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Afro Celt Sound System

In concert

Hay Festival 2014, 

When Afro Celt Sound System burst onto the music scene some 15 years ago their impact was so instant, so astounding, that it hit like a thunder crack. Here was a band unlike any other, a band whose fusion of West African rhythms, Irish traditional music and cutting-edge dance grooves battered the senses and unleashed a wellspring of joy and liberation. When they added diverse new touches – Indian bhangra, Arabic influences, dub reggae and more – they did so seamlessly, in ways that only enhanced their sound and emphasised their openness. A supergroup whose line-up expanded and evolved around four core members (Simon Emmerson, James McNally, Iarla O’Lionaird, Martin Russell), the Afro Celts’ pan-global sound redefined dance music and stumped music critics. They remain defiantly, enigmatically uncategorisable.

Afro Celt Sound System