Secrets of Navigation

The Los Angelesbased violinist Chris Murphy has self-released a prolific raft of albums under his own name on his Teahouse label in a variety of styles spanning folk, country and bluegrass. Recorded in the Arizona desert, his Seven Crows project takes a different turn. An all-instrumental set that draws on a vast array of influences including Morricone, ambient, drone, post-rock, contemporary classical, Celtic and a touch of Augustus Pablo-style dub, Secrets of Navigation takes us on a cinematic voyage across an imaginary landscape of vast open spaces and a sky that goes on forever.

He plucks the strings of his violin for syncopation, bows mesmeric lyrical phrases and hypnotic melodies, adds shimmering sustained lines and refracts it all through reverb and wah-wah peddles as he layers his soundscapes into an eerily beautiful symphony in which his violin at times sounds variously like a pipe organ, birdsong, bagpipes, trumpet and melodica. The nearest analogue might be the work of his fellow violinist Warren Ellis with the Dirty Three, but Secrets of Navigation is a unique compositional journey that takes us to places previously unvisited.