The following passages are extracted from the album press release and from the FORJ website and are reproduced with the kind permission of Jonathan Silk.

PRESS RELEASE:

 

Release date: Friday 5th February 2021

Available from: http://www.forj4tet.co.uk/skirfare

Josh Arcoleo - Tenor saxophone
Joe Wright - Tenor saxophone
Nick Jurd - Double Bass
Jonathan Silk - Drums

‘Skirfare’: an adventurous 120-album project giving creative control to the listener.
FORJ is an exciting quartet led by drummer Jonathan Silk, featuring the critically acclaimed and long time friend and collaborator, Nick Jurd on double bass alongside the incredible musicianship of two of London’s finest improvisers, Joe Wright and Josh Arcoleo on tenor saxophones. The band promises high octane grooves and expansive improvisation across a whole series of original compositions.

“a wild, muscular delight.” - London Jazz News

“it was a joy to hear the interaction between Wright and Arcoleo” - Tony Dudley-Evans

With their debut album release ‘Skirfare’, FORJ seek to challenge the normal process by which we record and release improvised music. This album gives a way of framing the openness with which the quartet plays and questions the normal studio process:

“It did not feel appropriate to represent this band by choosing one take of a piece that has travelled many different ways every time it is performed. Instead we wanted to give the listener the opportunity to choose their own album, bringing them closer to the music and the band as a result.”

‘Skirfare’ pays tribute to bad manners, picturesque beauty spots, Birmingham’s finest roofer, projects of old and simple word play. The lively ‘Interruption’ features Arcoleo and Wright weaving and diving as they seek to challenge the other’s narrative at every turn. Contrasting ‘Roundwoods’ is dedicated to a quiet, tidal river spot in the South West. Our favourite Brummie-based ‘Gutterologist’ explores playful humour whilst hard-hitting ‘Trope’ combines our free approach to improvisation with driving momentum from Jurd and Silk. ‘Half Marathon’ adopts a peaceful and thought-provoking dedication to the creative joy in simple things.

With five different compositions, each version of a tune can seamlessly transition to any of the other tunes in the album regardless of whether they were recorded together or not.

FORJ then put that decision in the listener’s hands.

A bespoke website, designed by Joe Wright, is the only place to access this music. This interactive user interface allows the listener to choose their own order of tunes. The website then produces the individual version of album based on the chosen setlist and packages this into a download. Listeners can return to the website as much as they like - perfect for those who want to ‘try out’ other combinations and explore the concept and the music further.

‘Skirfare’ is accompanied by a collection of unique and highly creative collages commissioned to support the release. Creative photography and design from David Stanley (GuriBosh) has produced a set of bespoke visual representations of the music: one for every recording of every tune. A segment of these individual collages also combines under the listener’s choice to form dedicated artwork unique to each version of the album.

The result is a bespoke set of music and art forming 120 album combinations, selected by the listener, and framing FORJ’s improvisational approach in a unique and creative way.

“With a unique album download, we hope the listener will feel a personal connection with the music and the band.”

 

All compositions written by Jonathan Silk except ‘Trope’ - written by Nick Jurd. All rights reserved.

All track listings are made up of these five tunes - the order will vary depending on each listener’s personal
choice:

Interruption

Roundwoods

Gutterologist

Trope

Half Marathon

Studio Photography by Iza Korsak Photography - http://www.izakorsak.com

Album Artwork, Photography & Videography by David Stanley - http://www.guribosh.com

Recorded at Hartley Barn, Litton on January 4th 2020

Mixed and Mastered by Jonathan Silk

Produced by Jonathan Silk, Josh Arcoleo, Joe Wright, Nick Jurd

Jonathan Silk ;  http://www.jonathansilk.co.uk

 

FROM THE FORJ WEBSITE;

 

SKIRFARE

Curate your own bespoke FORJ recording - our debut release lets you pick your own track combination to create your personally chosen album download.

SKIRFARE seeks to challenge the normal process by which we record and release improvised music. As a band, we wanted to find a way of framing the openness with which the quartet plays and question the normal studio processes. It did not feel appropriate to represent this band by choosing one take of a composition that has travelled several different ways each time it is performed.
​

The music is free to download from our purpose built website but there is an option afterwards to ‘pay what you can’. You can also sign up to our mailing list to keep in touch with all future FORJ releases.

​

- SKIRFARE features 5 different compositions, each recorded 5 times.

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- Each composition can lead in to any of the others - as a listener, you get to choose the album track order and this determines the recordings you get in your album.

​

- To make this choice, we created 25 bespoke collage artworks, each one representing a different recording. The slices of artwork you choose on our website will determine the track order. As you choose more artworks, you populate your album with recordings.

​

- Once you have chosen all 5 tracks, the option to download (WAVs/MP3s) will appear after which you can choose to ‘pay what you can’ towards the music.

​

There is nothing we recorded that you cannot hear. No editing, no choosing the best take, just honest sharing of improvisation. Hopefully it reflects some of the spirit of live improvising in recorded format.

​

You can download as many versions as you like - try out different track combinations and explore the different versions of each composition.

​

We hope you enjoy the music!

 

Click here to build your own album…
http://www.joewrightmusic.co.uk/FORJ/Skirfare/

 

SKIRFARE is accompanied by a collection of unique and highly creative collages commissioned to support the release. Creative photography and design from David Stanley (GuriBosh) has produced a set of bespoke visual representations of the music: one collage represents every recording of every tune.
The segments of these individual collages chosen on our website form dedicated artwork unique to each version of the album. This is how the versions of your tracks are chosen.

Check out more of this incredible collage work here…
https://www.forj4tet.co.uk/visuals

 

SKIRFARE is accompanied by a collection of unique and highly creative collages commissioned to support the release. Creative photography and design from David Stanley (GuriBosh) has produced a set of bespoke visual representations of the music: one for every recording of every tune. A segment of these individual collages also combines under the listener’s choice to form dedicated artwork unique to each version of the album.
The result is a bespoke set of music and art forming 120 album combinations, selected by the listener, and framing FORJ’s improvisational approach in a unique and creative way.
“With a unique album download, we hope the listener will feel a personal connection with the music and the band.”
Do get in touch if you’d like to discuss purchasing one of these collages as a full sized print…

 

FORJ - THE BAND;

 

FORJ is an exciting quartet led by drummer Jonathan Silk, featuring the critically acclaimed and long time friend and collaborator, Nick Jurd on double bass alongside the incredible musicianship of two of London’s finest improvisers, Joe Wright and Josh Arcoleo on tenor saxophones. This band promises high octane grooves and expansive improvisation across a whole series of original compositions.

 

FORJ attempt to bridge the gap between chaos and purpose. With original compositions as a framework, the band move to reshape what the music is at every outing. With improvisation at the heart of the ensemble, every performance is a new experience.

Performing a rocky, but subtle, set of intricate grooves and diverse melodies, FORJ blur the lines between composition and improvisation in a highly interactive manner in this exciting chordless ensemble.

BIOGRAPHIES:

JONATHAN SILK is a Scottish drummer and composer based in Birmingham. He has released two albums with his big band and string orchestra to critical acclaim and worked with world-renowned composers Vince Mendoza and Maria Schneider as well as a host of other nationally and internationally renowned musicians. Awards include BBC Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year and the Yamaha Jazz Scholarship Award.

 

JOE WRIGHT is an improvising musician and creative technologist working between Cardiff, Birmingham and London. As a performer, his work spans the UK jazz and experimental music scenes. Notably, he has worked with Rob Luft (Edition Records/P-Vine Records), AMM co-founder, Eddie Prevost, and co-founded the duo, Onin (FD / FLUF) with James L Malone. Joe also works alongside charities and arts organisations making accessible music technology and sensory performance work. In recent years he has collaborated on the critically acclaimed show, Sound Symphony (Independent Arts Projects), and worked as a creative technologist with Drake Music Labs (London) and the world-renowned theatre company, Oily Cart.

JOSH ARCOLEO is a highly in demand saxophonist on the London jazz scene. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in 2011 and is regularly seen performing with Stan Sulzmann’s big band, Jeff Williams, Dave Hamblett, Mike Chillingworth, Snowpoet and many more. He released his debut album Beginnings in 2012 to widespread acclaim. Awards include the Yamaha Jazz Scholarship, EMI Sound Music Foundation, MBF Young Talent and the Kenny Wheeler Jazz Award.

NICK JURD is a double and electric bassist based in Birmingham and touring internationally.
He plays most regularly with Soweto Kinch, The Destroyers, FORJ and Meraki, and freelances regularly around the UK jazz scene. Past performance and recording highlights include playing with Ernest Ranglin, Paul Dunmall, Andrew D’Angelo, ESKA, Stan Sulzmann and Juice Aleem.

 

 

 

 

 

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