August

Since the release of their first album, Modus Operandi, in 2013, Trio Dhoore, made up of brothers Koen (hurdy-gurdy), Hartwin (diatonic accordion) and Ward (guitars, synths and soundscapes) Dhoore, have become a leading Flemish music export and firm festival favourites across Europe and Canada. Their compelling fusion of traditional Flemish tunes with their own music continued to blossom through Parachute (2015) and Momentum (2016) and this fan-funded new instrumental collection was inspired by the determination of a particular Flemish fisherman, which the brothers felt had something to say about their own ability to make a living from playing music and travelling. In the 18th century, Flemish fishermen sailed to Iceland to fish, a perilous journey likely to take about six months, in order to provide for their poor families who stayed behind. Particularly hardy and determined men might manage about ten of these trips during their working lives, but a certain ‘August’ made over 33 journeys before he retired. Supplemented here and there with euphonium or bugle from Gregory Van Seghbroeck, and with a positively gleaming production from their long-time producer Jeroen Geerinck, Trio Dhoore's terriffic fourth album is often entrancing, always entertaining and seems likely to remain endlessly listenable.