March 8, 2000
(The orila nò (libeerurr --------------------- < Focus
In Music
The Afro Celt Sound System
ion T he P ortland O bserver
K
Three years and over 200,000 record
sales from the release o f their
critically-acclaimed debut album,
VOLUME 1: SOUND MAGIC,
Afro Celt Sound System are widely
acknowledged as one o f the most
innovative and pioneering groups
to emerge from the increasingly
e c le c tic
c ro ss-c u ltu ra l
experimentations at the cutting edge
o f “world music” in the 90s.
VOLUME 2: RELEASE is the
result o f a year spent w riting
co llectiv ely , after m uch soul-
se a rc h in g and re o rg a n iz a tio n
following the sudden tragic death
ofkeyboardist Joe Bruce. The group
has re-emerged with a dynamic and
emotionally charged album that
weds the delicacy o f their acoustic
instruments - harp, kora, bodhran,
djembe, uillean pipes, talking drum
-w ith the multidimensional, layered
production o f Simon Emmerson and
M artin R u sse ll. T he b a n d ’s
characteristic Celtic-Wes, African
fusion, inherently joyful and high-
energy, is offset by a discernible
bittersweet quality, darker and more
melancholic than the first album ’s
e ffu siv e sp irit - ex p ressiv ely
The members o f the British band are
and ¡arla O Lióbaurd.
underscored by the performances
o f guest musicians Nigel Eaton on
eft to right) Simon Emmerson, James McNally, N 'Faly Kouyate
hurdy gurdy; Michael McGoldrick
andRonan Browneon uillean pipes;
Page 5
Youth on bass; Dhol Foundation s
Johnny Kalsi on dhol drums & tabla,
and Sinead O ’Connor on vocals.
Afro Celts are a paradox - firmly
rooted in some o f the oldest musical
traditions on earth, ye, colliding
h e ad -o n w ith c u ttin g -e d g e
electrónica. larla is among the
fo rem o st purveyors o f W est
Ireland’s ancient unaccompanied
sean nos vocal style; Myrdhin plays
an ancestral Breton harp, and both
N ’Faly and Moussa are venerated
griots from West Africa’s esteemed
b ardic sch o o ls o f m aster
musicianship. Conversely, Simon
com es from the c o n te x t o f
experimental dance music, and
James’ background was with the
Pogues and the Irish hardcore hip-
hop group Marxman. From these
far ends of the musical spectrum
comes the entity that stormed the
stage at the C am bridge Folk
Festival, played to a full-on dance
crowd at Tribal Gathering, and
played to a widely enthusiastic
crowd o f 20,000+ MTV rockers at
Holland’s Lowlands Festival.
As Martin Russell says, “Everyone
wanted the album to be hard and
kicking, to reflect the live attitude
o f the band. However, we didn’t
want huge Thunderous beats with
token African and Celtic soundbites
over the top.”
World Renowned Drum Master
The Story behind Santana’s guitar
A ssociated P ress
Carlos Santana knows what he likes
in a guitar. And one thing he likes is
wood from Olympic Peninsula big-
leaf maples.
Santana, who won Eight Grammy
A w ards, perfo rm ed his single
“Smooth” at the recent awards
ceremony in Los Angeles.
The guitar he used a Paul Reed
Sm ith w as m ad e from w ood
produced by Tim Wilson and Greg
Lippincott, owners o f Maple V alley
Tonewoods.
The two fashion maple slabs with
the pri zed fiddleback design at their
small mill two miles west o f Port
Angeles.
“I think it’s terrific what that model
has done for us,” Lippincott said.
“This block o f wood has been seen
all over the world,” Wilson noted,
and that’s been good for business.
The company usually purchases
wood from loggers in log or stump
form, then cuts and fashions it.
Completed slabs are sent to guitar
m ak er
Paul
R eed
S m ith
Manufacturing in Stevensville, Md.,
w here the fin ish ed pro d u ct is
created.
Maple Valley has been working
with PRS, as the guitar maker is
known, since about 1987, said
wood-purchasing agent Michael
Reid from his home in Upperco,
Md.
It’s no accident that the company
keeps coming back to Lippincott
and Wilson.
“W ith Greg, you know it’s quality
you are getting,” Reid said. “They
don’t compromise their standards.
I know exactly what to expect from
them.”
The purchasing agent said buying
wood is like buying fruit.
“Just like bananas, wood can be
stained, molded or discolored. But
with Greg, I am getting a consistent,
quality product every time,” Reid
said.
Paul Reed Smith, who founded PRS
in 1985, has been making guitars
since the 1970s, but business has
boomed since the com pany’s client
list acquired industry standouts
Santana, jazz guitarist A1 Di Meola,
Dickey Betts o f the Allman Brothers
and the Rolling Stones.
Reid said he doubts that Santana
knows where the wood for his
guitars comes from.
But he knows what he likes.
And what he likes, what he comes
back for, is the wood produced by
Maple Valley.
“Artists like him will be very specific
about what they want a guitar,” Reid
said.
W hen L ip p in c o tt d e sc rib e s
something, even if a bit unusual,
“it’s always qualitya nd is pretty
much as he described it,” Reid said.
“He never overstates it. Ifanything,
he understates it.”
Reid added that “if it w asn’t for
them, we wouldn ’t have the success
we have today.”
Wilson and Lippincott started their
business in 1991. They have had
ups and downs, with more than $ 1
million in sales three years ago and
a bit o f a slump after the Asian
economic crisis o f 1998.
‘The economy really hit us hard,”
said Wilson.
But sales have been picking up in
the Far East and the company has
been doing better financially -
especially with the exposure by
Santana’s guitar.
Visits Portland
Johnny Carson did it on his show.
Rosie O ’Donnell has done it on her show.
Now we hear that Tipper Gore does it in the privacy o f her living room.
What do they all have in common? They all like to play drums. In the past
decade, drums and drumming circles have become very popular. Why?
According to world renowned drum masterReinhardFlatischler,“ . . rhythm
is a power which unites all living things." What better demonstration o f
that fact than ABC’s powerful coverage o f various drumming groups
throughout the twenty-four hour broadcast of the new millennium!
Austrian bom Reinhard Flatischler will make a rare Portland visit to
conduct a three-day workshop on “The Forgotten Power o f Rhythm,’
March 10-12, 2000, at Still Meadow Community.
Improve your confidence and ability in movement, rhythm and musical
creativity. Learn “ Rhythmic Archetypes” at the heart o f all music. No
music or dance experience needed to enjoy this workshop. For more
information, call Cedar Mountain Drums at 503/235-6345 or visit their
website at www.cedarmtndrums.com
——
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