Afro Celt Sound System.

very popular among boring wankers who find 'worldbeat' interesting because it's 'popular' and more importantly 'non-threatening'. this is a definite "12 CDs" band.

rob

I gather that whatsisname, their singer, is very well regarded in the world of Irish traditional music - as in he isn't some chancer dabbling in trad to sell records by cultivating an air of exoticism. But that doesn't necessarily mean Afro Celt Sound System are any good, of course. a PFW likes them.

I actually didn't mind the first album when it came out...an interesting hybrid of the two styles of music, though it could be argued that Dead Can Dance had already proved the compatibility of Celtic and African rhythms on the Spiritchaser album, if not the Into the Labyrinth album. It falls victim to the RealWorld syndrome, though, in that it takes these traditional musics too far away from the traditional in an effort to get them into the ears of the more adventurous pop-heads. I still contend that the first album has its moments, but the other two don't really add anything.