Flook
Encyclopedia
Flook was an Anglo-Irish band playing traditional-style instrumental music, much of it penned by the band themselves. Their music is typified by extremely fast, sometimes percussive, flute and whistle atop complex guitar and bodhrán
rhythms.
and Michael McGoldrick
, (who left in 1997 to join Capercaillie
). The band was briefly known as Three Nations Flutes.
Flook's 10th anniversary
tour for Folkworks
, included a concert at the Purcell Room
(on 7 November 2005) as part of a week of "Folk in the Fall" on London
's South Bank
and another at the extraordinary new Sage Gateshead
concert hall on the south bank of the River Tyne
on 10 November 2005. Their third studio album, Haven
, was released in October 2005.
At the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards
in 2006, Flook were awarded the award for Best Group. They also gave a short performance during the ceremony.
In December 2008 the band sent a Christmas message saying they were disbanding. "We wanted to wish you a very Happy Christmas and also to share some news with you," said a band press release. "After 13-plus years, hundreds of gigs, millions of miles traveled together and countless brilliant times, we've decided to call it a day. It might be forever or a prolonged pause, who knows, but we're all still great friends and will always remain so. This might sound like a cliché but it is deeply truthful."
The group reformed (briefly) for an appearance on the BBC Northern Ireland programme, Blas Ceoil.
Bodhrán
The bodhrán is an Irish frame drum ranging from 25 to 65 cm in diameter, with most drums measuring 35 to 45 cm . The sides of the drum are 9 to 20 cm deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side...
rhythms.
History
The band was formed in 1995, originally by Becky Morris, with three flute-playing friends Sarah Allen, Brian FinneganBrian Finnegan
Brian Finnegan is a tin whistle and flute player from Armagh, Northern Ireland.Finnegan first came to public attention with the Irish group Upstairs in a Tent, and then in 1993 he made a solo album "When the Party's Over", which was recorded at Redesdale Studios. From 1995 he played with Flook, ....
and Michael McGoldrick
Michael McGoldrick
Michael McGoldrick is a flute and tin whistle player. He also plays the Uilleann pipes and low whistle. He is well known for his ability to skate switch and regular with the same level of ability.-Bands:...
, (who left in 1997 to join Capercaillie
Capercaillie (band)
Capercaillie is a Scottish folk band, founded in the 1980s by Donald Shaw and fronted by Karen Matheson. They have seen four of their albums placed in the UK Albums Chart, and continue to perform and record to the present day.-History:...
). The band was briefly known as Three Nations Flutes.
Flook's 10th anniversary
Anniversary
An anniversary is a day that commemorates or celebrates a past event that occurred on the same day of the year as the initial event. For example, the first event is the initial occurrence or, if planned, the inaugural of the event. One year later would be the first anniversary of that event...
tour for Folkworks
Folkworks
Folkworks is a non-profit organisation based at The Sage Gateshead and a part of the North Music Trust. It runs many workshops, summer schools and festivals to promote and encourage the furtherance of folk music. It was begun in 1988 by Alistair Anderson and Ros Rigby and became part of the North...
, included a concert at the Purcell Room
Purcell Room
The Purcell Room is a concert and performance venue which forms part of the Southbank Centre, one of central London's leading cultural complexes. It is named after the 17th century English composer Henry Purcell and has 370 seats....
(on 7 November 2005) as part of a week of "Folk in the Fall" on London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's South Bank
South Bank
South Bank is an area of London, England located immediately adjacent to the south side of the River Thames. It forms a long and narrow section of riverside development that is within the London Borough of Lambeth to the border with the London Borough of Southwark and was formerly simply known as...
and another at the extraordinary new Sage Gateshead
Sage Gateshead
The Sage Gateshead is a centre for musical education, performance and conferences, located in Gateshead on the south bank of the River Tyne, in the northeast of England...
concert hall on the south bank of the River Tyne
River Tyne
The River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...
on 10 November 2005. Their third studio album, Haven
Haven (Flook album)
-Track listing:# "The Tortoise and the Hare" – 5:32# "Gone Fishing" – 4:03# "Mouse Jigs" – 4:23# "Souter Creek" – 5:10# "Asturian Way" – 4:14# "Wrong Foot Forward" – 5:44# "Padraig's" – 4:34# "Road to Errogie" – 4:51# "On One Beautiful Day" – 3:31...
, was released in October 2005.
At the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards
BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards
The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards celebrate outstanding achievement during the previous year within the field of folk music. The awards have been given annually since 2000 by British radio station BBC Radio 2....
in 2006, Flook were awarded the award for Best Group. They also gave a short performance during the ceremony.
In December 2008 the band sent a Christmas message saying they were disbanding. "We wanted to wish you a very Happy Christmas and also to share some news with you," said a band press release. "After 13-plus years, hundreds of gigs, millions of miles traveled together and countless brilliant times, we've decided to call it a day. It might be forever or a prolonged pause, who knows, but we're all still great friends and will always remain so. This might sound like a cliché but it is deeply truthful."
The group reformed (briefly) for an appearance on the BBC Northern Ireland programme, Blas Ceoil.
Band members
- Sarah Allen plays fluteWestern concert fluteThe Western concert flute is a transverse woodwind instrument made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist, flutist, or flute player....
, alto flute and accordionAccordionThe accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
. She has also been a member of the Barely Works, Bigjig and The Happy End Big Band. - Brian FinneganBrian FinneganBrian Finnegan is a tin whistle and flute player from Armagh, Northern Ireland.Finnegan first came to public attention with the Irish group Upstairs in a Tent, and then in 1993 he made a solo album "When the Party's Over", which was recorded at Redesdale Studios. From 1995 he played with Flook, ....
plays wooden fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s and tin whistleTin whistleThe tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, English Flageolet, Scottish penny whistle, Tin Flageolet, Irish whistle and Clarke London Flageolet is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is an end blown fipple flute, putting it in the same category as the recorder, American Indian flute, and...
s. He has been a member of Upstairs in a Tent (originally Gan Ainm) and Maalstroom. - Ed BoydEd BoydEd Boyd is a guitarist from Bath, England. He is best known as a long time member of the Celtic folk group Flook. He has also played in the group Red Ciel, and accompanied artists such as Kate Rusby, Karen Matheson and Michael McGoldrick....
plays guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s and bouzoukiBouzoukiThe bouzouki , is a musical instrument with Greek origin in the lute family. A mainstay of modern Greek music, the front of the body is flat and is usually heavily inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The instrument is played with a plectrum and has a sharp metallic sound, reminiscent of a mandolin but...
. He is a former member of Red Ciel. - John Joe Kelly plays bodhránBodhránThe bodhrán is an Irish frame drum ranging from 25 to 65 cm in diameter, with most drums measuring 35 to 45 cm . The sides of the drum are 9 to 20 cm deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side...
and mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
. He has also worked with Altan and Paul BradyPaul BradyPaul Joseph Brady is an Irish singer-songwriter, whose work straddles folk and pop. He was interested in a wide variety of music from an early age...
and is a session musician. - Damien O'KaneDamien O'KaneDamien O'Kane was born in Coleraine, Northern Ireland on 9 January 1978.He currently lives in Yorkshire with his wife Kate Rusby and their daughter Daisy Delia.-Career:...
, who joined the band in 2008, plays banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
and tenor guitarTenor guitar1932 Martin 0-18 T Sunburst Tenor Guitar|thumb|rightThe tenor guitar or four-string guitar is a slightly smaller, four-string relative of the steel-string acoustic guitar or electric guitar. The instrument was developed so that players of the four-string tenor banjo could double on the guitar...
as well as singing. - Michael McGoldrickMichael McGoldrickMichael McGoldrick is a flute and tin whistle player. He also plays the Uilleann pipes and low whistle. He is well known for his ability to skate switch and regular with the same level of ability.-Bands:...
, plays wooden fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s and tin whistleTin whistleThe tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, English Flageolet, Scottish penny whistle, Tin Flageolet, Irish whistle and Clarke London Flageolet is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is an end blown fipple flute, putting it in the same category as the recorder, American Indian flute, and...
s, left Flook in 1997 to join CapercaillieCapercaillie (band)Capercaillie is a Scottish folk band, founded in the 1980s by Donald Shaw and fronted by Karen Matheson. They have seen four of their albums placed in the UK Albums Chart, and continue to perform and record to the present day.-History:...
.
Albums
- Flook! Live! (1996) Small CD 9405
- FlatfishFlatfish (Flook album)Flatfish is the second album, and debut studio recording, by Anglo-Irish celtic music group Flook, released in 1999 on Flatfish Records.-Track listing:# "Calico" - 3:26# "E flat Reels" - 3:46# "The Gentle Giant" - 6:40# "Sligo Reel" - 4:13...
(1999) Flatfish Records 002CD - Rubai (2002) Flatfish Records 004CD
- HavenHaven (Flook album)-Track listing:# "The Tortoise and the Hare" – 5:32# "Gone Fishing" – 4:03# "Mouse Jigs" – 4:23# "Souter Creek" – 5:10# "Asturian Way" – 4:14# "Wrong Foot Forward" – 5:44# "Padraig's" – 4:34# "Road to Errogie" – 4:51# "On One Beautiful Day" – 3:31...
(2005) Flatfish Records 005CD