"Cyberia" starts off with a cold, harsh ambience combined with robotically amplified vocals and at first it seems like it's going to be like a echo effect of the techno bed that was "Further In Time" but instead melts into a strongly Celtic-African track with relatively little of the explosive polish of what the beginning part of the track made us think it would have. "Cyberia" is an absolutely lovely weaving of Celtic, African, and occasional electronic melodies. Absolutely lovely. The title track "Seed" is a more mainstream song that meshes the more blues-oriented side of "Further In Time" and the highly traditional drums of the "Sound Magic" era to produce an odd but very enchanting song combined with haunting African chants. "Nevermore" is a hypnotizing yet energetic, and danceable song with a mix of strongly Celtic vocals and exotic, echoing African chant. This is truly such an amazing song! There isn't much I could give out about this song but I can easily say that it's one of my favorites on this CD! "The Otherside" is one song that would've fit quite well on their last CD "Further In Time" having a fast, high energy rhythm and intense chanting laced with fast drumbeats and intense atmosphere combined with a mix of modern and ancient instruments. If you enjoyed "Colossus", you'll go head over heals with this track. "Ayub Song/ As You Are" is a definite return to the organic style that defined the obscure landscapes that was "Sound Magic", having almost none of the electronic techno dabblings and far more traditional, more acoustic recordings to it. Although this song is closer to their debut album than their third album, "Ayub Song" has some warmth and daytime brightness that is relatively absent from their debut (I do love the dark, and wintery feel of that album a lot too) . Still, for those who were taken aback by their 2001 album, this song will be a real treat. I absolutely love it. This song offers even more than I could ever give out. The next two are two separate tracks that are kind of like one long track. The first part entitled "Rise" is a dark, haunting, ambient interlude that gradually grows more intense with ambient crescendo, Celtic harps playing. Eventually, an intoxicatingly enchanting African voice comes in with a mesmerizing chant and finally, the ambience grows stronger with plucking 12-string guitar that merges the ending of this interlude track, into the centerpiece of the album "Rise Above It". "RAI" is my personal favorite song on "Seed". It starts with the ambience growing more intense but with textured, electronic melodic bleeps and gradually growing darker and less eerie but then it becomes a haunting danceable number with an amazing blend of dance, world, pop, and soul and has awesome vocals. The song is just incredible. Give it a listen to know what real power this track really has. I just don't know how to describe the song with this review.. Even better, the song clocks in at over 10 minutes long! Whenever I listen to these two songs, I can imagine myself floating above the Irish landscape with African huts dotting the landscape with a fiery pink/red sunset in the west! How bout that for imaginative music! "Deep Channel" is another awesome and uplifting track with haunting melodies and Celtic flutes all interwoven over a dramatic melody. Gradually, the song becomes a relatively danceable number similar to "The Silken Whip" from "Further In Time" but not quite as techno-oriented. This song will transport you into a whole other realm of beauty and majesty! "All Remains" is a darker and more melancholy track with haunting electronic New Age texture combined with a jazzy and downbeat African color to it but gradually becomes a warm and semi-uplifting track. This is such a gorgeous track. The closing track "Green" is basically an extended instrumental version of "Nevermore" with slightly altered melodies and different instruments in some places but overall, this song is an instrumental version of "Nevermore" but without the vocals. This track brings this album and this review to an enchanting close, leaving one to wonder what kind of creativity these guys are planning to come up with next on their fifth album, whenever it comes out! Perhaps they might even top this one too! Who knows? As so ends this review. Please buy this album!


Their best album yet?   June 15, 2003
Clarissa (Ontario, California)
12 out of 14 found this review helpful

Possibly so... The AfroCelts (formerly known as Afro Celt Sound System) have released their fourth album "Seed" and it does not disappoint. After bringing out the amazing "Further In Time" back in 2001 I really didn't think that the AfroCelts would be able to make another record as phenomenal as their last two but they've definitely proven themselves as great artists and I am very impressed. New CDs have been pouring in like crazy, as I'm quite addicted to music, but I haven't been able to listen to anything else lately and it only gets better every time I hear it.

Despite my love for them, at first I was a bit reluctant on buying their new album because so many people were using the word 'change' to describe their slight modification in sound, which terrified me since I already liked them the way that they were, but after hearing "Seed" all the way through I can feel rather than hear the difference as it's more organic and less commercialized (not that there's anything wrong with that). They're more of a group now and less of a studio act for they have brought in real musicians to perform live recordings of actual instruments, such as Jesse Cook on the flamenco guitar and Hossam Ramzy on the mazhar shaker and the Egyptian tabla.

That, worried hesitaters, is the difference everyone keeps referring to.

Although they took the sound system out of their name, there's still club-friendly dance beats melding in with African and Celtic melodies. And, of course, the beautiful, ethereal vocals are never far away and very much present. Their approach this time is simply a gentler flow with less of a high-energy drum presence that's much more soothing. And instead of using well-known names to help sell their records, the AfroCelts have shown that they are indeed a strong band and that they can stand out on their own two feet without having contributions from big-name artists like Sinead O Connor and Peter Gabriel.


4.5 stars - Just as good as Volume 3   December 30, 2004
Manny Hernandez (Bay Area, CA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

"Seed" represents the fourth production of Afro Celt Sound System (here known as Afrocelts). This is one ensemble that only gets better with time. Their first and second albums I enjoyed, but nowhere as much as their third one. And this album, I find just as solid as their third production.

The album's balance between afro, celtic and new age music seems to favor the latter two, though there are plenty of african voice samples and drums. But the overall feel I get after listening to it, is that I've heard a very good new age album with touches of celtic music and a hint at african sounds. With the exception of "Cyberia" and the title track, in general I enjoyed more the shorter tracks. The best example of this is the introductory "Rise" and the 10+ minute-long piece "Rise Above It" that builds upon it. The intro is extremely powerful, yet the follow-up gets to a point where it cannot hold your attention much longer.

All in all, this is one solid production by this world music party. Don't miss it. Like most acts from Real World Music, it deserves a space in your music shelves.


Between Localities and Beyond Scylla and Charybdis Binaries   April 13, 2004
benjamin (USA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

I really, *really* like this CD. It exists in a positive tension between different localities - primarily African and Celtic, but also with bits of Spanish guitar and American rock - and therefore subverts the binary tension found in so much of "world" music: local melodies techno-blasted to death in the name of "global" [=Western!] sensibility.

Of course, the CD still raises some interesting ethical questions about the particularity of local narratives and their relationship/s to one another in "world music", as if the "local" were somehow subsumed to the totality of the "world". Yet, the Afro Celts navigate between different styles of local music without losing them in some sort of world music stew - and that is what I appreciate most about this CD.

The songs move; they never get too boring and are far from repetitive. Songs that start off so thoroughly unassuming burst into throbbing songs of joy that make you want to take out your clogs - or at least watch Riverdance and learn through some sort of visual osmosis. Either way, you will end up tapping *both* feet along and probably bobbing your head, too.

The flutes on this CD are particularly enjoyable. The flute on "Cyberia" has spirit: it will make the hair on your neck stand up. "Ayub's Song/As You Were" also features the flute, but along more playful lines, and "Deep Channel" returns to more spirited and haunting melodies.

The Afro Celts are one of the most enjoyable bands that I know of in the world music scene. They keep the particularities in just the right places, and let them flavor the songs in enjoyable and unexpected ways. The global village looks and sounds beautifully varied through the aural lens of _Seed_.