FLOOK

After having skimmed the scenes for a dozen years and four superb albums, they had drawn the curtain on a brilliant career. As Brian Finnegan, one of the two flutists in the group, himself says, "we needed a break and according to our instincts we loved, we were married, we had children and explored the musical world after Flook". During a festival in 2013, the group reformed (in an episodic way), and immediately the tension returned, they had the impression that they had never separated.

Fourteen years passed between Haven in 2005 and Ancora, their new album released on April 12. Ancora means Anchor in Latin and Encore in Italian. A word that resonated with Flook members and was present throughout the recording of the album. Virtuosity is Flook's trademark, but the impact of this Anglo-Irish group lies in the intuitive, almost symbiotic exchange between the two flutes of Brian Finnegan and Sarah Allen, the guitars and bouzouki of Ed Boyd and the bodhrán of John Joe Kelly.

Ancora therefore means the return of this group after a long absence, but also a continuation of their musical work. A performance very marked by a talent and virtuosity that perfectly weaves together a mix of newly composed melodies, but with traditional roots, on precise acoustic furrows, with a mixture of technical brilliance and bold musical imagination. To celebrate their return, what could be better than to invite friends like Phil Cunningham, Niall Murphy or Trevor Hutchinson. Thirteen guests in all on this magnificent opus composed of a majority of Brian and Sarah's tunes. Ancora or the expected, hoped-for return of this vibrant and inventive group.

Flatfish 006 CD – www.flook.co.uk