From the CD Booklet " Prospect "

The Northeast of England has long had a healthy Irish music tradition, and the new quintet Cuig ( Irish Gaelic for five ) is the region's current sensation. Their debut album Prospect is a bracing mix of Irish and Northumbrian tunes that Folk Roots called " one of the freshest, most inventive Celtic surprises this year ".

Cuig was formed in 1999 around Martin Matthews, a widely-known Northumbrian musician whose composing and arranging skills have been tapped by such artists as Sharon Shannon, Kathryn Tickell, Karen Tweed and Ian Carr. With his adventurous musical spirit,multi-instrumental talents and inventive arrangements, Martin is the axis around which the band revolves.

He is joined by the vibrant acordion/fiddle playing of husband-and-wife team Deirdre and Paul Ruanne, and a rhythm section is driven by bass player Sean Taylor and flautist/percussionist Norman Holmes.