When Africa Meets Ireland
Jeremy Gaunt
Posted On April 19, 2016
Listening to Afro Celt Sound System’s new album The Source (out April 29 on ECC Records) is like tuning in to Youssou N’dour meets the Chieftains. If that sounds unlikely, keep the faith. This album is a celebration two forms of roots music that meld in a way you really would not have thought possible.
First there are the drums — as in African drums, thumping away with an hypnotic rhythm. There there are the woodwinds — Irish flute work that soars and dips, and just makes you want to dance … and maybe quaff a Guinness.
It’s hard to beat Wikipedia’s description of the band:
World fusion, worldbeat, Afro beat, Celtic fusion, ethnic electronica
Afro Celt Sound System has been around in various forms since 1995 and produced something like six or seven albums. This latest is a gem. If you had to listen to just one track, I would recommend “The Magnificent Seven,” for the aforementioned drums and woodwind.
More hardcore, perhaps, is “Mansani Cissé/Tàladh” which should tell you by its name the different forms it takes. It starts off pure WOMAD, with West African beats and chants. But then what is this: A backing track that features Celtic harp? The whole thing is just lovely.
