ROBIN BULLOCK
guitar, bouzouki, mandolin & keyboards

MICHEL SIKIOTAKIS
flute & tin-whistle

PRESS REVIEWS

Much-travelled American Irish guitar and bouzouki hero meets French wooden flute and whistle player, music collector and All-Ireland champion in a Parisian-Irish pub, and the result is...well, jolly good. Great tunes, great musicianship and a live spontaneous feel. "The Irish Chaps" might have been a better title - who needs a big band?

FRoots 251, May 2004

The Irish Girl in question is, of course, red-headed, like Rossetti's "La Ghirlandata" which adorns the CD cover. It is also the title of a reel recorded by James Morrison (and by Michael Coleman as well, but he called it "The Wild Irishman" - strange things happen). Featured on this disc is also the slow air "An Cailín Rua" meaning the red-haired girl. So far, so good. - American Robin Bullock (guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, keyboards) met Michel Sikiotakis (flute, whistle) in Paris, a Frenchman of Greek extraction but an All-Ireland champion too. So there is no need to hide for Robin & Michel. Michel executes dance tunes as well as slow airs with the same finesse. Robin's rythm guitar backing and his fingerstyle guitar (on Carolan's harp tune "Kitty Magennis") is sensitive; his mandolin picking is gypsy-hot ("La Valse des Niglos"). Both are composers as well. The album finishes off with a haunting slow air written by Michel; and "The Depth Charge" is a vivid jig by Robin: The title is a souvenir of his wilder days; a depth charge is a drink consisting of a shot glass of whiskey dropped (glass and all) into a pint of beer. Slainte!

Walkin' T:-)M • FolkWorld (02/2004)

Sing Out, Winter 2004

This is a gorgeous collection of (mostly) Irish instrumentals from well-known string wizard Robin Bullock and former All-Ireland Champion flutist Michael Sikiotakis. Bullock's playing, on guitar and bouzouki, is subtle enough to let the whole range of flute dynamics through. Sikiotakis is, simply, a genius!

All Music Guide, Nov. 2003

If you think Sikiotakis is kind of an unusual last name for an Irish flute player, you're right. And if you think Michel is an unusual first name both for an Irish flute player and for someone whose last name is Sikiotakis, you're right again. But if you think that being a Frenchman of Greek ethnic extraction has any adverse effect on Michel Sikiotakis' mastery of Irish flute and whistle technique, you only have to hear this album to see that you're dead wrong. American guitar and bouzouki virtuoso Robin Bullock is given equal billing on The Irish Girl, but Sikiotakis is the center of gravity here, his warm, woody, and lilting tone and joyfully virtuosic delivery inviting both admiration and awe. The repertoire is weighted just a bit too much toward the familiar — Sikiotakis plays "The Musical Priest," "Rocky Road to Dublin," and "Carolan's Welcome" beautifully, but doesn't necessarily bring anything new to these frequently recorded tunes. On the other hand, the overdubbed flute choir on a gorgeous Scottish lament called "Flight of the Eagles" is both unusual and tasteful, and the Ed Reavy composition "Lane to the Glen" is a melodically twisting surprise. Highly recommended.

Rick Anderson

Rating :

Claddadh Records Newsletter, Oct. 2003

THE IRISH GIRL. Robin Bullock & Michel Sikiotakis. DOR 93257. Bullock is American and plays guitar and bouzouki, Sikiotakis is French and plays tin-whistle and flute. The music is largely Irish. The accompaniment is subtle and enriching and the tunes are very well played. It's a very pleasant listening experience.

Finbar Boyle

Philippe Varlet, Celtic Grooves, Oct. 2003

MICHEL SIKIOTAKIS & ROBIN BULLOCK: THE IRISH GIRL. Michel Sikiotakis is a French flute and whistle player with two All-Ireland titles to his credit. He is joined by American mandolin, bouzouki, and guitar player Robin Bullock, whose name may be familiar to some for his performing and recording with in the group Helicon, with flute player Chris Norman, the John Whelan band, and as a solo "Celtic music" artist. Since Robin's recent
move to France, the two musicians have been performing together regularly, and the result of their collaboration can be heard here. Michel is equally at ease with the fast-paced dance tunes, the more stately harp compositions of O'Carolan, and the slow airs from the Gaelic singing tradition. Robin's accompaniments are mostly straightforward and restrained, while his fingerstyle guitar arrangements of tunes like "Kitty Magennis" have a pleasing quiet beauty. On the other hand, on one of the highlights of the album, the non-Irish "Valse des Niglos," Robin's mandolin picking has all the fire of a hot gypsy-jazz guitar solo. I'm not sure yet whether I will be carrying this CD which is on the Dorian label and should be widely available in the US, but it's well worth a listen. Rating: *** 1/2