Shaking up trad with a Skipper’s twist
As a member of trad group Skipper’s Alley for almost a decade John Francis Flynn has been part of the nu-trad scene that includes Lankum, Ye Vagabonds, Lisa O’Neill and others. Skipper’s Alley released their second album The Oul Fip in November 2019 four months before the first lockdown. Like most other musicians they soon realised that tours and promotional work would have to be postponed and even rehearsals together were impossible. Their thoughts turned to projects that could be undertaken in those unprecedented circumstances.
Flynn, the band’s recognised frontman, wanted to make a solo album where he would take traditional songs and bring them down a less travelled road.
The resultant album I Would
Not Live Long was released in July of last year and enjoyed huge acclaim.
‘When I was growing up I always enjoyed listening to people like Planxty who gave trad music a bit of a twist,’ he says.
‘You listen to them and then you go back and you listen to the original recording of a fella singing a song in a shed or wherever, in a much rawer form and you realise you can do anything with these songs. I will be drawn to a song or the singer that’s singing the song. The song Come My Little Son on the album for example, I heard a recording of Luke Kelly singing it and his singing of it drew me to that one. I’ve really liked other songs but after trying to sing them at sessions I realised that they just don’t suit me, that I’m not doing justice to them and I have to reluctantly just drop the idea of singing it.
‘You must treat songs with respect
and represent them but after that you can bring them into different worlds.’
Flynn brought in his Skipper’s Alley bandmate, fiddle player Ultan O’Brien, session drummer and synth player Ross Chaney and producer Brendan Jenkinson. On tracks such as Lovely Joan, the beguiling single My Son Tim and instrumentals such as Chaney’s Tape Dream they’ve allowed loops and samples to bubble up around the traditional instruments complementing the traditional arrangements but not distracting from the stories being told in the songs. Their efforts bring to mind most obviously Londonbased Irish artist Seamus Fogarty but also acts such as Talk Talk and the Velvet Underground.
‘I like Seamus Fogarty’s stuff but it’s funny you mention the Velvet Underground, a good few people
have said that to me,’ he says. ‘My dad had a massive record collection and even though he played trad (on a tenor banjo) he listened to all kinds of music and I would have heard it in the house (in Marino in Dublin’s northside) Even though the music I make would be considered trad, the influences would all be from outside it.’
I Would Not Live Long appeared on
Albums of the Year lists in many publications at the end of 2021 – this one included – in both Ireland and Britain. Flynn will soon embark on headline UK tour. He will play a number of festivals this summer including the Beyond The Pale Festival at Wicklow’s Glendalough Estate in two weeks’ time. If you make the argument to the 33-yearold that his solo success has outstripped that of the band of which he is still a member and that it could overshadow it, he is dismissive.
‘I’ve been playing music my whole life in around Dublin since I was about 18. What’s that… 13, 14 years now? I’ve been active the whole time but because trad isn’t always in the limelight I didn’t really get a lot of notice,’ he says.
‘I didn’t take the whole idea of being a professional musician particularly seriously. I didn’t put myself out there that much. Eventually over the course a decade it kind of happened.
‘But when we make the next Skipper’s Alley we do intend to put a good bit of energy into promoting it. Skipper’s Alley will always be a thing, whether it is going on the background or the main thing at the time. I will just always look to make good music, whether that be with Skipper’s Alley or on my own.’
The Beyond The Pale Festival takes place at Glendalough Estate, Wicklow, June 10-12. See itsbeyondthepale.ie for details.
‘You go and listen to the original recording of a fella singing a song in a shed…’