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MINI REVIEW: AFRO CELT SOUND SYSTEM "VOLUME 1: SOUND MAGIC"



Artist: Afro Celt Sound System
Album Title: Volume 1: Sound Magic
Genre: World/Celtic/African/Eclectic
1996
Real World Records

When did I buy it?: I received it for Christmas in 2002.

Why did I buy it?: In the previous year (2001), I became an Afro Celts fan by listening to their music online. I had bought Volume 3 shortly thereafter and received Volume 2 that Christmas. At that point, I needed to get Volume 1 to complete my Afro Celt purchases, so I asked for the album for Christmas. I got it, and enjoyed it a lot.

What are the best songs?: I personally enjoy the high-energy dance tunes the most. "Whirl-Y-Reel 1" is perhaps the most famous of the Volume 1 songs. It's a bouncy, percussion-filled earthy dance. You gotta love the pervasive talking drum beat that gives the tune its heart. Additionally, there aren't many instruments left off the song. You get all the African stuff and all the great whistles and bagpipes too. It's truly an afro-celtic song. The remix of the song, "Whirl-Y-Reel 2 (Folk Police Mix)" is also quite awesome. It keeps the basic beat, but adds electronic drums too. The main difference is the more prominent bagpipe which propels the song to a different groove than the original.

"Sure-As-Not/Sure-As-Knot" has a great flow. It starts with a gorgeous tune played on the Kora, which is an African style of harp. It's set to an ambient groove and then changes to a jungle-and-bass breakdown after a few minutes. The addition of sampled children's chants add a great humanistic touch to the breakdown part of the song.

"Dark Moon, High Tide" is a great anthemic bagpipe-driven tune. With the pipes, whistles and bodhran, this is the most Celtic of the songs. It's very uplifting and rhythmic and flows nicely into the Folk Police mix of Whirl-Y-Reel.

"House of the Ancestors" is a very subdued, relaxing, trance-y song. The key here is the repetition of lyrics and music, creating a groove. It's a good example of the DJ culture merging with traditional sounds.

Any bad stuff?: The last song "Eistigh Liomsa Sealad/Listen To Me/Saor Reprise" is a bit sluggish and light on the instruments. It saps the energy built up by the previous three songs. "Nil Cead Againn Dul Abhaile/We Cannot Go Home" is a bit of a weird song and has very distracting vocals. Although the beats are interesting, the song doesn't carry the ear-soothing beauty of other songs. Also, this being Volume 1 of the Afro Celt Sound System project, there is a missing synergy and pizzazz. Perhaps because at this point it really WAS just a project, not a true band, the resulting album lacks the ear-gripping power of the next albums. The overall feeling is that of ambient/trance mixed with various African and Celtic sounds and it is at times too laid back.

Overall thoughts: Although this is my least favorite of the Afro Celt albums, it still has some great songs. The Whirl-Y-Reels are a great introduction to what the Afro Celt experience really means. They are the grandfathers of later songs like "Big Cat" and "Colossus" where the live, full band groove is the focus. This is a great album to relax to, meditate to, work in the garden to, or even fall to sleep to. The sounds flow into your head and become one with you instead of hitting you over the head. I prefer the later Afro Celt albums, but I feel this album is important for tracking the band's evolution. It was truly the start of something great, and is worth a purchase for its place in music history. It may lack the power of current Afro Celt projects, but it's still a worthwhile listen.

Album score: 3.5 out of 5 4 out of 5 (after further consideration by 2007)