Afro Celt Sound System

Producer/guitarist/visionary/dance DJ Simon Emmerson broke through many cultural and musical barriers when he founded a group to explore the common ground between African and Celtic music. Collaborating on an album with Senegalese star Baaba Maal in 1991, Emmerson was struck by the similarity between one of Maal's tunes and a traditional Irish air and resolved to explore the parallels more closely. After some experiments at Peter Gabriel's Realworld studios in Wiltshire, the Afro Celt Sound System resulted, with Irish 'sean nos' singer Iarla O Lionáird, flautist James McNally, dhol drummer Johnny Kalsi and kora player N'Faly Kouyate among those recruited in a line-up of eight members from six different countries. Their first album Volume 1: Sound Magic was released to great acclaim in 1996 and they became a major touring attraction. However, the death of keyboard player Jo Bruce from an asthma attack delayed second album Release, but Sinead O'Connor joined them in the studio for a tribute song that put the album back on track and they continued to blaze an exciting trail through uncharted territory. More albums Further In Time (2001), Seed (2003) and Anatomic (2005) followed after which they took a break, but reunited in 2010 with live dates and compilation album Capture.