Two decades on from their point of interest presentation collection, Sound Magic, the Afro Celt Sound System return in triumph with The Source. This European and African based group have been a momentous power in music since the time that they began, along the way discovering related spirits crosswise over universal ability and manufacturing a notoriety for thrilling appears.
World fusions come no more eclectic than that of the Afro Celts, with their meld of west Africa and the Gaelic diaspora. The group’s first album in 10 years tones down the electronica of earlier incarnations for a more acoustic but no less propulsive approach in which the kora, balafon and chants of Guinea vie with the pipes, flutes and reels of Highland and Ireland, and the dhol drums of bhangra. It’s an often giddy mashup: nowhere else will you hear a female African chorus alongside Gaelic rap and jazz bagpipes. Yet the group also conjures moments of beauty like Mansani Cissé/Tàladh, where harp, kora and lyrical vocals entwine majestically. A daring, triumphant creation.
01. Calling in the Horses
02. Beware Soul Brother
03. The Magnificent Seven (ACSS meets TDF)
04. Cascade
05. A Higher Love (tune 'Monkswell Road' )
06. Honey Bee
07. Where Two Rivers Meet
08. Mansani Cissé-Tàladh
09. Child of Wonder
10. Desert Billy (tune 'The Balcony')
11. The Communicator
12. The Soul of a Sister
13. Kalsi Breakbeat