Celtic Music Reviews

FLOOK

Haven

Reviewed By CATHOLINE BUTLER

If you like traditional Irish music, then Flook is for you. And it’s a great time of the year with Patrick’s Day just around the corner to be listening to some of Ireland’s finest musicians.

Flook is a group revered on both sides of the Atlantic for their distinctively non-traditional approach to what many hold sacred and untouchable. Flook has won over even the purists with their distinctive sound. Their unique approach is highlighted once again on their most recent CD entitled Haven.

“Flook are absolutely brilliant,” says Erin Mullan who hosts the Celtic radio show In the Claddagh Ring. Erin also writes Ceol Agus Craic, a monthly music column for The Celtic Connection.

The foursome of Flook are: Sarah Allen on alto and concert flute and accordion; Ed Boyd on guitars and bouzouki; John Joe Kelly on bodhran and mandolin; and Brian Finnegan, flutes and whistles.

If you’re wondering about the origin of the name Flook, Brian Finnegan says, “we were originally called ‘Fluke, and one night we got a call from a record producer in Manchester, England, who handled a techno band called ‘Fluke.’ He said they make a lot more money than we do and they don’t want the Irish sweater brigade turning up at their raves. He asked us to change our name and we did, to Flook.”

Along with a whole array of other awards, Flook are also winners of the Best Group at the BBC Folk Awards 2006. For more information about Flook and their new CD, visit www.worldvillagemusic.com.

EUGENE DUNPHY

Beneath Napoleon's Nose

Reviewed by ANDREA LAW

The distinctive, instantly recognizable Belfast landmark known as Napoleon’s Nose is the backdrop for this delightful album from Northern Ireland. Here is a musical tribute to the good people of Belfast town, who live their lives in the shadow of the Cave Hill, a geographic feature celebrated for both its history and its uncanny appearance to a diminutive French general.

This collection of fine songs brings together the themes, personalities and lore of a town which, some might say, is long overdue for some good press. Indeed, this album is an excellent musical rendering of the local scene.

The title track has a hauntingly beautiful melody. Happy Dez is a character driven song with a groove reminiscent of the Beatles. And Belfast ex-pats will recognize the local place names in Frederick Street and in The Ghost of Lawrence Dundon. Listeners will enjoy the sentiment behind The Singer and the Song, a beautiful piece which weaves in strains of Carrickfergus. It was inspired by the memory of the writer’s father.

Eugene Dunphy is a singer, songwriter and musician from Belfast. He has literally travelled the world with a career originally rooted in Irish folk music, and has worked in television, theatre, and record production. He now runs his own recording studio and record company, Caveside Records out of Northern Ireland.

Local Vancouver readers may recall Eugene’s early gigs at The Spinning Wheel in Gastown in the 1980s, where he appeared with Paul McAree as The Barny Boys.

This beautiful CD is titled Beneath Napoleon’s Nose. It may be purchased online at www.eugenedunphy.com.

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