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through their musical expression. The tradi- tional music, whether Celtic, Mandinka or Punjabi is not watered down in Afro Celt Sound System, rather each strong individual sound is beautifully interwoven in a sonic tapestry that allows every element to breathe and shine whilst creating a seamless cohesive whole. As Kalsi explains: “One thing about this form of music, we play together, we don’t cross over, we don’t tread on each others toes, there’s no conflict with each other’s traditions – only love and respect and that’s the best thing about it. The humanity and the love for the music.”
Johnny F Simon
inding that druid philosophy res- onated with his experiences as a musician, through it Emmerson found the tools to dig deep to the source that connects us all, the underground spring of human experi- ence, which bubbles up to the surface to be expressed through different traditions and cultures. Emmerson, though dyslexic, enjoys study with a degree in sociology, psycholo- gy and philosophy and was half way through a PHD in sociology and philosophy before becoming a full time musician. His bardic studies and growing understanding of druid concepts fed directly into the suc- cess of his Imagined Village project which he began around 2004, a musical explo- ration of cultural identity rooted in the land, wherever that land might be.
It’s no accident that the members of the current Afro Celt Sound System are people who, completely rooted in their individual traditions, also realise and celebrate their deep interconnection. World class musicians all, they are able to convey it creatively
Kouyaté explains that playing in Afro Celt Sound System gave him “The possibility to show the value of my country. You can’t stay only with your culture and not look out. For me we can use new technology to give value to our tradition. The sound sys- tem in the Afro Celts helped me discover this. War music is traditional for some peo- ple,” (referring to the opening track on The Source, an ancient Mandinka invocation for courage and well-being of the people, as the horses are called in for the chiefs about to ride into battle) “but with this system it is for many people. Your culture has more visi- bility. When I started with the band we went to Central Park in New York. There were some Guineans there. They cried. They say we have never discovered our music here! They didn’t think it was possible. It was a big thing for me. If I stay with my kora and balafon in Senegal I can’t make the music go to New York, but with this mix I go there, it gives me love to propose our cul- ture to many.”
I
t’s a similar story for Griogair. “As a Scottish Gael,” he says, “I don’t have equality. My language and culture are not respected, not even within Scot- land.” Describing the marginalisation that stems from the signing of the Treaty of Iona 300 years ago when his language was banned, education had to be in English and Gaelic poets and artists were executed, he says, “You become forgotten, a group of indigenous people put down over centuries.”
It’s been a tough journey to make peace with that, he says. You need to go through a process of “de-colonising the mind,” referring to the book by Kenyan writer Ngugi wa Thiong’o. “In Afro Celt Sound System I’m a partner, I’m given free range to express myself any way I like, it’s a beautiful relationship.”
One of the ways Griogair expresses himself, through rap – “Hip-hop has been a fantastic way of expressing the Gaelic lan- guage” – brings a modernity to the ancient bardic tradition he belongs to whilst his beautiful, sometimes jazz-inflected, piping brings shades of modernity to piobaireachd. “My whole identity is Gaelic, but I love African-American music. Blues has been a big part of all my life and hip-hop is a mas- sive part of who I am. It’s a way of being with all people who are part of struggle throughout the world.”
Griogair’s global outlook is firmly root- ed in his very specific local tradition, that which springs from his Western Highland village of Ballachulish, and it’s this particular dialect he speaks. He stands in a line of illus- trious Gaelic and musical pedigree with his mother descended from the ancient kings and queens of Scotland and his father from a long line of pipers. Griogair could sing
Griogair
canntaireachd before he could speak and his formal piping education began at six, informally from the age of three.
The idea of playing any Celtic music at all, wherever it came from, was as far away from Kouyaté’s mind as it’s possible to get. So it was a surprise to him when he found it felt entirely natural. “I never thought I’d play Celtic music. But when I sing in Gaelic I’ve found many similarities in the words.”
In fact the band are often surprised to find they use Gaelic words that have the same or a similar meaning in Mandinka and vice versa and that both cultures share fun- damental archetypes. Drawing on myths and poetry from both traditions in The Source, as the informative sleevenotes explain, they illustrate a link between the two cultures that nods towards a theory that they are historically linguistically linked. Emmerson describes playing Daande Lenol to Davy Spillane for the first time. “As soon as he heard it he got hold of me and said ‘I know this music’.” And Spillane then told him a tale of the Afro Celts.
N’Faly
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