Unrestrained By the Conventional, Crystal Murray Explores the Beauty of Taboo
☆ By JAMIE IMPERIAL ☆
PULLING YOU IN TO HANG ON TO HER EVERY WORD — Parisian singer-songwriter Crystal Murray’s has a magnetic personality, compounding with her unique sound as she evokes comparisons to R&B powerhouses such as Erykah Badu and Amy Winehouse. But Murray throws in her own flavor to the mix, creating something wholly captivating and unique. An artist in every sense of the word, she draws inspiration from growing up in Paris with a very musical family. Her sound is the proud result of descending from generations of Black music, with roots in gospel, soul, jazz, and Afro-Cuban influences.
Her latest single, “Creeps,” featuring UK rapper Elheist, is the latest installment of her Hotel Room Drama video series, which she filmed this year in apartments across Paris and Portugal. The haunting single harnesses hypnotic trap beats that make you feel like you’ve been transported to a smoky club in Europe, partying with people who refuse to conform to society’s norms.
In an interview with Schön, Crystal explains her inspiration for the single, which is based on one of her real-life experiences: “‘Creeps’ is a song I wrote after a party me and my friend ‘crashed.’ The people were very close-minded [and] the music had no drums. The minute we started playing our music and opening up the room to another vibe that was more colourful and open, everyone started dancing.”
With the video for “Creeps,” Murray celebrates diversity by finding power in the feeling of being “different.” In the same interview, she goes on to explain, “The party became fun, and as a result of the music change, we became the center of attention. People really looked at us like we were something different and something that they had never seen before. There is always a moment where you feel different when you’re a person of color. I wanted to bring more beauty to this kind of situation, calling ourselves words like ‘freaks’ and ‘creeps’ because we’re not ashamed of being different. And in the end, we’re the ones making you move, and we are what you love!”
During our interview, Murray’s confidence radiated through the camera as we enjoyed a leisurely chat before she went off to lunch with her father. At just 20 years old, Murray has already lived a colorful life: she got an early start in the public eye as a young, fashionable teen when she and three of her friends started taking photos of themselves in thrifted outfits. They posted the outfits on Instagram, back when the platform was first taking off.
Quickly gaining an obsessive following with their vintage, thrifted style and cool aesthetics, they jokingly called themselves Gucci Gang, before the media picked up the name and ran with it (note: this was pre-Lil Pump!). They were influencers before the word was even invented, although Murray emphasizes that she doesn’t like being labeled as such (though she respects what they do). As a result, the fashion quartet got invited to all the cool parties and fashion shows in Paris. Murray herself started DJing at clubs when she was 14, having a blast while getting to hang out with her best friends.
However, as the group grew up, they realized that they wanted to expand beyond Instagram and started focusing instead on deeply important causes. They started Safe Place, a platform dedicated to breaking taboos and uplifting women. “We started when I was 14 [to] talk about taboos that we had in our society,” Murray explains. “It was before the #MeToo movement and all that, so it was really a moment where we felt as [young] girls, we couldn't really talk about our sexuality and problems in our intimacy and all that.” The four are very much still friends, and continue to work on the Safe Space platform as well as their own individual projects.
Murray began working on her own musical career and in 2019 she came out with her first single, “Princess,” a delightful and playful melody that has gotten over 1 million streams on Spotify. She released her first EP I Was Wrong in 2020, which features her popular single “Easy Like Before.” Listening to her tracks, it’s incredibly easy to fall in love with her sound. She has an incredible way with words, and her lyricism is poetic and creative — and above all, super catchy.
However, Murray is already ready to put her first EP behind her, describing it as a “draft” of her true sound. The first installment in her Hotel Room Drama video series was her single “Good Girl Gone Bad” featuring Dian, which was written as a direct opposition to “I Was Wrong.” Listening to the two, the difference in expression is distinct. With the Hotel Room Drama series, Murray is offering an exciting taste of what’s to come.
As Murray evolves through her music, she continues to level up. “The project that I'm going to come out [with] in September is really me discovering my roots,” she elaborates. “I'm really digging into all the influences that I’ve seen and liked and loved.” She cites influences from Rihanna’s ANTI, Betty Davis, Kelis, N.E.R.D., and many more.
“You can't even really put it in [a] box — I don't want to be put in a box!” Murray says. “I want my songs to be classed by emotions. I want my songs to be classed like … [this one is] sadness. This is happiness. This is anger. For me, emotionally, I know that it makes sense with who I am really today.”
It’s really impossible to even think of putting Murray’s unique sound in a box, as that uniqueness is where the beauty of her music lies. I’m as excited as I know others are to see how her career will evolve from here.
Be on the lookout for further installments of the Hotel Room Drama series, and the release of her new project in September.
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