ALBUM REVIEW: AFRO CELT SOUND SYSTEM "VOLUME 3: FURTHER IN TIME"

Review: Afro Celt Sound System "Volume 3: Further in Time"
(Disclaimer: This album review is my own work, with my own views and my own interpretations. I am not affiliated or endorsed by the Afro Celts in any way. I am simply a music fan giving my own opinion. Also, I apologize for any grammar errors made in the writing of this review.)

I first discovered the Afro Celt Sound System during the summer of 2001. I was reading an article about a new music venue in town, which mentioned that ACSS would tentatively be coming to Eugene in October or so. I had heard of the group, and was very curious about them after reading that, so I checked their website for more information. Lo and behold, their third album "Further in Time" was available for listening. Yes, that's right, the WHOLE album on Realplayer. I clicked on "Colossus" and was simply blown away!! This was Afro Celtic music. Drums, pipes, whistles. I was obviously very impressed and listened to some more tracks. Well, needless to say, after not too long I was purchasing that album, and it is currently my FAVORITE album in my collection.

"Further in Time" moves me like no other music, and the Afro Celts move me like no other group! So today I review this very album, "Afro Celt Sound System Volume 3: Further in Time." I hope I inspire anyone reading this to go out and purchase the album or at the very least take a good listen to the Afro Celts. And now the review, track by track:

1) North
The album starts off with "North," and it's a great intro to this incredible work. It works slowly, starting with light ambient sounds framed by distant African vocals and percussion. The ambient layers build and the voices get stronger, and the various instruments such as guitars and pipes work their magic. Then, the ambient turns into a booming, driving techno beat. I love this track because it's very subtle, and really INTRODUCES the album. This is something the group continues on their fourth album, and it works well each time. I also love how the song builds and builds without losing that basic African vibe. Definitely a good track to relax to, or dance to. Either way, you'll have fun!!

2) North 2
As North builds and finally ends, the wailing pipes merge into a VERY heavy techno beat. This is North 2, and the concept of the two Norths really demonstrates what I think the Afro Celts are all about: Merging the traditional with the modern. Now, this is NOT simply a club remix of North. It's really its own song and continues the themes that North started. Over the percussion and beats is the very catchy piping. This is a 21st century song all the way, something to dance to in a club or at a rave. I like this track a lot, because it's heavy and comes on strong. The heavy percussion rocks, and I'm definitely in love with the pipes. My only complaint is that the track is just a TAD too short. It's over before you REALLY get to enjoy it.

3) When you're Falling
The "hit song" of Further in Time. Peter Gabriel, head of Real World Records, sings guest vocals. The song is very catchy, and definitely sounds like a Peter Gabriel song! Iarla O'Lionard wrote the lyrics, by the way. The vocals are supplemented by a great group called the "Screaming Orphans" who add an African-sounding touch to this and many other songs. As for the music, this is very percussion-driven, although that seems to slack a bit in the middle of the song. One thing I don't like is not clearly hearing what instruments are making what sounds. Otherwise it just sounds like.....sound. Simon Emmerson contributes very lovely string instruments as well. Overall this song is very catchy and rhythmic, but also very melodic. The Screaming Orphans really make the song stand out, I think. This may not be my favorite track on the album, but I still love it nonetheless.

4) Colossus
Well, this is what started it all for me. It begins with pounding drums and a light whistle, eventually building and introducing other instruments. Then the pipes come, and the track goes into a great little ditty that repeats throughout. The magic of this track is that, even if the sounds repeat, they are made by different instruments, thus giving each band member a chance to shine. This is a very driving and uplifting track, and VERY Celtic. It's a perfect marriage of the African, the Celtic, and the Electronic. It's also a track that was obviously written to be performed live, something you will notice in many Afro Celt songs. Overall, I'd say that I love this track for its positive spirit and the way it includes SO many instruments. It will definitely get you out of your seat and dancing!

5) Lagan
A VERY powerful track. This is incredible, the whole thing is driven forward by the irresistible percussion. Over that percussion, Iarla layers his hauntingly beautiful Irish Gaelic lyrics, and N'Faly adds his African lyrics. Very inspirational! A third part of the mix is the strings, which makes the track sound THAT much better! This song has a lot of power and energy, themes that I find throughout the whole album. That's why I love it!! This is just a great track, I love it, and I love it because of the rhythms that pulse through your body when you listen to it.

6) Shadowman
Probably one of the most energetic, fast, furious, and danceable tracks on the whole album! It's got great percussion driving the beats, with techno sounds over that. Added to the mix is Demba Barry's African raps and the Screaming Orphans too! What results is a very powerful, rhythmic African club song!! This really shows what the group can do with the African elements, and adds a hip-hop flavor, which we did NOT see in the previous two albums! I, for one, really enjoyed the hip-hop stuff on "Further in Time," and I think it adds something big to the whole mix. However, even with all the African stuff, we DO have whistles and accordions by James McNally, which makes this a very Celtic song in the last half of it. Brilliant! This track shows you what Afro-Celtic music is and can be. The concept is made very obvious here. As for my own opinion of the track, I love it very much. It makes me VERY happy and uplifted, and I think it's a good model of the power and energy that this album brings. Good stuff!!

7) Life Begin Again
Another guest artist, this time the incomparable Robert Plant!! This one starts out with a very cool electric guitar effect, and immediately launches into a very Middle Eastern-inspired track with Robert's haunting vocals, and a sad violin, and of course the pounding drums!! This is the most Middle Eastern of any Afro Celt song since Inion on Volume One!! The emotion and power in this track is incredible, sounding like nothing the Afro Celts have ever done before. It goes to show that the Afro Celts really don't have boundaries. Sure they can take you to County Cork, Ireland or West Senegal in Africa, but they can ALSO take you to Egypt or Istanbul if they so desire. Once again, I can't tell you how much I enjoy Robert Plant's vocals here!! They are spectacular and make this a spectacular song.

8) Further in Time
The title track, and yet another journey into an African dance club, so to speak. The beats are a bit darker than "Shadowman" and over those dark beats are the talking drum and N'Faly's outstanding African vocals, with the Screaming Orphans doing a nice job of backing him up. It's little touches like the Screaming Orphans that make this Afro Celts album stand out, in my mind. I love this song, especially the little African rap at the end. So catchy!! The Afro Celts have somehow managed to take traditional sounds and make them good for the club/rave scene, which rocks! This song is another fine example of that.

9) Go On Through
This marks a change from the more clubby songs of the first half of "Further in Time" to the slower, more reflective, more organic second half. Starting with soulful bagpipes, this song utilizes the unique singing style of Pina Kollars to make a somber, quieter, peaceful song. The techno elements don't really come in until later in the song. Until then, you get the wonderful lyrics by Pina and Iarla, and the guitars and strings and other acoustic instruments. Very atmospheric. With this song, the Afro Celts turn their energy in a new direction, a more emotional direction. I love how peaceful the song is, and I love Pina's singing too. It takes some getting used to, I must admit. She's Austrian but sounds slightly African, or at least "worldly." Honestly, you can't really tell where she's from by her singing alone. It's like no other voice you'll ever hear.

10) Persistence of Memory
More of a "song" than an Afro Celt track, I'd say, but a very beautiful song at that. This song really belongs to Iarla, who sings beautifully with lyrics he wrote. This is subtler than other Afro Celt songs, with what I think is more of an emphasis on the singing. Musically, it has a slower but steady rhythm section, with touches of other instruments such as guitars, harp, and a very small bit of electronica. I think the keyboardists and sound engineers of the Afro Celts really do a great job of mixing the electronic elements in with the "real" instruments, so that the computerized sounds don't always hit you over the head. The computer is just another instrument here, and I love that approach.

11)The Silken Whip
A VERY Celtic track near the end of the album. James is the star here with his atmospheric whistles. He also rocks on the bodhran at the beginning. He uses a technique where he hits the wood end of the drum creating a "clickity-click" sound as opposed to the heavier sound of the goat skin itself. This is a slower song, more acoustic and organic, and, yes, VERY Celtic. But of course the African elements are there too in the Kora and the drums. And the electronica flows in and out, supporting the others sounds as it should. All I can really say about this song is that it's wonderful and there's not much to NOT like about it. It mixes the African and the Celtic and the electronic, but with a Celtic vocabulary, if that makes any sense. Sometimes words just can't describe the music, you know? Overall, this is another great track on a great album.

12) Onwards
How fitting that the second to last song is very Celtic, and the LAST song on this spectacular album is very African! The lads have thrown out the synthesizers and computers for this track, instead focusing on the acoustic elements. As a result, this sounds like it was recorded in a late night session around the bonfire in some African village. N'Faly, as the "Griot" (literally and figuratively) of the Afro Celts, shines with his reflective African lyrics. The Screaming Orphans also join in at certain points. Musically, this track is centered around the talking drum (and some other drum that I don't really have a name for), James' whistle, and Simon's string instrument (sounds like either a mandolin or a bouzouki). This is a very fitting last track, because the album started with a very slow, organic African feeling, and it ends the same way. We've been through so much, seen so many things and heard so many sounds and danced so many dances. But with "Onwards," N'Faly and the boys are ending it all and bringing the album to a soft, reflective close.

Overall thoughts about "Further in Time":

- First and foremost, this album is packed with POWER and ENERGY and EMOTION. I can hardly describe it, and when I can, those are the words I like to use. There is just a certain something flowing through each track and I can feel it, and I love it. Each song brings you to such emotional limits. This is what a truly great album can do, and in my mind this IS a truly great album!

- The slower songs are very reflective and atmospheric. The faster songs are very fast, very energetic, and will make you very happy and joyful. There really isn't too much middle ground. I feel that, with this album, the Afro Celts have finally got it right. They've made truly wonderful music that can drive you to tears or get you up and dancing!

- I love how they beefed up the sounds with the addition of background singers (such as the Screaming Orphans!), string sections, and of course the club beats that drive the music. All of these things add to the power of the music, and give the music substance.

- I love how this album had its very Celtic moments (Colossus, The Silken Whip) but yet also some very African moments (Shadowman, Onwards, Further in Time). "Seed" will take the African part even further than this, but this album was definitely an effort by the Afro Celts to emphasize both the Celtic and African elements of their mix. And it works SO well!!!

- Pipes are good. Lots of piping is even better.

- They've certainly expanded their rhythm section, which makes the music even better. They use the drums as a foundation for everything else, and that makes music that you can dance to or at least bob your head and tap your feet.

- This is an epic album from start to finish. It has an energy all its own that builds and builds. There are NO bad songs on here as far as I'm concerned. Every track takes you on a journey, and isn't that what music is supposed to do? The Afro Celts (or Afro Celt Sound System as they were known on this album) have given the world an important gift. In these tense times of international conflict, but also in these times of increasing globalization, "Further in Time" is a call for understanding through music. This is world music to me, because the world made it. And I hope that people around the world purchase this album and enjoy it. I know I enjoyed it. I continue to enjoy it, and I hope that you enjoy it too.