Credit: Press

The Coral release new single featuring Cillian Murphy

Thu 29 June 2023 17:55, UK

The Coral have just released a new single from their upcoming album Sea of Mirrors, which, beyond showcasing an exciting new direction for the musical outfit following their highly acclaimed Coral Island in 2021, includes a particularly exciting vocal cameo from acclaimed Irish actor Cillian Murphy.

Providing a brief but powerful section on ‘Oceans Apart’, Murphy’s collaboration with the group was facilitated by the connections of the album’s co-producer, Sean O’Hagan.

Explaining the process that led to such an exciting addition to the track, singer-songwriter James Skelly said: “Sean suggested we have some dialogue over the outro and said he’d done the soundtrack to Cillian Murphy’s first film, so he had a contact. A few weeks later, I got an email from Cillian saying he was a fan and would be up for helping us.”

With evocative and cinematic orchestration, the song is reminiscent of music from a spaghetti western – something the band intended very purposefully. Sea of Mirrors is conceived as a sort of soundtrack to a B-movie that never was. It’s in keeping with this, then, that the group asked Murphy to put himself in the shoes of a jaded 1950s actor to prepare for his new role.

“I saw it as a once great star like Buster Keaton or Bella Lagosi on the set of a low-budget B movie, looking back thinking: ‘How did I get here?'” Skelly continued. “I sent him what Nick had written and then left it up to him to do his thing and when we put what he sent us over the music it fitted perfectly.”

Their single, which debuted today, comes in the wake of an announcement that The Coral would be releasing not one but two whole albums. On top of Sea of Mirrors, fans can also expect Holy Joe’s Coral Island Medicine Show on September 22nd, 2023.

Listen to the fresh single below and keep an ear out for Murphy’s contributions towards the end of the track.