Full Circle
Frisbee, 2023
8/10
Recorded when he was between 24 and 27 years old, these 21st century post-minimalistic songs from Dave Flynn were recorded live with many different musicians on hand, and they represent the early years of his Celtic influenced song craft.
“Polymetric Cycles” opens the listen with The Dave Flynn Collective and conductor Bjorn Bantock working together for a stylish and playful version of classical sounds, and “Quirk No. 1 ‘Show Me Those Jazz Hands’” showcases meticulous string interaction thanks to Michael Jorgensen (violin) and Adrienne Winninsky (cello).
The middle chunk belongs to the 4 chapters of “Full Circle”, where Maya Kasir and Johan Tötterström’s gorgeous vocals and Nigel Foster’s stunning piano make for a very eloquent and flowing execution.
Close to the end, “Slip”, which won Flynn the 2004 Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival Composer's Award, is a bit more forceful, where the dynamic strings and strong attention to atmosphere are exciting, and “Electric Guichair” exits with the very interesting sound collage that Flynn and Dr. Nye Parry created, which is unpredictable and oddly soothing.
Flynn is very much influenced by Adams, Glass and Reich, and this documents his time as a compositional student and incorporates folk, EDM, pop and plenty of other components, too.
Travels well with: Seamus Egan- Early Bright; Dave Flynn- Irish Minimalism