D.F.F. (don’t ask us what it means) is the brainchild of collaborator Dave Flynn. While attending an IMRO seminar in 2000, Flynn first crossed paths with songwriter Pádraic O’Beirn and the pair began to write music together. Now 14 years on, with the help of renowned cellist and vocalist Vyvienne Long and Congolese guitarist Newil Tsumbu, Pádraic’s tunes (Pouric Songs) come to life in the form of 12 skillfully crafted “African tinged chamber pop” songs.

Right away ‘Mad For You’ acquaints us with Tsumbu’s West-African rhythms, Long’s sprightly harmonies and Flynn’s astute arrangements. And at first it seems like an odd concoction. A couple of listens later it becomes clear that D.F.F. – over 12 meticulously produced tracks – have delivered a cracking record.

‘Stone Walls’, with its ornate production and ethereal layered vocals, is straight out of the baroque pop handbook (that’s a good thing). Meanwhile, Tsumbu’s slick guitar work brings lashings of colour to the wonderfully titled ‘Beautiful Freaks Like Us’ and ‘The Mad Magician’ – the latter showcasing O’Beirn’s uncomplicated, poetic lyrics.

Trumping everything else on the record, however, is the outstanding musicianship: Long’s incandescent cello work is beyond beautiful, while Tsumbu’s Congolese rumba and Flynn’s masterful pop melodies are superbly bolstered by Ciarán Swift (rhythm guitar) and Dan Bodwell (double bass) with Swift and Aidan Dunphy providing all sorts of percussive delights.

With such a talented line-up, their upcoming nationwide tour, which culminates with a Button Factory (Dublin) show on April 12, is definitely one for the diaries.