The new AfroCelts album Seed is being released on the Real World Records label. Seed is the band's latest album since their 2001 release Vol. 3: Further in Time which was nominated for the Grammy Award, Best World Music Album.

Seed, AfroCelts 4th album, is a progressive step in the group's songwriting style and ability. In a conscious move away from the "Soundscape," a genre of electronically programmed beats and sounds which they worked with in their first three albums, this work emphasizes the skill and versatility of the group's acoustic abilities. "It became apparent as we made the record that we're NOT a sound system any more," says guitarist and co-producer Simon Emmerson. "We've moved on and what you hear on this album is a product of all the years of playing live and interacting with each other as musicians." Unfortunately, the "organic" sound that AfroCelts is trying to achieve in Seed falls somewhat short. Yes, it is acoustically inclined. There are fiery instrumental solos and passages peppered throughout the album, however the primary texture of the music is still the programmed drum and bass sound heard widely in techno clubs. The disappointment about AfroCelts is that their namesake is somewhat misleading. Although there are African musicians playing African instruments in the band, there is little hint of an African musical sensibility influencing the overall sound of the music. More accurately, there are several African and Celtic (more of the latter in Seed) instrumental passages placed on top of the highly programmed genre AfroCelts has created.

There are a number of guest artists who appear on Seed. They include Canadian flamenco guitarist Jesse Cook, the Brazilian singer Nina Miranda, Irish rocker Mundy, Kenyan Nyatiti player Ayub Ogada and traditional Irish fiddlers Martin Hayes and Eileen Ivers. On tracks like the opening "Cyberia," "Nevermore," "Rise Above It," (the album's single) "Deep Channel," and "Ayub's Song/As You Were," you can hear their sounds coming through. The most notable performances are by Hayes and Ivers in "Ayub's Song/As You Were" (the album's only exclusively acoustic track), and "Deep Channel." The fiddles sound good, in part, because the music and rhythm surrounding their performance is best suited for their style. The same is true of the performance made on the Uillean Pipes by AfroCelts veteran Emer Maycock. In "Deep Channel," she plays a steaming solo that will simply knock your socks off. "Ayub's Song/As You Were" is the album's most pleasant track. It begins with the Kenyan Nyatiti, (a type of lyre that comes from the Luo people near Lake Victoria), backed by the smooth ensemble of Bodhran, Guitar and Bass. After some singing the tune turns into an Irish Jig of sorts, the fiddle and Irish whistle play some quickly paced, interlocked passages, and the kora comes through the mix at one point. Some interesting ideas of combining African and Irish sensibilities are played with, but they only get about halfway congealed.

One thing that AfroCelts cannot be accused of is lack of energy. Almost all of tracks on Seed are pumped-up affairs that are great for dance clubs and summer concerts. "Deep Channel," "Nevermore," and "Rise Above It" build energy slowly and steadily and maintain it once they've reached 5th gear. This is no small feat in the world of music programming. Fortunately, if you buy the CD, what you hear from your speakers will be what you hear if you see AfroCelts in concert. "We mixed and arranged the record as we would play it live," says Emmerson. Seed is being released March 25, 2003 which will give listeners plenty of time to become familiar with the music for summer dance parties and shows.

Reviewed by Andrew Harms for www.afropop.org