"…the kora and the Celtic harp, the talking drum and the bodhran seem to talk the same language…"

So says Simon Emmerson, producer and composer, talking of a connection between African and Celtic music.

Every so often we hear of "eclectic" comings together and, although they sometimes work well, there is a lot of dullness released in the name of musical cross-pollination. It's not enough to just pin a new tail on an ancient donkey, you can't just tack a techno groove onto the sounds of a Bolivian nose flute - there has to be some feeling, some emotion behind it. Banjos, bodhrans, and bongos don't often get the chance to nestle comfortably in the company of loops and drum n' bass rhythms, so when it works it's all the more of a delight.

Afro Celt Sound System – a gathering of musicians and artists intent on exploring the above mentioned link – is a perfect example of the music encouraged by Real World, where different cultures are seen as worthy of celebration, not condemnation. In a recording studio in Wiltshire, the difference was celebrated, poked at, and prodded to see what would come from such diverse sounds and backgrounds. With sufficient coaxing similarities are often found where least expected, and "Volume 1 Sound Magic" offered many examples of this.

Sadly, while musicians from Ireland, France, England, and Scotland join with their Senegalese and Kenyan counterparts to fuse the distant past and the future together, young Africans are being attacked on the streets of our capital city. Instead of wondering what interesting food this person eats, or what music he enjoys or what TV programme he likes, some Irish people feel threatened, suspicious that their jobs, or their houses, or their traditions are under threat.

One song - "Nil Cead Againn Dul Abhaile / We Cannot Go Home" - is particularly pertinent today. It tells of the plight of refugees from present day wars, offering a different perspective from the one screaming from some tabloids and prime-time programmes of late. The voices of Iarla O'Lionaird and Ayub Ogada blend beautifully, telling it like it once was, and still is, from an Irish and Kenyan viewpoint. Perhaps this different perspective might make us curious as to why anybody would want to hide away in the back of a container for day after dark, confusing day. There would need to be a good reason for wishing to emerge from a metal box in a country where it rains a lot and you have no family or friends.

Afro Celt Sound System is but one example of the brilliant musical fusion coming from the Real World studios; Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and U Srinivas lend Asian influences to the atmospheric instrumentals of Canadian Michael Brook, while Trisán combines Pól Brennan (ex-Clannad), Guo Yue and Joji Hirota, (from China and Japan respectively.)

Just as we welcome the fruit of these musicians' labours so we should open up to the benefits of exposure to different cultures. Instead of seeing ourselves as being "swamped" or "flooded" we should see how good it can be when the differences are seen simply as complementary parts of a greater whole. If nothing else we'll have more interesting food to eat, more interesting music to listen to, and who knows, we might even be encouraged to learn another language or two. (15/10)

(Oodles of Real World information, including stuff on Afro Celt Sound System, can be found at http://realworld.on.net)

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