Celtic Trance

Tin whistles, swirling melodies and soothing rhythms are the order of the day as Dagda prove themselves to be Ireland’s answer to Deep Forest, mixing quasi-Celtic mumbo jumbo with contemporary beats. This is an album that’s great to fall asleep to after a tough day in the office but I’m not so sure about anything else, really.

‘Oroshay’ is all Clannadesque vocals ghosting in and around some super-smooth percussion, with a tin whistle thrown in for good measure, while ‘Primal Gods’ breathy vocals owes a debt to Enigma, albeit without the latter’s inherent sexuality.

‘Shades Of The Otherworld’ has a similar beat to Enigma’s ‘Sadness’ and is actually a reworking of the traditional ‘Follow Me Up To Carlow’ without all the cursing, swearing and Lord Kildare-ing that make the ballad such good, raucous fun in the first place.

This isn’t the worst example of the world/ambient genre I’ve ever heard, but it’s a bit too coffee-table-Celtic for my liking, with none of the authenticity of, say, Anuna, or even Clannad. It also, sadly, lacks the vocal finesse of either.