FUR, the French-Belgian trio of Hélène Duret, joins the catalogue of BMC Records with their second album. Bond is pure jazz, but also features unpredictable musical shifts, an unlikely mix of styles and genres: a succession of ballads, groovy sections, blues themes, hitlike compositions, hypnotical, repetitive motifs and psychedelic colours.

The name FUR derives from an old French expression that refers to proportion and measure, and the Belgian-French trio’s compositions and playing exemplify just that: they perform their improvisational musical scenes and moods with flair and fine taste, but never at the expense of expression and boldness. The three musicians are driven by spontaneity and experimentation with timbre and texture, making their music full of exquisite detail. Their first album, the intimate and meditative Boîte noire, arrived in 2021, and since then they have released six digital singles on Tricollectif. Their new album, Bond is pure jazz, but also features unpredictable musical shifts, an unlikely mix of styles and genres: a succession of ballads, groovy sections, blues themes, hitlike compositions, hypnotical, repetitive motifs and psychedelic colours. But it is the melodic line, branded by pop, that the trio cherish above all, even if sometimes noise breaks the line so that the band can plunge themselves into timbre.

Clarinetist-composer Hélène Duret founded her Synestet quintet in 2017, and soon after formed the trio FUR from Synestet members. The ensemble has the strongest ties to the French and Belgian jazz scene: the French-born bandleader lived in Belgium for more than a decade, and FUR also started out during this period. Since then, Duret has become part of the international European jazz scene, playing in Daniel Erdmann’s star sextet Thérapie de couple, alongside Vincent Courtois and Théo Ceccaldi.