N'Faly Kouyate, a griot from Guinea, joins with the other musicians weaving
his native art into a modern tapestry. He plays both the kota and balafon
and sings Mandinka which all gets entwined with English and Gaelic vocals.
"Traditionally, the griot has a special role in our society. They are
history guardians. For me to be an Afro Celt, I take traditional African
culture and mix this with Irish culture and song technique and continue the
job of my father and grandfather---to explain our history for other people."

   A European band member testifies, "the music's spiritualness from hundreds
of years back enters the stage with us every night." Listening to the
process of different cultures and musical styles fusing together, Rhythm
magazine's Mark Keating observes, "The dynamic tension of the music peaked
when the essentially all-acoustic Afro-Celt blend, played on traditional
instruments, was pressed against dance-club techno grooves. It is the
cross between the high-tech and the traditional that gives the Afro Celts
their distinctive sound. The music can sparkle brightly one moment and
brood darkly the next, all the while depicting ancient landscapes in
geographic detail."

-adapted from "Griots & Leprechauns" in Rhythm-
a magazine of world music and global culture, March 2000.