Afro Celt Sound System: Music Without Borders

African and Celtic music might seem to be an odd mix, but on Monday at Vynyl the London-based Afro Celt Sound System used the combination to produce a savory world music feast.

The seven musicians (and one dancer) played a set that moved seamlessly from one tune to another--most of them from the group’s current album, “Release” (on Real World)--triggering enthusiastic shouts and wildly eclectic dancing from a packed crowd at the Hollywood club. And with good reason.

Despite its multiple sources, the music was a dazzling entertainment, its foundation of galvanic dance rhythms overlaid with sounds that shifted easily from vocals (in two languages) to instrumentals.

The rhythms, all mesmerizing, constantly morphed from African percussiveness to loping Celtic dances. At one point, there was a duel between drummers playing the Irish bodhran and the African djembe talking drum. Building in intensity, the skirmish was suddenly amplified by the cavernous sounds of the Indian dhol, from a player who had moved to a position in the audience.

Similarly dramatic events surfaced frequently throughout the evening. Leader Simon Emmerson has crafted the Afro Celts into a complete entertainment package with constantly mutating light patterns, frequent shifts of personnel and constant interaction among the performers.

The result at Vynyl was stunning, a presentation by a musical ensemble that is actually delivering on the promise of a musical world without boundaries.