John Francis Flynn is a singer and multi-instrumentalist who creates contemporary music using traditional and folk material. His debut album “I Would Not Live Always” was released on Rough Trade imprint River Lea Records in 2020, earning rave reviews and winning 2 awards at the RTE Folk Awards. His second album "Look Over the Wall, See the Sky" has picked up where his debut left off, a bold and singular testimony that has won a nomination for Choice Album of the Year.
The critical acclaim John enjoys is in no small part thanks to his uncanny ability to masterfully unpick traditional songs and rearrange them with an emotional force. They float in a surreal space between the past and the present, the analog and the digital, between love and tragedy.The unconventional use of instruments and jagged arrangements gives the work a magnetism by drawing you into its curious orbit of experimental folk. Look Over The Wall, See The Sky is a re-imagining of traditional Irish music: powerful, hopeful and free.
“One of the year’s finest albums” – The Quietus
“An astonishing musician” – Uncut, 8/10
“Intoxicating stuff” – MOJO , 4/5 ‘Folk Album Of The Month’
“Over the Wall, See the Sky holds a pre-apocalyptic sense of melancholy that rings with an almost unbearable beauty. It’s a new classic.” The Fader, Albums of the Year
“On his second album, Flynn’s vision has blossomed. Look Over The Wall, See The Sky sounds wracked with sadness, but makes it vivid, immersive, and strikingly beautiful. Look Over The Wall, See The Sky is a stunning level-up from an already fascinating artist.” - Stereogum, Album of The Week
“An admirably bold vision” – The Observer, 4/5
“Dark, immersive folk music in keeping with these dark times” – The Irish Times
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