FGHR NEWS
"Going Home" the second release by FGHR will be available in shops and on iTunes in late February.
The album "Stationary" is now available on the Which Way Music label and is available at most record stores and iTunes.
Review by Jesse Shrock, Beat Magazine, 10 October 2007
FGHR stands for Darryn Farrugia (Drums & Percussion), Leonard Grigoryan (Guitar), Luke Howard (Piano), and Ben Robertson (Double Bass), and their all-instrumental debut Stationary is a rare treat indeed – a bunch of accomplished jazz musicians focusing intently on the beauty of the song.The opening instrumental version of Missy Higgins’ All For Believing gives some indication of what to expect; not exactly jazz, but more finessed than pop. Maybe it’s just about what feels good… Certainly, the players seem to be having a ball with Leia, which breezes from a bluesy intro into a percussive Latin groove.Stationary isn’t a collection of frivolous jam-outs, but songs of genuine emotion. Subtle emotion, to be sure, (as only musicians with as finely cultivated a musical vocabulary as FGHR can pull off) but emotion nonetheless, the most dominant being hopefulness. While the drowsy Out Of Darkness seems to speak of a newly and gradually dawning hope, Red Red Road bounces along with a feeling of indomitable optimism.Without exception, Stationary’s arrangements sparkle with intelligence and elegance, but never pretentiousness. Though The Eyes Have It is one of several featured examples of an impeccably cool jazz feel that is as much about the notes that aren’t played as those that are, Folksong is two minutes of eerily beautiful melody, wisely left to its flawless simplicity.Stationary is the perfect Sunday morning record. Sit in the sunlight, open a good book and let a little grace flow into your ears and into your life.
