Flook

Flook开始于1996年，主力团员爱尔兰的Brian Finnegan，曾是Upstairs in a Tent的一员，Sarah Allen则是the Barely Works and Bigjig的成员，最初还有出生在曼彻斯特的Michael McGoldrick，他曾是lunasa的乐手，1995年获得过Young Tradition奖，并且有段时间随Afro Celt Sound System以及Capercaillie巡演过，另外还有原音吉他手Ed Boyd。1996年，他们的首张专辑Live!发表时，就是这样的阵容，他们的现场震动了四方，从好评如潮来看，对于初出茅庐的他们来说，是一次巨大的成功。但之后 McGoldrick离开加入了其他组合，但乐队又接受了一名宝思兰鼓手，那就是神奇的John Joe Kelly，他来自曼彻斯特，才华横溢，将爱尔兰鼓与中东非洲等地的节奏韵律结合在一起，给人以一种全新的体验，人们可以在他们后来的专辑中注意到这种不可缺少的打击乐成分。
 
之后的3年里，四人再次将他们的音乐推向了顶峰，其中两支笛子的配合十分完美，是最收到评论褒奖的，Finnegan的笛子技巧高超，象2002年专辑Rubai中一曲诠释Gordon Duncan的Pressed for Time，急速热情，很少有笛子手能有他这样的技巧表现这一曲原本是为风笛而作的曲目。此外Flook唯一的女乐手Allen通常给Finnegan作完美的和声，她还会钢琴和手风琴。
 
但是事实上，Flook直到1999年8月才进录音室，之前他们一直沉迷于现场，并因此赢得了无数现场乐迷的热爱，不过2000年发表的Flatfish就是他们的录音室作品。从封面就可以看出那是一张将传统与现代音乐技巧混合在一起的作品，乐风十分怡人，令人情不自禁想起舞。不过他们最好的作品应该就是2002年那张Rubai，这张名字取自一种波斯诗歌文体的专辑，确如一张器乐谱写的诗歌，包容了更多的地域风情，从爱尔兰如沐春风的笛声，到东欧灿烂的铜管，直至中东甚至拉丁的节奏，是一张可以让人无限遐想的专辑。专辑邀请了许多友情演奏的乐手，其中Ewan Vernal演奏贝斯， Martin Cradick演奏一种叫wah wah的曼陀铃，Colin Farrell演奏fiddle琴， 还有Rory Mc Leod的长号演奏都是不得不提的。专辑里尤其突出的不仅有Gordon Duncan的Pressed for Time，还有瑞典的Ale Moller的曲子Glass Polka，Granny in the Attic，一点吉格舞的韵律，一点瑞典波尔斯卡，一点东欧的味道，Flook的融合恰到好处，他们2000年和2002年两张专辑在许多着名综述类网站都有很好的评价，BBC还将他们的专辑评为年度最佳民谣专辑之一，无疑Flook是十分值得聆听的凯尔特乐队。
 
by Chris Nickson
 
A frontline of three flutes and whistles isn't the kind of thing to guarantee success, even in the folk field, but that's what Flook (named for a cartoon-strip character who used to appear in one of the British dailies) opted to do when they began life in 1996. There's no denying that it brought them plenty of attention, but in part that was because of the quality of the playing and the backgrounds the musicians brought to the project. Irishman Brian Finnegan had been a member of Upstairs in a Tent, while Sarah Allen was a veteran of the adventurous the Barely Works and Bigjig. Added to their talents was Michael McGoldrick, born in Manchester to Irish parents and winner of the 1995 Young Tradition Award (in addition to being a founder of Flook, he was in at the beginning of Lúnasa and has toured with Afro Celt Sound System and Capercaillie, in addition to maintaining a strong solo career). Rounding out the band was acoustic guitarist Ed Boyd. The lineup was preserved on Flook's 1996 debut album, Live! -- a daring first move for an unknown quantity, but one which won rave reviews for the fledgling outfit. However, it quickly became all change as the restless McGoldrick moved on to fresher pastures. Instead of replacing him with another flutist, though, the band brought in another Mancunian, John Joe Kelly, a virtuoso on the bodhran, who added a completely different dimension to the sound. Over the next three years, the foursome refined their sound, with Finnegan's inspired flute work in the spotlight, perfectly supported by Allen's harmonic abilities (and her prowess on piano accordion, which offered yet more fullness to the sound), while Boyd and Kelly took on something far more important than a mere supporting rhythmic role. The progress they'd made was celebrated on 1999's The Four of Us, yet another live record (and an indication that Flook absolutely refused to play it by the book). Indeed, they didn't go into the studio until August 1999, for the 2000 release, Flatfish (which, like its predecessors, they issued themselves), a mix of traditional and contemporary instrumental material that covers the spectrum of waltzes, jigs, and reels in uncompromising and thoroughly thrilling fashion. While not a completely Irish band, they have the feel and swing of a perfect pub session raised to high art.