BACK ALIVE

Flairck is back with a completely new line-up. For many years Flairck practically was Erik Visser who was the only remaining member of the original line-up and wrote the vast majority of the material. A few years ago Erik Visser called it a day but Pablo Ortiz wanted to continue, with the approval of Erik Visser. He called in the help of Joris Vanvinckenroye (Aranis) and together they started building a new Flairck and also started writing new material.

The lineup now is: Pablo Ortiz (guitars and composition) Joris Vanvinckenroye (double bass and composition) Jeroen Goossens (flutes and other woodwinds) Anouk Sanczuk (violin and viola) Zhazira Ukeyeva (violin)

The new material is fresh and energetic. The sound is still pretty familiar 'Flairck' but perhaps a bit more emphasis is on the compositions then on the virtuosity of the members. Highlights for me are "Nepata Cataria', with some superb bassoon (!) by Jeroen Goossens, and 'The stoned wedding'. Also the joyful tune 'Peters Weekend' composed by original member Peter Weekers should not remain unmentioned.

The result is a very enjoyable album that prog-folk fans should certainly give a try. 4 out of 5 stars easily!