David Murphy takes the pedal steel guitar outside the confines of its traditional roots with frequent ventures into a range of genres, spanning Americana and folk to ambient, experimental music and film soundtracks and is best known for his work with artists such as The Lost Brothers, John Blek, Ordnance Survey, Arborist, The Delines, Willy Vlautin, M.Ward and Jolie Holland amongst others.
2024 sees Murphy take his first steps out of the shadows as a solo artist with the release of his own full-length studio album ‘Cuimhne Ghlinn: Explorations in Irish Music for Pedal Steel Guitar’ on the Rollercoaster Records label. This continues his quest to expand the vocabulary of the instrument and take it in new and exciting directions.
Murphy’s all-instrumental debut album recasts ancient Irish harp tunes and historic airs by O’Carolan, O’Riada et al into the 21st century, voiced by the mysterious, emotive and swelling sound of the pedal steel guitar. Supported by an all-star cast of musicians from across contemporary, modern-classical and folk worlds, the pedal steel ably takes its place within an ensemble featuring cello, violin, piano, harp, uilleann pipes and lush electronic textures and synths. Across 40 minutes, the album conjures a palette of sparse, dreamlike, atmospheric soundscapes and stirring, cinematic takes of these culturally significant compositions and melodies from Ireland’s great harpers, composers and song collectors. This record promises to be a must-listen for fans of pedal steel guitar, atmospheric soundtracks, traditional Irish music, contemporary experimental, ambient and modern-classical music. It features a diverse cast of supporting musicians including Peter Broderick (Efterklang, Erased Tapes), Steve Wickham (The Waterboys, Sinead O’Connor, U2), Laura McFadden (Arborist), Aisling Urwin (Woven Kin), Alannah Thornburgh, Rory McCarthy (Notify), Mark McCausland (The Lost Brothers), Anthony Ruby, Cory Gray (The Delines, The Decemberists) and Graham Heaney (Saint Sister) amongst others. On his vision for the album, Murphy says: “The pedal steel guitar has unique timbre, tuning and tonal capabilities. It offers rich sustain, swelling glissando and the ability to bend expressive and mournful notes that merge seamlessly and elastically into changing chords. Its unmistakable, crying sound is identified on hundreds of acclaimed records in folk and country genres. In the 21st century, it has continued its evolution into electronica, ambient and experimental music realms. With this record, my objective was to take the instrument away from its excursions across well-worn roads through the dusty American south and southwest and deeper into a world much closer to home and, for the very first time, present it in a modern Irish framework.”
“Irish traditional rendered ghostly by washes of pedal steel and almost subliminal piano… widescreen and structured, like an early Celtic Ólafur Arnalds… 8/10” UNCUT
“A sonic experiment of narcotic enchantment… blossoming with old world charm in luminous modernity.” SONGLINES – ALBUM OF THE MONTH *****
“An intriguing proposition… very moving, at times oddly Balearic, the Hawaiian roots of his warm pitch-shifting instrument spangling through.” THE GUARDIAN
“An incredibly confident debut album. Balanced against its elegance and the dreamlike sound of his pedal steel is a quietly adventurous spirit that is beautifully judged and unpretentious – an extraordinarily great album.” KLOF MAGAZINE
“A brave and pioneering undertaking… a landmark in ambient Irish traditional music”
LONESOME HIGHWAY
“Gives a unique and new life to traditional Irish melodies, with ethereal effect”
IRISH EXAMINER
“Sensational… deliciously sun-drenched and weary”
BBC NIGHT TRACKS
“Murphy and collaborators have fashioned something new and authentic, building lush, full-band renditions around swelling, heart-aching reaches into Ireland’s musical psyche”
EVENING ECHO (TOP 10 IRISH ALBUMS 2024)
“TOP 5 IRISH ALBUMS 2024”
THE THIN AIR
“Contemporary classical compositions that bask in the pedal steel’s humming glow and bridge it comfortably into the Irish canon… totally at home in its expansion of traditional forms.”
ANOIS, OS ARD
