James Murray - Floods

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4...according to our Dave on Wed 25 Jan, 2012.

I quite like this guy. He's an artist I respect and admire. I reckon he's a bit like a modern day Mike Oldfield.
Do I own any of his records? No. Do I listen to his music? No, but the fact that he's doing it and he's out there is enough for me. He grew up on a Welsh flood plain, and witnessed first-hand the unbridled destructive power of nature...and Thatcherism of course. This LP is also an attempt to reconcile Messr Murray's own personal floods. You know, the floods of mental waters that rise to submerge the will. This LP doesn't start like a torrent, it sort of ebbs towards the listener, with fragile electronics and bubbling ambience. Track 2 reminded me loads of “Tubular Bells”. It almost has the same chord progression and has very much the same feel. The rest of the LP swims these same waters to reasonably good effect. It's a delicate gentle offering that reminds you that nature cannot be contained and neither can some Welshmen's loop pedals

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On the flood plain where James Murray grew up, twin rivers rose each
winter fed by rainfall from nearby Welsh mountains. Breaking their banks
they swept over pastures and hedgerows, tore at the fabric of the land
and isolated villages. In a makeshift studio on high ground, James first
explored sound using scavenged instruments and homemade electronics.
“Floods” is a return to that landscape, an acknowledgment of its impact on
James' nature and a celebration of the destructive and regenerative power
of the waters. It is also an attempt by the artist to reconcile with his own
personal floods, those mental waters that rise to submerge the will, that
can at times be opposed and must at others be allowed to overwhelm.
James Murray's delicate music is genre indifferent, emotionally charged
and meticulously produced. He first found favour with pioneering label
em:t records before releasing the critically acclaimed “Where Edges Meet”
in 2008. “Floods” is the second release for Slowcraft Records, a new
platform for unhurried, unusual productions of integrity, honesty and depth.