Nick Fletcher – “A Longing for Home” | Progressive Rock Central.com

Nick Fletcher is back, with a new album for 2024, A Longing For Home, which will be released on October 14, 2024.

The band lineup for Nick Fletcher’s A Longing for Home, includes: Anika Nilles, from Germany, on drums; Jonathon Ihlenfeld Cuniado, also from Germany, on bass; Jan Gunnar Hoff, from Norway, on keyboards; Olga ‘Dikajee’ Karpova, originally from Russia, on vocals, on the song, “To Hear the Angels Sing”; and Caroline Bonnett, from the UK, on keyboards and programming.

Nick Fletcher is an electric, classical guitarist and composer from Sheffield in the U.K. Nick is a composer not only of progressive music but has also over 80 published works for the classical guitar with renowned Canadian publishers Productions d’oz. He worked as a session musician for many years and as a record producer in the late 1990s up through to 2010. He has been a member of the John Hackett Band for the past 10 years. Since 2021 he has been a solo recording artist in his own right. His albums include Cycles of Behaviour, The Cloud Of Unknowing, and his most recent, Quadrivium. Nick’s music is an original fusion of progressive rock and jazz fusion, with elements of classical music too. Steve Hackett is quoted as saying: “Nick Fletcher is the best jazz rock guitarist in the U.K. His fluency is outstanding. I consider him a real star”.

Nick Fletcher describes A Longing For Home as, “based on a concept about finding our true place, both within ourselves and in the wider universe. This album is a musical development of ideas that were heard on Quadrivium. It’s the third installment of a trilogy of albums that are conceptually linked based upon philosophical, scientific and spiritual beliefs. Although all three albums The Cloud Of Unknowing, Quadrivium and now A Longing For Home are linked conceptually, musically they can stand alone as three very different albums.

A Longing For Home, is another fusion, jazz – guitar filled, album of complex rhythms and sounds. This album is a complete instrumental album, with only Olga ‘Dikajee’ Karpova’s vocalizations, on the song, “To Hear the Angels Sing”. Every track on the album is delivered with Nick’s professional guitar playing expertise.

The fact that there are no lyrics to enhance the storyline behind the songs, makes it more difficult to comment on the nature of the ideas behind the song titles; however, that does not take away from the expert method with which Nick nimbly performs these songs, and brings out the feel for the subject of the titles.

Nick is greatly supported by Anika Nilles’ drum playing; which helps raise the album’s sound to an elite level of rhythms and syncopation. I think this is an alliance between Nick and Anika made for the long-term future; since both artists seem mutually fond of their collaborative creations.

Jan Gunnar Hoff and Caroline Bonnett’s keyboards and programming absolutely take this album to another level. The Hammond-like sound produced on “The Secret of Ascent”, absolutely lit a fire of enthusiasm in my ears. The delicate keys, just past the mid-point of “Sitting in the Sunboat”, take me back to so many wonderful sounds of maybe Chick Corea. The Hammond-like sounds make a powerful return on “The Sage,, the Monk and the Scholar”. Anika Nilles’ drum playing on this track also helps make this one of the best rock n’ roll tracks I’ve ever heard on a Nick Fletcher album. Yes, behold, Nick can rock! But those Hammond-like keys are absolutely awesome! The keyboards really light up the opening of “To Hear the Angels Sing”, creating a sci-fi presence for the vocalist that will soon be heard.

That angelic voice, on “To Hear the Angels Sing”, is Olga ‘Dikajee’ Karpova’s. And it took me directly back to Inva Mula’s operatic solo in the 1997, film The Fifth Element.

While the keyboards really made A Longing For Home an absolute delight to hear, it is Nick’s lightning fast guitar chord playing and solos that are the highlight of this or any of his other albums. The slashing electric guitar stokes from “Satori”, thru to “To Hear the Angels Sing”, just keep this album flowing like a springtime, snow-melt, river of sound. Full of music, racing at an emancipated pace. However, “Joy Turning into Sorrow”, is one of my favorite tracks, despite the title. The slow acoustic guitar playing reminds me of Steve Hackett. “Her Eyes of Asure Blue”, is another wonderful, slow electric guitar masterpiece, well-supported by Jonathon Ihlenfeld Cuniado’s expert bass playing and the well guided percussion expertise of Anika Nilles’ chimes, bells, and soft bongo playing. Hopefully, Nick will get even closer to some jazzy Santana sounds from Canavanserai, in the future. “A Pathway to the Hermitage”, again, has some expert keyboards and drums to assist with Nick’s free flow guitar playing.

The title track, “A Longing For Home”, has a very cool spacey synth opening which is absolutely spectacular. Then, Nick augments it with a piercing electric guitar solo that adds to the magnificence of this masterpiece. No doubt to why this is the album’s title song. A slow paced, but beautiful, ‘sunlight in the morning’ kind of opening, which carries you through half the song. Then Nick further decorates it with electric guitar riffs and playing. The keyboards, bounce light and life, off of Nick’s guitar play, expertly. “Crossing the Sacred Threshold” is a return to Nick Fletcher’s usual style of jazz guitar playing.

What I think you have on A Longing For Home, is a powerful new jazz rock band, unleashing its alert, that they are a force to be reckoned with for the future. Nick’s expert talent on the guitar has been well established, but his collaborations with Anika Nilles, Jan Gunnar Hoff, Caroline Bonnett, and Jonathon Ihlenfeld Cuniado, make for a powerful jazz rock band that can compete with all the new talent globally. Songs like “The Sage, the Monk and the Scholar”, are a perfect launching pad for the formation of this new band. They really rocked that song. My other favorite songs were “A Longing For Home”, “Her Eyes of Assure Blue”, “To Hear the Angels Sing”, and “Joy Turning into Sorrow”. But the showstopper was “The Sage, the Monk and the Scholar”! So, what is next for Nick Fletcher? I can tell you that I am very interested, after hearing A Longing For Home. And I think you will also become a fan after hearing this stirring sensation of an album.

So…what are you waiting for!

Track List:

1. Satori 5:33

2. The Secret of the Ascent 6:17

3. Joy Turning into Sorrow 1:48

4. Sitting in the Sunboat 7:32

5. Her Eyes of Azure Blue 8:43

6. A Pathway to the Hermitage 5:40

7. A Longing for Home 5:09

8. The Sage, the Monk and the Scholar 5:07

9. Crossing the Sacred Threshold 6:36

10. To Hear the Angels Sing 4:42

A Longing For Home was recorded at SCNmedia studio and various studios in Norway and Germany. The album was mixed and mastered by Caroline Bonnett at SCNmedia studio. The album was produced by Caroline Bonnet and Nick Fletcher. Independent Artwork by Nick Fletcher.

Website and Social Media Links:

www.nickfletcherguitarmusic.com

https://www.facebook.com/nicholas.j.fletcher

Tweets by Nick_Fguitar