Focus: Vibetank

Who are you and where are you from?
VIBETANK, a duo featuring Ritchie Murray, who lives in Consett, and Chris Murray, who lives in South Shields. We just happen to be father and son!

What is it you do?
We are session musicians and songwriters. Both are multi-instrumentalists, playing guitar, bass and keyboards

How long have you been doing it?
We have been playing for decades. We have worked together in the same band, but have performed separately in different groups. In the early days, Ritchie introduced his son Chris to a baptism of fire in North East clubs.

Since those days they have recorded and toured home and abroad,  gigging in the UK,  Spain,  France, Holland and Canada. They have appeared on the Radio One roadshow, supported The Kaiser Chiefs at Newcastle Arena, and shared a festival stage alongside Travis, Boy George, The Verve, The Pogues and Sex Pistols.

What inspires you?
It would be simple to say that ‘life’ inspires us. Whatever is thrown at any of us is an experience. A learning curve, an adventure, a character-building exercise, a memory, a success or a total failure.

Existing is an adventure and a journey we should all enjoy. We’re not all going to win the lottery, we’re not all going to be famous. Of course, we just might, but in the meantime, this journey is all we may get, so we should enjoy it.

With us, music has always been an outlet. We’re good at it, we can depend on it to lift us up. Music is our art form and is the epitome of inspiration.

Tell us about your music. 
VIBETANK was something that came about during the dreaded covid epidemic. Ritchie had several song ideas recorded on his phone.

That in itself was a boon, as in the past, ideas came and disappeared just as quickly, now we can just hum into the mic and come back to them later.

There is a silent member of VIBETANK! Let us introduce Rob, the youngest son, who just happened to have a home recording studio.

The three of us got together and painstakingly developed some ideas. Since 2020, we have released six singles to date. They have been well received and are constantly being played on worldwide radio.

Over the last year we have been working on a debut album. This has taken some time as we have been constantly improving the studio. Added to that, we have had to learn how to use it! 

Luckily, music is hereditary and between us, Ritchie played bass and vocals, Chris has added guitars and keys, whilst Rob has played drums, guitars and keys.

The aforementioned inspiration has led to a body of music, the subject matter is a spectrum of moods and life experiences. We don’t really inform listeners as to the meaning of each song. We’d rather they made it personal to them, allowing them to put their own interpretation in place. Some songs accommodate that, being subtle, whilst others hit you like a two-ton truck!

What have you got coming up in the future? 
Our debut album, ‘Anyone Can Be’, is to be released on all streaming services on 16th June. Our favourite track, Demons, is available now!!

Ritchie & Chris are rehearsing for live gigs. We hope to play an acoustic set as well as a full-blown performance asap.

Where can people find out more about you?
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
Spotify
Youtube