourishes while forming melodic rhythm patterns, is truly compelling, especially in his live shows. Through his Seven Crows moniker, Murphy seeks the cinematic, evoking feelings, places and spaces for ambient soundtracks and moulding musical worlds.
In ‘The Defeat of the Spanish Armada’, the sense of drama and steadily building tension is palpable, transporting you from your everyday to the swelling waves, billowing sails, and blustering winds of ships at sea. Murphy aims to tell the story, generating feeling and atmosphere, just with the power and versatility of his violin. This is music that moves you, hugely atmospheric and enchanting, a sonic narrative that evokes empires and nations as they rise and fall, exploring history through rhythm and currents of melody. The expansive sound is reinforced by the wide-open spaces and big skies in the video, which was made by film-maker Edith Held from Berlin; the artful video adds to the feeling of immersion in Murphy’s musically-created world.
‘The Defeat of the Spanish Armada’ features on the forthcoming Seven Crows album “Powers of Observation”, which is due on 24th April 2026. Every sound and note on the album was created with Murphy’s 5-string electric violin and an array of guitar pedals. Pulling together influences and inspiration from classical, jazz, electronic, world music, and experimental traditions, Murphy has crafted an album of immersive, haunting musical stories, melodic worlds to explore and be absorbed by. This is the follow-up to the acclaimed 2023 Seven Crows album “Secrets of Navigation”; the Seven Crows project continues to grow, ever more expansive, ever more adventurous and cinematic. For a sense of Chris Murphy’s electric, energetic live shows while you wait for the new record, 2025’s “Live in England” is a wonderful introduction to an incredibly charismatic, engaging performer. Be absorbed.
