Thunderclap Murphy plays live ambient music in galleries. He plays everything from flute and guitar to synth, looping it all live into a slowly evolving soundtrack that sits in the air and changes as visitors move through the space.
In the evening, it turns a drinks reception into an event people stay at. In daytime hours, it holds attention on the work and pulls visitors further into the show.
He comes back within the week with a plan and a fee.
A recent performance, filmed live.
Sound as part of the show
Galleries and museums have used sound as material for years. teamLab builds rooms where light and sound move as one. The Irish Museum of Modern Art has commissioned sound-art from Tarek Atoui, and Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin runs a soundscape written for the building itself. The Ambient Church series fills New York churches with live deep-listening concerts.
Thunderclap Murphy brings that instinct into an Irish gallery, played live in the Japanese kankyō ongaku tradition of Brian Eno and Hiroshi Yoshimura. Hear a full performance and you will know what the rooms get.
Nothing for your team to run
It is completely self-contained. He brings his own instruments and sound system, runs off a standard wall socket, and handles setup and packdown himself, so your team does nothing but pick the date and the space.
From a two-hour set to a full day
The music scales to the occasion, from a two-hour performance to a full day across the galleries. It suits openings, evening events, and quiet weekday hours when a show needs a reason to draw a crowd. Four speakers go up at the corners of the gallery and the rig arrives with him, and the stage plan, the timings and the power are written out for a technical manager.
Thunderclap Murphy is the performing name of Aidan Murphy, a Dublin musician with twenty-five years in Irish arts venues, from the National Concert Hall to festival stages. Send a booking enquiry with the date and the space, and he will shape the music to it.