Crate Digging: Sound Magic

by Afro Celt Sound System

Ahh, 1996. When white people wanted to be ethnic, so they started digging up all kinds of Celtic roots, and the bagpipe started to become a bold statement of identity. But then people realized that it wasn't all that cool without some African drums behind it, and some sort of fractally (cause the 90s were all about fractals) Magic Eyes sort of cover, that maybe said something about peace.

This, as a concept, sounds incredibly contrived, but it is actually a good cd. It's a little too long, and a little too Celtic in parts (although I'm sure that a lot of people find that the most appealing part), but there are some very good tracks here. The second, Whirl-Y-Reel (godawful names abound) is an incredibly nice piece of music still.

I remember playing this album in the used bookstore I worked at from '94 - '99, and this was the type of cd that would make everyone happy. The younger hip people were cool with it, and it made old peolpe feel especially hip, since they didn't hate it. And it's perfect 'background in a bookstore' music.

Do these guys still record?