By Cédric Vernet 
A few days after his concert at the Nuit du Blues in Cabannes, where he once again seemed to prove that time has little hold over him, Elliott Murphy speaks to Blues Actu about a new period in his career. From Aquashow Deconstructed to Daylight, through the growing role of his son Gaspard in the creative process and his current way of writing and recording, the American songwriter offers a fascinating reflection on more than ten years of creation. And that is not all: we also asked Olivier Durand, his travelling companion for the past 30 years, to tell us about Elliott.
🎙️ Elliott Murphy in interview with Cédric Vernet
More than ten years after your first appearance in Cabannes, you returned to the arena tonight. How do you feel after a concert like this?
After every concert, I feel a sense of purpose to my life. Being on stage is the most meaningful and natural part of my professional life. I’ve been performing shows like we did in Cabannes for well over 50 years so you could say I live a large portion of my life on a stage with a microphone and guitar.
I remember back to the early days of my career where I was opening for many blues legends such as John Lee Hooker and Albert King and these guys seemed so old to me at the time although the truth is they were much younger than I am today. And at the time, I wondered why they stayed out on the road night after night, putting up with all the discomforts of the travel to get from gig to gig.
But now I understand because to have that relation with the public is about as life affirming as it gets, and you could say I’m addicted to it. In a word, after a concert like Cabannes I feel … grateful.
One thing that really struck me tonight was the contrast between the atmosphere of your records, sometimes very intimate, and the energy you bring to the stage. Your songs seem to take on a new life in front of an audience. How do you approach that transition from the studio to the stage?
Well, when you’re in a recording studio there’s no doubt that it’s a very intimate experience, very internal in an emotional context with no audience to please. You could say it’s almost like a form of therapy, whereas the concert experience is totally external with no time for soul searching – it just happens!
The two hours that I’m on stage is like being in some kind of race, from start to finish and I’m concentrating on remembering the words and chords and arrangements and trying to get the most out of my voice and guitar and never lose contact with the public who paid for their tickets because I owe it to them to be the best Elliott Murphy I can be during that time.
And the songs, if they’re eternal, easily adapt to the excitement of the moment when this magic third element – the public – comes into the mix. That’s where the fuel for that miraculous on-stage energy comes from.
You know, there’s a saying among musicians that the better the sound-check, the worse the show! So I keep my sound checks short. In fact, I let my band sound check for me in Cabannes so I could rest before the show.
On stage, you’re never alone. Melissa Cox, Alan Fatras and, of course, Olivier Durand seem to bring much more than musical backing. What does each of them contribute to your music today?
Olivier, Alan and Melissa were probably involved in the original recording of at least half of the songs of my set in Cabannes so they all have a personal musical investment as well.
This band is perhaps the best and most flexible I’ve ever had and that’s due to the incredible musicianship of each of them and the years of experience playing together. Olivier has been playing with me for 30 years, Alan for 20 years and Melissa for 10 years. That’s a lot of stage time trying to get it right.
In Cabannes we performed “Blind Willie McTell” for the first time with no rehearsal. That shows how organic our musical growth has evolved.
That was incredible, your version was really successful! You’ve been sharing the stage with Olivier Durand for almost thirty years. Watching you tonight, I had the feeling that you hardly even need to speak to understand each other anymore. What makes that musical connection so special?
I’m 17 years older than Olivier but we share a multitude of cross-generational musical roots: Dylan, Tom Waits, The Rolling Stones and of course, all kinds of blues. So that makes it very easy to communicate on any musical level.
And Olivier is a phenomenal guitarist with a very strong set of hands so he can play in just about any style I ask him to. Remember he’s playing an acoustic guitar with much heavier strings then on any Strat or Les Paul and yet he makes that instrument sing effortlessly.
I call him the Jimi Hendrix of the acoustic guitar and that’s not far from the truth. In my opinion he’s the most exciting French guitarist alive today. He gets standing ovations for his solos all around the world.
And we’ve written quite a few songs together too so he instinctively feels my songs and arrangements in a way I can’t describe. He’s the most glorious musical partner I’ve ever had. 30 years already – I hope we’re at the half way point!
“Kind of like a perfect storm.”
In 2015, you released Aquashow Deconstructed. While preparing this interview, I had the feeling that this album marked the beginning of a new chapter in your career. It wasn’t simply a new version of Aquashow. It was also the moment when your son Gaspard began to play a central role in your creative process. Looking back, do you see Aquashow Deconstructed as a real turning point?
“Aquashow Deconstructed” was originally the idea of Patrick Mathe who owned and directed the independent French labels New Rose and later Last Call Records and who released many of my albums in France.
Patrick always thought that the original Aquashow did not get the promotion it deserved from Polydor so he encouraged me to re-record the songs from that album (which came out in 1973) and then my son Gaspard started developing into a very talented producer and mixer so the time was right. Kind of like a perfect storm.
I never thought about it before but you might be right about it being a turning point. Sadly, Patrick passed away a few years ago and I miss him dearly. He was a genuine music man and there’s not many left …
Looking back over the past ten years, you’ve released Aquashow Deconstructed, The Tree of Life, Infinity and more recently Daylight. It feels as though you’ve moved away from the traditional album cycle once imposed by the record industry. How do you decide today when a project is ready to be released?
These days my songwriting, recording and releases are very instinctive in nature – there’s no schedule although I like to have a new album ready for my “birthday shows” at New Morning in Paris every March. I have to admit that I like the freedom that Spotify and other streaming platforms have given me because I can record a song and it’s out on Spotify just a few weeks later.
When I was on major labels there was always a long delay between when a record would be finished and when it was released, and it use to drive me crazy.
Within just a few months, you’ve released One of a Thousand Hellos, Signs of Summer, Daylight, And the Vietnam War and 44 Motorcycles (Just for Today). The year before, there was already The Tree of Life. From the outside, it almost feels as though you publish songs the way a writer publishes short stories. Do some songs simply refuse to wait for the next album?
I suppose all of those songs will become part of a future album or albums. If I can compare myself to a painter, the album format is my canvas and my recordings cover that canvas like paint.
But I think that way because I came of age in an era when albums and especially rock ‘n’ roll albums began to be looked upon as real works of art – more a part of culture than show business.
Honestly, I don’t think that true anymore because we live in a singles mentality much like it was in the 50’s. Music is just part of the Entertainment world now and it’s entangled in films and TV and everything else. And I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing …
I smiled when I heard Signs of Summer. About ten years ago, David Gilmour turned the famous French railway jingle into Rattle That Lock. You use the same setting, railway platforms and high-speed trains, but you turn it into a song full of humour and self-irony. I have the feeling you’ve allowed yourself more freedom and playfulness in recent years. Am I right?
The good news is that I can basically record whenever I want and release songs and albums whenever I want as well. That’s quite a temptation because sometimes when my muse is really with me and I’m quite prolific and feel that all-encompassing energy I would like to release a new song every week.
“Signs of Summer” is part of a side project I’m doing with Olivier Durand and Melissa Cox based upon a book of poetry I released some years ago. I recorded the poems myself and then asked Olivier and Melissa to come up with the music and the results are quite impressive I think.
More to come …
In 2024, you recorded Tout va bien with Cali. Once again, it was a collaboration that few people would have expected. How did that meeting come about?
And I didn’t expect it as well! I met Cali at a movie premiere and he was such a spontaneous and cool guy that he invited me to visit him at a recording studio a few days later and immediately asked me to record this duet on “Tout va bien” on the spot!
It’s a collaboration that I’m very proud of because I admire Cali greatly and one of the few things I’ve done with a French artist. I’d like to do more …
At the end of that song, you sing in French: “I examine this body approaching the age of 74, worn out, tired, but still standing.” What have the passing years taught you about yourself?
Well I’ve 77 now and still feel pretty fit. Some years ago I accepted my status as a fairly successful touring singer-songwriter and musician but without the vast support system that similar artists my age enjoy and that makes their touring life much easier than mine.
You see, I still pack and carry my own bags and change the strings on my Taylor guitar every three shows. I also do vocal training on a daily basis because once the voice goes the career is kaput.
You asked what the years have taught me about myself? Probably that I have more endurance in me than I ever imagined!
“Literature is my religion and rock ‘n’ roll is my addiction …”
Tonight you paid a moving tribute to Lou Reed, before closing the show, as you mentioned on stage, with Blind Willie McTell by Bob Dylan. These artists have been with you throughout your life. What have they left in you, both as a musician and as a man?
I’m often referred to as a “literary” singer-songwriter as if that’s unusual. I once wrote that “Literature is my religion and rock ‘n’ roll is my addiction” and I’ll continue to stand by that statement till my dying day.
I reject the notion that the lyrics of popular songs should be limited to repeating banal love songs over and over. That’s why I champion not only Lou Reed and Bob Dylan but Leonard Cohen as well.
At the moment I’m recording a cover of a song by Future Islands because I think their lyrics are extraordinary too. It gives me hope for the future.
You’ve lived in France for more than thirty years. You were made a Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters, and a large part of your body of work has been created here. At what point did France become more than simply a country you chose to live in?
It’s kind of ironic because when I was young California was my ideal. Hollywood, surfing, customized cars, the Beach Boys… that was the dream.
But as I grew older I discovered that France is a country deeply rooted in history. Here, youth isn’t worshipped in quite the same way it is in America. It’s respected, of course, but experience is respected too. I have to admit that I like that very much.
Receiving the insignia of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters was one of the greatest honours of my life. Adults need recognition too, and I never imagined I would receive such an award. I keep the medal in my safe. I don’t know if I’ll ever wear it again, but I know it’s there, and that’s enough for me.
And yet your music has always remained deeply American. What has distance taught you about the United States?
America is like a giant lighthouse capable of shining its beam a great distance but never seeing what’s at its own feet.
The blues is a perfect example. Like jazz, it’s almost sacred in France and throughout much of Europe, whereas in the United States I sometimes feel it has gradually slipped into obscurity.
That’s one of the reasons I wrote “Blues Responsibility” back in the 1980s: to remind rock musicians how much they owe to the blues.
I’ve now lived in Paris for more than thirty-five years. I know I’ll never become French because culture is something you’re born into. But when I go back to the United States these days, I sometimes feel like a stranger there, as though I’d stepped through a time warp.
People often say that expatriates feel most at home when they’re no longer at home. That’s exactly how I feel.
Before playing Blind Willie McTell, you told the audience: “This song tells the story of the blues… and tonight we’re here for the blues.” After more than fifty years of writing songs and performing on stage, what does the blues represent for you in 2026?
The twelve-bar structure that underpins most blues songs remains, to me, unbeatable. There’s a perfect synchronization between the harmonic progression, the melody and the space it gives guitarists to express themselves.
Whenever I discover a blues guitarist I didn’t know before, I feel that same excitement. That happened again in Cabannes with Carolyn Wonderland, who was on the bill with us. She’s an absolute force of nature with an incredible emotional power.
“Perhaps I’m now living the third act of my career.”
When I look at the past ten years of your career, I have the feeling they opened a new chapter rather than closed a book. Do you share that impression?
There’s a documentary about my life called The Second Act of Elliott Murphy, which you can find on YouTube. Taking part in that film was a very important experience for me.
It helped me understand and finally accept that my destiny was probably to be an American living in Paris, an expatriate artist continuing to send his songs out into the world from a distant country.
And perhaps now I’m living the third act of my career.
Among all the songs you’ve written during this period, which one best reflects the man you’ve become today?
I’d like to think it’s A Touch of Kindness.
Finally, are there already new songs, a new album or other projects travelling with you down the road?
Too many to mention! My fans have been asking me for more live albums for years, and we’ve just released Le Havre Live. There will definitely be more live records to come.
And then there’s an entire family of songs that still exists only in my head. They’re simply waiting for the right moment to be born… God willing and the creek don’t rise.
🎸 Elliott through Olivier Durand‘s eyes: “He knows how to live with his times”
Throughout our conversation, Elliott Murphy often mentioned Olivier Durand. Thirty years of concerts, recording sessions and life on the road have created a rare musical bond. So we asked the French guitarist to tell us, in turn, about the man he has been playing alongside for nearly three decades.
Olivier, you’ve been playing alongside Elliott since 1996. After nearly thirty years of concerts, tours and recording sessions together, how do you see his evolution, both as a musician and as a man?
My view of Elliott’s evolution is one of admiration.
He knows how to live with his times, accept what life brings him, learn from others and appreciate how fortunate he is to still be touring and recording today. He values his fans more and more, and they have become like a second family to him. All of this has made him more serene.
I knew Elliott as a father, and now he’s a grandfather. Since I reached that stage before him, I can even give him a few tips…
Being a touring musician is a privilege. We travel, meet other musicians, discover new audiences, and all of that is incredibly enriching. It feeds us, inspires us and helps keep us young.
Both the man and the musician have gained all of that richness over the years.
“He listens to my songs and shares his ideas with me.”
Over the past decade, many people have felt that Elliott has entered a particularly prolific period, with acclaimed albums and a steady flow of singles. As someone who works closely with him, have you noticed any change in the way he writes, composes or approaches music?
Elliott has always written a great deal. Today’s technology simply allows us to record at home and release songs and albums much more easily.
Years ago, I used to travel to Paris regularly to write songs with him. Now he sends me files whenever he feels I might bring something to a song. It’s still a game of musical ping-pong, only from a distance. He embraces the tools of today while remaining true to the way he writes.
And on my side, I never hesitate to ask his opinion about my own songs. He always brings a fresh ear and new ideas.
In our interview, Elliott spoke about the increasingly important role his son Gaspard Murphy now plays in his creative process. From your perspective, what has that collaboration changed in his work and within the band?
Gaspard is passionate. He knows an incredible amount about recording, instruments and effects, and he has a remarkably broad musical culture.
He shares all of that with his father and with the rest of us as well. I regularly ask him for advice whenever I’m thinking about buying new gear.
I’d say he has brought a little more discipline to the recording process. In the past we often recorded albums live in the studio without rehearsing first. Nowadays, we sometimes rehearse before going into the studio!
He has also introduced the idea of bringing in additional instruments and musicians, such as percussionists or double bass players. He enriches what is already there.
Another important point is that Gaspard is bilingual. That means the vocal takes are much more precise because he can really direct Elliott on pronunciation and phrasing, whereas we French musicians could mostly comment on the musical performance.
“We understood each other from our second concert together.”
In Cabannes, that unique chemistry between the two of you was obvious once again. Sometimes it feels as though you understand each other without even looking. Is that simply the result of thirty years on the road together, or is there also something instinctive that can’t really be explained?
I honestly think we understood each other from our second concert together, thirty years ago. Elliott often says that our musical roots are remarkably similar. Of course, when he was listening to Del Shannon‘s Runaway, I was listening to Dave‘s Vanina… but it’s actually the very same song!
Like Elliott, I’ve always had a deep love for the blues. It’s the common source of our music.
Obviously, spending thirty years playing together makes many things easier. But there’s also that instinctive connection you mentioned, the pleasure of being on stage together, listening to one another and reacting instantly to whatever happens.
Listening is everything in the kind of music we play. Elliott’s songs are full of subtle nuances. If you’re not truly listening, you simply can’t play them properly.
“To truly discover Elliott’s work, you have to see him live.”
You probably know Elliott better than almost anyone. If you had to convince someone to discover his music through just one album… which one would you choose, and why?
Just one album? That’s impossible! At least two…
Among the major-label years, I’d choose Just a Story from America, because so many of those songs are still part of our live set today. For guitar lovers, I’d also recommend Rock Ballad.
Among the later albums… perhaps Soul Surfing. We listened to it again not long ago and were honestly surprised ourselves by how strong it is. I’m particularly proud of my completely improvised solo on Eiffel Tower Blue, and I still love the bass and drums on Come On Lou Ann.
But if you really want to discover Elliott’s world, you have to see him on stage. That’s where he truly takes you inside his universe. Maybe that’s why so many people love April.
Many thanks to Elliott Murphy and Olivier Durand for this exclusive interview.