Afro Celt Sound System
The album was produced by Simon Emmerson and Martin Russell. Most of the album's distinctive vocals are supplied by County Cork's sean nos (old style) singer, Iarla Ó Lionáird, who also has his own CD on Real World entitled 'The Seven Steps to Mercy' released in September 1997 and produced by Michael Brook. N'Faly Koyyate also possesses a great voice, which works magic with Iarla's vocals, ...in particular on the song 'Amber',where he and Iarla join forces in a luminous hypnotic vocal meditation. Koyyate also provides some great kora ( West African harp) and balafon playing on the album. A real standout is the eighth cut, Hypnotica which covers a lot of musical territory. Beginning with Celtic harp, it glides into a beautiful kora solo, and then morphs into a dense techno dub dance piece. The fusion of contemporary styles and ancient traditions blend together to explore the Celtic and African roots of modern music in the British Isles. It's this type of interplay that makes this music so invigorating. Guest vocalist, Sinead O'Connor joins Iarla on the album's opening cut, and title track, Release. It begins with a deep organic drone and ancient invocation, while Iarla's dark vocals weave in and out of the piece perfectly counter balanced by Sinead's sultry tones. Eijreann is another vocal masterpiece with the voices of Iarla and N'Faly flowing over kora and whistle refrains. Piper, Ronan Browne, does a splendid job on Urban Aire with his Uillean pipes creating a slow hypnotic atmosphere. The interplay of the bodhran and the African percussion is at it's best here, but also continues to drive the groove throughout the album's eleven cuts. It's wonderful to hear how well James and Moussa work together with this fusion of percussive styles. Volume 2: RELEASE, is the bands first recording in three years, and a powerful followup to their highly acclaimed debut album. Volume 1: Sound Magic, released on 15 July 1996 on Real World proved to be a real surprise to the music world. The album's fresh fusion of African and Celtic instrumentation combined with the studio skills of Grammy-nominated producer, Simon Emmerson, subsequently drew rave reviews and ecstatic live audiences around the world. RELEASE is the result of a year spent writing collectively, after a tough ordeal of soul-searching, and reorganization following the sudden tragic death of keyboardist, Joe Bruce, son of Cream's Jack Bruce. The group has reemerged with a true masterpiece, a unique and truly noteworthy collection of music. Review by Ben Kettlewell |
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This
is one of the best albums Real World has ever produced. The
focus of the label is to feature outstanding world music
combined with innovative new forms of music and ideas to
generate a hybrid of various cultures and musical
influences. This album could certainly be the trademark of
that intention. The Afro Celt Sound System has successfully
fused together many elements, from traditional Irish, Gaelic
and traditional African songs, to cutting edge electronica
with hypnotic dance beats. The idea for the band Afro Celt
Sound System grew out of Simon Emmerson's 1992 production of
Senegalese singer Baaba Maal's 'Lam Toro' album where he
used Uillean pipes player Davy Spillane to add an Irish
timbre to the tracks, alongside the West African kora.
