Customer Reviews
Guinness with African chaser - By: Andy Millward, 03 Feb 2004 
Having seen the Afro Celts live in London in 2003, buying their back catalogue was high on my agenda. This, the second album, is my favourite. Imagine a powerful combination of techno synths & Asian & African drums (on stage, they have anything up to four percussionists at any one time) to lay the foundations, with soft, floating Irish pipes, whistles & mellifluous vocals layered on top to chill the soul. At once muscular dance music with a gentle brogue - a pint of Guinness with a stiff chaser of African brew!
This collections starts with the gorgeous Release, aided by Sinead O'Connor, but the reallly rousing stuff comes towards the end. I just adore the first half of Riding the Waves - spooky, haunting guitar & synth riff, persistant beats from talking drum & a bounty of other percussive instruments - sounding like the theme to a particularly atmospheric gangster thriller - before the vocals soften the effect.
If you get the rare chance, see this band live, but in the meantime this is a fine way to introduce yourself to their material.
Ear candy - By: Arctic Fox, 07 Mar 2003 I heard a track by ACSS by complete chance while surfing an online radio station, & was captivated by its rich mix of celtic sounds & african rhythms - so much so that I sought out this album. There is no doubt that it has surpassed my wildest expectations - the subtle blend of complex drum beats, traditional instruments, haunting vocals, raw african voices & the sheer energy of the performance lifts you to new heights of pleasure.
Uplifting yet mellow, raw yet musicallly accomplished - an eclectic fusion which can't fail to get your foot tapping & your body moving!
Awesome - like Peter Gabriel on steriods! - By: , 31 Aug 2001 I heard this CD for the first time after reading a rave review of their August concert at the Filmore in San Francisco. I must say, it quite literallly blew me away. This is easily the best & most inventive album I've heard in many a year. I'm now a confirmed fan.
African Drums + Celtic Folk + Drum & Bass = excellent! - By: , 07 Jan 2001 This album combines styles from around the world with deep electronic basslines & hard-hitting drum machines. This is what "World Music" should be; taking ideas & sounds from around the world without trying to fit it into Western composition - they don't simply take African drums, sample them & try & fit them to a 4/4 drum machine. Instead, they cleverly take each of the styles & carefully combine them to create a complex structure.
The clever programming has payed off, though - Volume 2 is an amazing peice of work. It's far more Drum & Bass than the first one, but that's more my style. Excellent - buy it!
Speechless - By: ziconess@breathemail.net, 26 Jun 2000 One of the best albums ever. Some of the songs left me speechless. Moving, dancing, living, breathing MAGIC.
