Chris Murray (born September 26, 1966) is a Canadian-singer-songwriter and guitarist working primarily in the genre of

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

. In Canada, he was a member of the now-defunct ska band

King Apparatus King Apparatus was a Canadian third wave ska band, active in the early 1990s."King Apparatus: They're back" ...

during the late 1980s and early 1990s. He now lives in the Los Angeles, California area, where he performs regularly, both solo as well as with the Chris Murray Combo. From 2003 until the venue's closure in 2009, Murray organized a weekly ska/reggae show called "The Bluebeat Lounge" which featured both local and out of town artists every Wednesday at the

Knitting Factory The Knitting Factory is a nightclub in New York City that features eclectic music and entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United States. The Knitting Factory gave its audience poetry readings, perform ...

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

. Murray recorded ''

Slackness Slackness refers to vulgarity in West Indian culture, behavior, and music. It also refers to a subgenre of dancehall music with straightforward sexual lyrics performed live or recorded. Its form and pronunciation varies throughout the Caribbean. ...

'', a collaboration with the seminal New York City ska band

The Slackers The Slackers are an American ska band, formed in Manhattan, New York in 1991. The band's sound is a mix of ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub, soul, garage rock, and jazz. The Slackers' notability is credited to their prolific career, tours of Nort ...

. The 11-song album features Murray singing lead vocals on new arrangements of his solo material, as well as some entirely new songs and a cover of

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

's "Janie Jones". Murray has performed throughout North America, Europe, Japan, Korea, and South America, sharing the stage with acts including

The Specials The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English Two-tone (music genre), 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall (singer), Terr ...

and

Laurel Aitken Lorenzo "Laurel" Aitken (22 April 1927 – 17 July 2005) was an influential Caribbean singer and one of the pioneers of Jamaican ska music. He is often referred to as the "Godfather of Ska". Career Born in Cuba of mixed Cuban and Jamaican desc ...

. He is known for the informal atmosphere of his live shows, during which his set list is determined almost exclusively by live requests from audience members. Murray has released three CDs on the

Asian Man Records Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

label: ''4-Trackaganza!'', ''Raw'', and ''4-Track Adventures of Venice Shoreline Chris''. His CDs are often recorded with a four-track tape recorder, giving a distinctly low

fidelity Fidelity is the quality of faithfulness or loyalty. Its original meaning regarded duty in a broader sense than the related concept of ''fealty''. Both derive from the Latin word ''fidēlis'', meaning "faithful or loyal". In the City of London f ...

sound. ''Raw'' is especially lo-fi, as it was recorded on a hand-held

walkman Walkman, stylised as , is a brand of portable audio players manufactured and marketed by Japanese technology company Sony since 1979. The original Walkman was a portable cassette player and its popularity made "walkman" an unofficial term for ...

. In late 2009, it was announced that Chris Murray had signed to

Sonic Boom Six Sonic Boom Six (often shortened to SB6) are an English five-piece band from Manchester, United Kingdom. Their eclectic sound combines different elements of several genres and has been described by ''Kerrang!'' as "taking ska, pop, grime, dubs ...

's Rebel Alliance record label for the UK.

References

External links

Chris Murray official site

Chris Murray audio and video

Chris Murray on CBC Radio3

from Asian Man Records site
The Ruckus – Audio Interview with Chris Murray from March 2009

Interviews

(2006) {{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Chris 1966 births Living people Canadian ska music Canadian rock singers Canadian male singers Canadian singer-songwriters Canadian rock guitarists Canadian male guitarists Canadian expatriate musicians in the United States Musicians from Toronto Canadian male singer-songwriters