Frúgalisto Luka Bloom

• 1 Frúgalisto 04:23
• 2 Warrior 03:30
• 3 January Blues 03:33
• 4 No Fear Here 05:03
• 5 Oh Sahara 06:00
• 6 Isabelle 03:46
• 7 Lowlands Brothers 03:27
• 8 Berkeley Lullaby 03:16
• 9 Jiggy Jig Jig 03:58
• 10 Give It a Go 04:19
• 11 Australia 03:55
• 12 Wave up to the Shore 03:29
• Total Runtime 48:39

Info for Frúgalisto

It’s hard to believe that the one time Barry Moore has been recording and touring for over 40 years now. But the still fresh-faced Luka Bloom clearly relishes the process of making music. His latest album is the kind of record we’ve come to expect from the Newbridge troubadour – thought-provoking acoustic songs sung with heart and soul – only better. It’s exquisitely produced and arranged too, with a small team of musicians, including Cork’s Bill Shanley.

Many of the songs are inspired by Bloom’s recent move to County Clare, including the dark midwinter sentiments of ‘January Blues’ – a gentle, keening ballad sung over a soft shuffle. ‘Give It A Go’ takes a wry look at his attempts at surfing in late middle-age, while elsewhere, ‘Australia’ is a lovely homage to the country Bloom often describes as his second home.

Tragedy and innocence are the respective themes of ‘Lowland Brothers’ – inspired by the young Irishmen who fought in WW1 – and ‘Isabelle’, about a young girl playing in the fields of Flanders oblivious to the horrors of war. One of the most poignant and heartfelt songs is ‘Berkeley Lullaby’, about the tragic deaths of six young Irish students in the Northern Californian town last year. Elsewhere, a song Bloom wrote in 1972, ‘Wave Up To The Shore’ (once recorded by his brother, Christy Moore), is a further highlight of this excellent collection. A must listen for fans of great Irish music – and one for Irish radio to play...

"The challenge of retaining a vitality, of mining fresh seams, is one that faces all artists with the gumption to cleave to the long road. Luka Bloom is on intimate terms with that challenge, and how he relishes every mile on Frúgalisto. Less is more is the pervasive theme of this collection and in many ways it marks the apotheosis of Bloom’s search for solace within. All the big themes are here – consumerism, love, death, war – shot through with a refreshing humour that leavens the tone beautifully. It’s in the production, too, that Frúgalisto shimmers, with fittingly expansive and then bare-boned arrangements buffering songs to come home to again and again. Flute, fiddle, banjo, percussion and a magnificently funereal trombone add heft and buoyancy to what is one of Bloom’s finest collections." (The Irish Times)

Luka Bloom, vocals, guitar, banjo
Brian Morrissey, banjo (tracks 9, 10)
Jon O'Connell, double bass
Bill Shanley, electric guitar, acoustic guitar
Adam Shapiro, fiddle
Conor Byrne, flute
John Fitzgerald, guitar, ukulele, organ, vocals
Jimmy Higgins, percussion
Paul Dunlea, trombone
Gavin Moore, backing vocals (tracks 3, 11)
Leonard Cahill, backing vocals (tracks 3, 11)
Paula K. O'Brien, backing vocals (tracks 3, 11)

Luka Bloom
In 1972 Barry Moore wrote a song called WAVE UP TO THE SHORE. Not his first song, but it had something. He did some gigs, wrote some songs; and in 1987 he boarded a plane for New York, and Luka Bloom was born. Riverside was released in 1990 on REPRISE Records and it was followed by THE ACOUSTIC MOTORBIKE, AND TURF.

During the early 1990s the life of writing, recording and touring took off. The US, Australia, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, and The UK are frequent destinations for Luka’s songs. As well as his own touring, he has performed at some of the great festivals: Pinkpop (Holland); Roskilde (Denmark), Torhout\Werchter (Belgium), Newport Folk Festival (US) Byron Blues Festival(Australia), Glastonbury and Cambridge, (UK). And most of all, he regularly sings all over the island of Ireland, where he lives in County Clare.

This album contains no booklet.