Over almost two decades in the music industry, Australian rapper Illy has taken fans on a journey that doesn’t always stay within hip-hop’s traditional boundaries.
His seventh studio album, Good Life, released this month, takes a leap beyond the box, with hints of electronic pop, punk rock, and even country. “I think it’s as good as anything I’ve done,” he says, with a confidence that underscores the bold new direction he’s taken. “It’s a different album, but it’s definitely stronger.”
With Good Life, Illy – real name Al Murray – finds himself embracing a lyrical openness that has evolved with age and experience. “As you get older, you care less about bravado,” he admits. “I’ve always been pretty upfront about going through struggles mentally, and I’ve never really shied away from that.”
For Murray, the pressures of the industry and his own drive to succeed have always been present, but he’s come to realise that vulnerability is as much a strength as resilience. “The whole thing with Good Life is just learning to let go of what you can’t control.”
Reflecting on how the album mirrors his personal growth, Murray explains that the pandemic played a role in shaping his perspective. “There was a time when I tortured myself over the idea that things might not get back to where they were before COVID, but I had to let that go,” he concedes.
His 2021 album, The Space Between, suffered from COVID-related setbacks, but he is realistic about that album’s success. “The album was done at the end of 2019… I sat with it, I tinkered with it and I messed around and just picked at it,” he says. “I think that the moment for it kind of came and went, and it didn’t have the impact that it was going to have.” (The Space Between still topped the ARIA Australian Albums Chart, and earned one ARIAs nomination.)
When it came time to create his follow-up album, the goal was simple: “Let go of all that shit and just go make an album that’s as good as you can be.” Each track represents a moment of personal reflection, allowing Murray to explore the nuances of life’s ups and downs. “Good Life isn’t about everything being postcard-perfect,” he emphasises. “It’s about appreciating what you’ve got. It might not look like what you envisioned, but it’s pretty fucking good.”
The emotional centrepiece of Good Life is “Braveheart”, a song that captures a particularly vulnerable moment between father and son. Written in response to his father’s sudden illness, “Braveheart” still hits Murray in the gut to this day. “That one was tough to write,” he says, recalling the intense emotion behind the track. “It’s still a tough one to listen to, and I’m not sure how it’ll feel to perform live yet.”
Reflecting on how his music has changed, Murray notes that vulnerability is something he’s grown more comfortable expressing over time. “There’s always this drive to be the best, to not fail, but it’s just about learning to live with things the way they are and appreciating what you have,” he shares. In the past, he might have struggled to write a song like “Braveheart”, but today, it’s an integral part of his process. “This album is just about being at peace, about having a sense of contentment I didn’t have on my earlier records.”
For fans used to Murray’s hip-hop roots, Good Life represents a bold leap into new territory. “There’s ‘Good Night, Good Luck’, which has a country theme, ‘You Don’t Like Me’ that’s kind of punk rock, and ‘Rings’ is an electronic pop song,” Murray explains.
Despite the potential risks, Murray embraced the freedom to explore new sounds. “There’s always that question – am I making the right move by straying this far? Once I decided that that was the right move, it was all just seeing the tracks through and persisting with them.” This journey beyond the familiar has been liberating, allowing him to create a cohesive yet eclectic album that defies genre. “I haven’t lost the ability to rap, and I still love it – I’ve been working on stuff in that lane as well. So there’ll probably be something with a bit more rap in it,” he says. “But now that this is done and I love the album, I think I’m just going to keep making songs that I like, and hopefully people like them too.”
Key to the album’s innovative sound were collaborations with producers from various musical backgrounds, including Xavier Dunn, Kuren, and Johnny Took of DMA’S. Each brought a fresh perspective to Good Life, expanding its sound and encouraging Murray to take bolder risks. “They’re all masters of their craft,” he says. “Xavier’s killing it in pop, Kuren’s a world-class EDM producer who just hasn’t had his break yet, and Johnny’s the best instrumental player I’ve ever been in a studio with.”
One standout collaboration is new single “Kids”, which was written with Tones and I – an artist Murray describes as a “real one” in an often transactional industry. Their creative partnership was both immediate and organic. “She’d been there ten minutes when I walked in, and she was already playing the hook, basically complete. There was just one line missing,” he recalls.
With COVID disrupting their plans to release and tour the resulting track, Murray decided to hold onto it until the timing felt right. Now, as he looks forward to sharing the track (which features vocals by Latin superstar Sofia Reyes) with fans, he says, “I’m so stoked that the track’s finally seeing the light of day. Tones is the homie, and I don’t think this will be the last time we work together.”
Murray admits that early in his career, he was relentlessly driven by a need to be the best, to constantly chase the next goal; now, he’s come to value a slower, more reflective pace. “I never thought I’d have the perspective I have now, of not just being constantly on the chase for the next thing, the next thing, the next thing and living or dying by that,” he says. “The whole thing with Good Life is that perspective, and it’s not a perspective that I have had on any album previous. I like where I’m at. It’s good.”
As Murray prepares to tour – which he plans to be doing for most of the coming year – he’s keen to showcase this album’s genre-defying range on stage. “I wasn’t a studio rat – I was a stage rat,” he says, explaining that performing has always been his true passion. “It’s all I’ve really known, and I’m ready to get back to it.”
In Good Life, Murray has created his most personal work to date – a project that captures both his evolution as an artist and his journey towards contentment. It’s an album that embraces life’s imperfections, invites fans to let go of expectations, and celebrates resilience in its truest form. “I just want to keep making music, keep playing shows, and keep connecting,” he says. “All the other stuff? That’s just cherries on top.”
Illy’s Good Life is out now via Warner Music Australia. Illy’s upcoming tour dates can be found here.
