Singer-songwriter Crystal Murray is not afraid to put everything into her music and live shows, mixing genres and emotions to create a distinct artistry that is all her own. Ahead of the release of her debut album, she speaks with The Forumist.
Two years ago, French-American singer-songwriter Crystal Murray had just released her extended EP Twisted Bases, and when she was interviewed by The Forumist at that time, she expressed her wish not to be put in a box defining her work. Now, as her debut full-length album Sad Lovers and Giants hits the shelves, Crystal’s artistic development and continued freedom seems channeled through three words she likes to use when describing her artistry: growth, evolution and progression.
“I believe humans and creatives are in a constant evolution of themselves, their taste, their visions of things, of the world,” she says, explaining how she has started “finding beauty in duality. Duality of emotions. Answers in rage, beauty in darkness, sadness in growth.”
Opposites attract in Crystal’s universe. Both sentiments and musical styles are experimentally combined in the storytelling that drives her new record.
“Sad Lovers and Giants is an exploration of contrasting emotions,” Crystal explains. “It’s a combination of melancholy or sadness, represented by ‘Sad Lovers’, and a sense of grandeur or magnitude, represented by ‘Giants’. I wanted to find a name that could remind you of a fairy tale, but not any kind of tale. The one for adults where the truth unfolds.”
The musical freedom of Twisted Bases has permeated Crystal’s fresh work, as well. With the truthful, mature narration on Sad Lovers and Giants, it is made clear that the genre-expanding path is one that comes completely naturally to her.
“I think on this one I finally made people understand that it’s a choice, and I’m finally breaking free of the boxes that I was once put in. It also fits with the subject of duality. The duality of emotions, and the duality of genres.”
Crystal Murray’s talent is best understood when experienced in a live setting. Luckily, she performs and tours frequently. For anyone who hasn’t had the chance to catch one of her shows, Crystal says it’s quite difficult to explain how they work. But she gives it a pretty good try: “It’s a FULL-ON SHOW. I’m giving you tears, sex, anger, love, lust. A mix of R&B with shoegaze, pop rock, trip hop. It’s a real roller-coaster ride, but everything makes sense together!”
Just like opposites being drawn together like magnets, some things don’t seem to make sense as a pairing at first, until you see her perform. An excellent example of Crystal’s vision being actualized is the video for ‘STARMANIAK’, one of the strongest tracks off of her album.
“I like the idea of writing a song that can connect on every level, it can be personal for each individual, this idea of an ‘adult tale’, a tale with no lie,” Crystal says when describing the creative process behind ‘STARMANIAK’. “In this dystopian universe that we live in, the lyrics of this song came very naturally to me, like I found vulnerability in this rage. The words are raw, not poetic, like if I was talking to you. It’s quite direct.”
When translating the rawness of the album track into video format, Crystal worked closely with creative soulmates to achieve the striking outcome: “The idea of doing something bizarre came from Stephy Galvani, my artistic director, and myself. The song came from somewhere so pure and real that I didn’t want to make a visual just to look good, we wanted something that makes you uncomfortable and makes you re-watch the video to understand where it comes from. We pitched the idea to Charlotte Wales and she brought it to a whole other level, that was visual, smart, and slick. It was exactly what I wanted.”
What Crystal wants often seems to come out of experimentation. Testing and investigating the limits of the given world and of the creative mindset. And not only when it comes to music. “I’ve always loved playing around with visuals and my style. Making visuals that weren’t expected for me to do is always where I will go,” she says, before she shares a quote from fashion creator and artist Martin Margiela: “The ritual of dressing is a composition of the self with our body as a canvas, we build an exterior expressive of the interior: a form of emotion.”
Other sources of inspiration are the femme fatales of pop culture. For example, Crystal mentions a lengthy fascination with Catwoman. “I’ve been obsessing over lots of female fighters,” she confesses, and reveals that the inspiration for the track ‘PAYBACK’ mainly came from Lady Snowblood, a 1973 Japanese vendetta film.
Since Twisted Bases, Crystal has moved from Paris to London, a change that has perhaps made its mark on her artistic and personal growth, evolution and progression.
“So much beauty and new ideas come about when you move to a city you don’t know. It’s challenging, and sometimes a bit lonely. But this warmth and excitement of the unknown is so inspiring to me, the love that London has for music is the feeling I was looking for. I have this familiarity of music being a part of me, of my family, my blood. London has that in the roots of each and every individual or ethnicity.”
As Crystal herself put it above, the world can appear to be a dystopian place in these troubled and troubling times. When asked for her thoughts on how we can overcome the challenges of our day together, Crystal’s answer is straight forward and realistic, but nevertheless uplifting. “It scares me. The future scares me. But I’m a believer in art and hard work. I believe in my career, visions, and music.”
The key can be self-belief, without forgetting the artistic beauty the world has to offer. And without closing your eyes to your surroundings. “The more I navigate the world the more I realize how artists need to be aware of what’s happening around us. What the people need right now is to heal, but the healing process is not there yet. So, for now we fight, we share, we create and try to believe in a better tomorrow.”
Talent: Crystal Murray
Team Credits:
Words by Filip Lindström
Photography by Nikolaz Le Coq
Styling by Barbara Boucard
Makeup by Caroline Joos
Hair by Lucile Bertrand
Stylist assistant: Leonie Olmos
Fashion Credits:
1) Top and wool knit panties by MM6, Underbra by Her Senses, Waders by Untitled19
2) Shirt by Untitled19, Earrings by Florence Moorhead
3) Coat by Untitled19, Jumpsuit and Necklace by Vivienne Westwood. Shoes by MM6, Rings Crystals own
4) Full look by Ottolinger , Shoes by Empty Behavior, Rings Crystals own.
5) Top and legging by Keta Gutmane, Shoes by Empty Behavior, Necklace by Danna Merveille
6) Shirt by Vivienne Westwood
7-10) Top and legging by Keta Gutmane, Shoes by Empty Behavior, Necklace by Danna Merveill
11) Corset by Vivienne Westwood, Panties by MM6, Shoes by Miista, Rings Crystals own
12)Full look by Vivienne Westwood, Rings Crystals own