Product Description

No Description Available.
Genre: World Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 4-OCT-2005

Track Listing

1. When I Still Needed You
2. My Secret Bliss
3. Mojave
4. Sen� (Working the Land)
5. Beautiful Rain
6. Anatomic
7. Mother
8. Dhol Dogs
9. Drake

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #143453 in Music
• Brand: AFRO CELT SOUND SYST
• Released on: 2005-10-04
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Amazon.com
Their debut album broke down many tediously outdated barriers. Now the Afro-Celts are back with another genre-bursting, non-preachy, multi-culti soundscape. There has never been anything bland or generic about the ensemble's output as their concept of one-world music is less color-blind than color-appreciative; in other words, they don't ignore our differences but celebrate them. Anatomic continues an ongoing pilgrimage of respectful collaboration, wherein Western studio mastery abuts Irish flutes and percussion, harp-like West African koras, keening bagpipes, and gutty Greek bouzoukis, all presented over a resonant, crunchy bottom with beats and electronica for days. Iarla Ó Lionáird sings in English and Gaelic, sitting in with Sevara Nazarkhan from Uzbekistan (who is lovely if disembodied on "My Secret Bliss") and Dorothee Munyaneza, a genocide survivor whose soulful pipes made such a strong impression on the soundtrack to Hotel Rwanda. As always, Simon Emmerson's guitar fulfills dual roles as a melodic vector and tireless rhythmic powerhouse. --Christina Roden

Customer Reviews

10 years old and still breaking boundaries
Ok, before reviewing this CD, let me just say that as of this writing (5th October 2005) the sound clips on this site are still WRONG. Wake up amazon! If you're considering buying this CD and want to hear what the Afro Celt Sound System sounds like, you might want to check out some other online music retailers. At the very least, look up one of the band's five other albums on amazon and listen to those sound clips, which will give you an idea of what the band is like.

Now that the ranting is over, let's talk about the music. ACSS released their first album ten years ago to wild critical and commercial acclaim. That recording, VOLUME 1: SOUND MAGIC, was a world fusion masterpiece. Their subsequent releases have all built on that foundation, from the club-friendly beats of VOLUME 2: RELEASE and the global power of VOLUME 3: FURTHER IN TIME (which featured pop and world music guests such as Peter Gabriel, Robert Plant, and Altan) to the more organic and ethereal sounds of 2003's SEED and the dramatic reinterpretations of last year's POD (a remix project that was more creative and fulfilling than anything else in its class).

ANATOMIC is proof positive that the Afro Celt Sound System has honed its craft to near perfection. The opening track, "When I Still Needed You" is a heart-wrenching epic that marries accordian, bouzouki, bodhran and other percussion, and superb programming with the impassioned vocals of Dorothee Munyaneza, a survivor of the Rwandan genocide who first collaborated with the band on the HOTEL RWANDA soundtrack. This is followed by "My Secret Bliss," a funky duet between Iarla O'Lionaird and guest vocalist Sevara. The 10-plus minute "Mojave" is the musical and emotional high point of the album, with atmospheric keys, spiritual Gaelic vocals courtesy of Iarla, and a vast array of instrumentation including uilleann pipes by Emer Mayock, dhol drums courtesy of Johnny Kalsi, some very soukous/East African-inspired guitar by Simon Emmerson, and beautiful Irish whistle and bodhran by James McNally, who plays just about every instrument imaginable, and plays it well.

Each song that follows is a joy, from the gentle African strains of "Sene" (featuring vocals and kora by N'Faly Kouyate, with a sound reminiscent of Youssou N'Dour) to the beautiful electronic ballad "Beautiful Rain" with English vox by Iarla. The title track is a classic Afro Celts instrumental with swirling keyboards, uilleann pipes, fiddles, and percussion that will light up the dance floor, while "Mother" features another appearance from Dorothee Munyaneza, trading vocals in a touching duet with Iarla. "Dhol Dogs" assaults the senses with aggressive programming and a symphonic, "Europe meets Asia" vibe, and then "Drake" ends the hour-long journey on a mellow note with a predominantly acoustic sound that eventually morphs into electronic bliss.

Producer/engineer Martin Russell ties the whole package together with sensitivity and grace, proving once again that the Afro Celt Sound System is the only act around to have discovered the perfect musical balance between man and machine. ANATOMIC is a feast for the ears and the perfect capstone to ten years of musical milestones from this ground breaking band.

Give Your Feet A Workout.
The new Afro Celt Sound System album "Anatomic" is superior to their previous release, 2003's "Seed". "Anatomic" returns the band to their electrobeat roots. Sonic workouts like "Mojave" and "Dhol Dogs" bring the group back into focus. Yet, I still felt that their 2001 album "Volume 3: Further In Time" remains their best, and most realized work. Elsewhere, you will find other solid tracks here like "Sene (Working The Land)", "Mother" and "When I Still Needed You". There's just enough variety here to keep things interesting at nearly 61 minutes.

My only complaint here is that the band seems to become more like a country/Christian/new age band here, which is fine, but I'd prefer them to be a little more electronic worldbeat band instead. Still, if you've liked their four previous albums, you ought to enjoy this one. The music is still identifiable as Afro Celts, and the band hasn't changed that much from album to album, so it would be nice for them to really stretch themselves at this point in their career. We'll just have to wait and see.

Volume 5: Anatomic Afro Celt Sound System
I have the other four volume's and I find this to be one of the best. I enjoyed this CD so much that I purchased Laria O Lionard/Invisible Fields one of the singers of the Afro Celt Sound System.