A debut self-titled EP created completely by one man.
The most beautiful thing about D.I.Y. music is that almost anyone can put a special project together themselves and then a random dude can tell their friends, “This is just one guy!” when they play it.
Now I’m one of those people after discovering this mysterious Melbourne musician while listening through submissions for our New Music Radar lists, something that’s become one of my favourite parts of the job.
A few seconds into ‘SEER-sha’, Murray’s strange, deeply personal brand of instrumental rock had already pulled me in.
Evahfar is the brand new project from multi-instrumentalist Stephen Murray, who previously went under the instrumental rock moniker, Sun Raven.
Compared to his previous efforts, Murray dives into a more diverse sound with hauntingly beautiful melodic vocalisation over shoegazey and grungey indie rock production.
The EP, titled ‘Evahfar’, is the world’s first introduction to this new sound, with five tracks and 16 minutes that are equal parts dreamy and equal parts energetic.
Evahfar’s opener, ‘SEER-sha’ is an introduction that thrusts the listener right into hypnotic madness with rhythmic guitars, bass and drums while Murray enters the space with melodic moans similar to the nature of artists like Jeff Buckley that has rarely been seen in the Australian music scene currently.
The track continues the energetic pace until a brief respite of only guitars hold an intimate space, which is then abruptly ended by a beautiful crashing cacophony of noise while Murray chants ‘Seer-sha’.
Could this be a former lover? Some cosmic deity? Or both?
The stand-out track, ‘Pink Goddess’, continues the same mystical songwriting from before, but instead hovers over post-punk guitars and funky bass.
It’s an all out ride that never slows down, not even so you can hold your breath.
However, this chance comes with ‘Vines’, an intimate track that is mostly dominated by a lead guitar and the occasional interjections of acoustic.
Murray’s vocals are able to hold more space, leading the listener into a dreamy and hazy D.I.Y. mix which is concluded by shakers and a guitar solo that feels straight out of the desert shown on the EP’s cover.
‘Chalo’ continues the dream-like production with a mostly instrumental tune that is reminiscent of his prior projects.
But this time, Evahfar adds his now signature ability to create deeply powerful emotion with just his hums, moans and shrieks.
The EP concludes with ‘Shadow Falls’, another spacious and reflective soundscape that takes music back to its primordial roots with just vocals and a guitar.
While being the most stripped back track on the project, it offers a calming bookend to this exciting new chapter in Murray’s musical journey.
Another beautiful thing about the D.I.Y. scene is that it’s so hard to pinpoint what comes next in an artist’s discography.
The exciting rush of the endless unknowns and possibilities makes Evahfar one to keep on the radar.
New listeners can head to his Spotify and Instagram.
