Biography
Flook came together in 1996 around an audacious frontline of three flutes and whistles, an arrangement that stood out sharply even within folk circles. The group took its name from a cartoon character once featured in a British daily paper. Early notice stemmed as much from the calibre of the musicians’ prior work as from the unusual instrumentation itself. Irish-born Brian Finnegan arrived from Upstairs in a Tent; Sarah Allen brought experience from the experimental ensembles the Barely Works and Bigjig. Manchester-raised Michael McGoldrick, whose parents were Irish, had already received the 1995 Young Tradition Award; besides co-founding Flook he had helped launch Lúnasa and had toured with both Afro Celt Sound System and Capercaillie while sustaining an active solo career. Completing the original quartet was guitarist Ed Boyd.
That lineup recorded the band’s self-released debut, the live album Live!, in 1996—an unconventional first step that nevertheless drew strong critical praise. McGoldrick soon departed, and rather than recruit another flautist the remaining members invited Mancunian John Joe Kelly, whose mastery of the bodhran introduced an entirely new rhythmic texture. Over the following three years the revised foursome honed its approach, placing Finnegan’s flute at the centre while Allen supplied harmonic depth and added piano accordion for further sonic weight; Boyd and Kelly moved beyond simple accompaniment to shape the ensemble’s overall drive. The results appeared on another self-issued live set, 1999’s The Four of Us.
Only after that release did the group enter a studio, in August 1999, to prepare its first non-live recording, Flatfish, issued independently the next year. The album interweaves traditional and original instrumental pieces across waltzes, jigs and reels, delivered with uncompromising intensity. Although not an exclusively Irish lineup, Flook consistently evokes the buoyant swing of a pub session elevated to concert-hall precision.
That lineup recorded the band’s self-released debut, the live album Live!, in 1996—an unconventional first step that nevertheless drew strong critical praise. McGoldrick soon departed, and rather than recruit another flautist the remaining members invited Mancunian John Joe Kelly, whose mastery of the bodhran introduced an entirely new rhythmic texture. Over the following three years the revised foursome honed its approach, placing Finnegan’s flute at the centre while Allen supplied harmonic depth and added piano accordion for further sonic weight; Boyd and Kelly moved beyond simple accompaniment to shape the ensemble’s overall drive. The results appeared on another self-issued live set, 1999’s The Four of Us.
Only after that release did the group enter a studio, in August 1999, to prepare its first non-live recording, Flatfish, issued independently the next year. The album interweaves traditional and original instrumental pieces across waltzes, jigs and reels, delivered with uncompromising intensity. Although not an exclusively Irish lineup, Flook consistently evokes the buoyant swing of a pub session elevated to concert-hall precision.
Albums
