FOURPLAY STRING QUARTET

FourPlay String Quartet is an indie rock band that just happen to be a string quartet. They began their professional lives entering a UNSW Band Competition, then surprised themselves by winning. Their trajectory from there was fast and decisive, the band rapidly being booked for major festivals while selling out club gigs across Australia. Their first album 'Catgut Ya Tongue?' was one of the most successful independent releases of the late ’90s, seeing the band self-distribute their albums through a PO Box, a fax machine, and a rather punk/DIY attitude. The lineup for this album was Lara Goodridge (viola, vocals), Chris Emerson (viola), Tim Hollo (viola) and Peter Hollo (cello).

FourPlay started by performing covers predominantly by a diverse array of artists: The Strokes, Rage Against The Machine, Radiohead, Leonard Cohen, Robert Johnson, Sufjan Stevens, and many, many more. They went on to tour the world, play the album Pet Sounds with Brian Wilson, collaborate with Plaid (Warp/UK) on a live filmscore to the animated feature Tekkonkinkreet, create live comic books scores, perform at three TEDx Sydney events, and most recently collaborate with wildly popular author Neil Gaiman.

The Gaiman collaboration was originally created for a live performance commissioned by the Sydney Opera House’s Graphic Festival, but Gaiman enjoyed the project rather a lot. So, it was recorded, Eddie Campbell — the illustrator of the work — painted 65 new pieces, and it became a book, an e-book and a CD released worldwide by Harper Collins and William Morrow, the performance recently taking them to sold out audiences at such esteemed venues as Carnegie Hall (New York) and the Barbican Centre (London).

Now, FourPlay return from wowing audiences at New York’s Carnegie Hall and London’s Barbican Centre with their new album, 'This Machine' — the next step in the evolution of the string quartet as songwriters. What’s in store? Epic soundscapes, rock ‘n’ roll, chainsawing violas, jazz, eastern influences, pop songs.

It’s been eighteen years since the first FourPlay album, and the band has certainly come of age. The four members (brothers Peter and Tim Hollo, Lara Goodridge and Shenzo Gregorio) have lived their lives together, played at some of the world’s most famous venues and festivals, and spent countless hours writing and jamming together — all of which has created a rare synergy and an unspoken understanding in how they go about their work. FourPlay’s sound and musicality has matured and evolved, resulting in a truly original album, which will cement their growing national and international reputation as an eclectic and diverse musical tour de force.

'This Machine' was recorded, co-produced and mixed by Tony Buchen (Evans, Megan Washington, Andy Bull, Ronan Keating, The John Butler Trio, Dereb the Ambassador) and features new artwork by Dave McKean (Neil Gaiman, Heston Blumenthal, Richard Dawkins).

Since FourPlay began in 1995, some personnel changes have occurred: In late 1995, original violinist Philippa Allan left the band to pursue a career as a classical violinist. Lara Goodridge joined in her place, lending her beautiful vocals to the band as well as her songwriting and violin-playing talents. In 1999, at the end of FourPlay’s first European tour, founding member Chris Emerson left, also to pursue a classical career, and Veren Grigorov joined FourPlay on viola shortly after. Veren wrote a number of brilliant gypsy-inspired originals, and stayed in the band until mid-2004, when Shenton Gregory aka Shenzo Gregorio, replaced him, bringing his spectacular soloing skills and a fresh enthusiasm to complete the current line-up.

During FourPlay’s history, the band has supported a wide range of bands, both Australian and international, including The Whitlams, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, The Corrs, Savage Garden, The Screaming Jets, and many more. FourPlay have also recorded strings for, and played live with a variety of acts including The Whitlams, george, Gerling, X, Jodi Phillis, JuJu Space Jazz, the Stiff Gins, Skunkhour, and the list goes on…

Members

Tim Hollo (viola, vocals), Peter Hollo (cello, vocals), Veren Grigorov (viola),
Shenton Gregory [aka Shenzo Gregorio] (viola, vocals), Lara Goodridge (viola, vocals),
Chris Emerson (viola), Philippa Allan (violin)

References

http://www.fourplay.com.au/about/