The Afro Celt Sound System have been described as the missing link between The Chieftains and the Chemical Brothers or as Irish music on acid. These are smart one liners but only tell part of the story. For a start, they miss the vital ingredient of the West African rhythms and on top of that they don't pay tribute to the other global sounds in their albums like Indian bhangra, Arabic influences, and dub reggae.
Still, however you choose to summarise the group's pan-global sound, there's no mistaking that their 15 year musical journey has been a remarkable one. For newcomers and long term fans alike, the wealth and breadth of their sound is now handsomely documented in this wide ranging compilation from their five studio albums.
The 25 tracks on the two CD collection offer a two and a half hour retrospective which have been divided into 13 songs (Verse) on the first CD and 12 instrumentals (Chorus) on the second. This arbitrary split proves to be somewhat misleading given that several of the dozen 'instrumentals' on Chorus do in fact feature vocals prominently.
The story began in Senegal, West Africa in 1994 when producer Simon Emmerson was working on Baaba Maal's brilliant Firin' in Fouta album. Emmerson was so struck by similarities between African and Irish instrumentation that back in the UK he decided to put together members of Baaba Maal's band with some Irish musicians to see what happened. What started out as a one-off experiment turned into a full blown project whose full potential became apparent as soon as a band began performing the material live.
They debuted their first album - Volume 1 - Sound Magic - at WOMAD and have been a staple of this festival ever since. Five tracks are taken from this striking debut release, including a shortened version of Dark Moon, High Tide (here called just Dark Moon) that was featured in Martin Scorsese's Gangs Of New York' .
Over the years, the line-up has expanded and evolved but is essentially built around four core members Emmerson ( guitars, cittern), James McNally (whistles, keyboard, bodran), Iarla O'Lionaird (vocals), Martin Russell (keyboards, programming) .
Keyboard player Jo Bruce (son of Cream's Jack) was the fifth founder member but tragically died after a massive asthma attack prior to their second album. He was just 29 and this loss cast a huge shadow over the band's second album entitled Release .The title track featuring Sinead O'Connor's lilting vocals stands as a symbol of the band's decision to carry on and provides a moving tribute to his memory. It opens with the poignant lines "Don't argue among yourselves because of the loss of me".
Three other tracks are taken from this album - Eireann, Urban Aire/Big Cat and Lovers Of Light
The largest number of tracks come from Volume 3 - Further In Time (2001), eight in total. By this time the band had begun to hit their stride and could boast other high profile collaborations with Peter Gabriel and Robert Plant. Of this album, Martin Russell was quoted as saying "we're going to break all the rules" and major global success looked imminent.
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Indeed, things may have turned out differently had the Gabriel track (When You're Falling) not been released in the aftermath of 9/11 . The video for this song featured a man falling from the clouds, past an plane and alongside skyscrapers that look a little too similar to the twin towers. It was not surprisingly hastily shelved and the band's momentum temporarily stunted..
This called for a rethink. For the follow up album Seed , two years later, they shortened their name to Afrocelts, dispensed with the celebrity guests and announced there would be more real instruments and less programmed sounds. As a result the four tracks from Seed featured on Capture sound noticeably more subdued and relatively conventional. These include a classy Rae and Christian smooth soul remix of Persistence Of Memory and Rise Above It featuring Mundy and Eileen Ivers. The latter sounds vaguely like a U2 song before it morphs with an Irish jig..
Two of the three tracks from their most recent album (Anatomic, 2005) find them returning back to the more familiar name of Afro Celt Sound System and with an elegant, more sophisticated sound. These songs feature the striking voice of Dorothee Munyaneza, a survivor of the Rwanda genocide. Mother beautifully expresses the sadness and joy of families torn apart then reunited; while When I Still Needed You serves is a stirring finale to the disc one.An instrumental Chosen from disc two (Chorus) is also linked to these tragic events, being taken from the movie soundtrack of Hotel Rwanda.
The other track from Anatomic (Mojave) has a more upbeat feel even though it starts slowly with a plaintive Native American style chant. Gradually, what the band describe as "the hard rhythms and soft tune" builds into an epic polyrhythmic dance tune.
Capture ends on disc two petty much where the story began with a version of Whirl Y Reel #2 from the band's first album; a bold combination of Davy Spillane's uillean pipes with programmed dance beats
As computer technology and sound sampling has advanced, the breaking down of musical categories is now relatively commonplace and Afro Celt Sound System operate in a more crowded marketplace than in1995. That they are still going strong is a tribute to their staying power and ability to change without losing sight of the traditional roots that underpin their evocative and expansive music.
Band website
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