Ahead of the release of In The Game on September 10, Mick Flannery and Susan O'Neill have shared a short documentary about the making of their upcoming collaborative album.

To coincide with the new video, they've also released a new single, 'Are We Free?'

The highly anticipated concept album finds the pair taking on the roles of star-crossed lovers, depicting the one stormy relationship across 14 tracks.

The new track was written by Mick as a 'sister song' to the acclaimed 2020 single ‘Baby Talk’, which won Best Original Song of The Year at the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards.

“The couple are really at one of their worst moments here," Susan says of 'Are We Free?'. "Cutting across one and other in heated arguments. It was really different to embody this type of emotion, getting into character for a fight to be sung.”

The album's themes are largely tied up in the central relationship – but speaking to Hot Press for our upcoming issue, Mick revealed that he also used the couple’s issues as a way of addressing what was happening in the wider world.

“We tried to tie in small personal disputes, and how they extrapolate outwards, to bigger problems,” he told us. “On ‘Are We Free?’, the characters are at their worst, bickering with each other. But I tried to write that song semi-politically as well. I tried to have one voice be individualism, and one voice be socialism.

“And then the chorus is the question: ‘Are we free to understand, or bound to repeat again, all the wars of before?’ Are those sides of human philosophy always going to butting up against each other, and repeatedly at war with each other, about what way the world should be set up? Should it be individualism, almost capitalism, or should it be more of a socialist or communist-type of arrangement?”

Watch the short documentary on In The Game, directed by Christopher Luke, below:

Pre-order the upcoming issue of Hot Press – featuring Mick Flannery and Susan O'Neill discussing inspirations, independence, politics in love songs, recording in lockdown and mohawks – below:

In addition to their upcoming tour dates, which you can find at inthegame.ie, Mick and Susan have also announced a series of Record Store Exclusive Album Launch Performances:

• Connolly’s of Leap x Music Zone Records: Sept 4th, 1.30pm –Access via pre-order with Music Zone
• Lantern Presents x Golden Discs Wexford: Sept 4th, 7.30 & 8.30pm – Access via pre-order with Golden Discs Wexford.
• Dolan’s x Steamboat Records: Sept 5th, 11.30am – Access via pre-order with Steamboat Records, Limerick
• Hotel Doolin x Steamboat Records: Sept 5th, 3.30pm - Access via Pre-order with Steamboat records, Limerick