A unique trip into the heart of global beat culture featuring many rare and exclusive tracks.

So who exactly are The Outernationalists? The answer lies in the musical background of Afro Celts founder Simon Emmerson and leading U.K. music writer/DJ/producer Phil Meadley. Together the duo have joined forces to delve deep into the heart of global beat culture and come up with a seriously funky club mix of Afro, Indian, Arabic, Latin, and global psychedelia in the style of Coldcut's classic, Journeys By DJ. The duo’s name refers to their love of international sounds taken to the outer limits of experimentation. The title Ethnomixicology is a gentle jibe at ethnomusicologists, whose ethos of only recognizing puritanical tradition is opposed to many open-minded musicians who love to fuse traditions and cultures.
Simon's Afro Celts have built an impressive reputation around the world for their exuberant live shows and albums featuring a wildly diverse mix of West African rhythms, Irish traditional music, and cutting-edge dance grooves. They have been nominated for several Grammy awards, been on the soundtrack to films such as Scorcese’s Gangs of New York (at the producers' personal request), and recorded with artists such as Sinead O’Connor, Robert Plant and Peter Gabriel. Simon was also responsible for producing Baaba Maal’s seminal album Firin’ In Fouta, and even further back was the founding member of respected acid-jazz band Working Week. Suffice it to say that Simon’s tastes range far and wide.
More recently, Simon felt a need to go back to his soundsystem roots and started to DJ once again. Having been brought up on a diet of punk and impromptu squat parties, the cut n’ paste culture of dance music has always been appealing. But only in recent years after checking out bands and seeing global beats emerging as some of the most vibrant music on the London club scene, did he decide that there was enough of a new audience out there to appeal to his eclectic taste buds.

Partly responsible for this recent change of heart was his friendship with leading global beats writer Phil Meadley. Although starting out writing for various underground magazines about left-field dance music (even contributing to the hallowed pages of U.S. publications URB and XLR8R), Phil gradually became more enamored with the idea of mixing traditional African, Indian, and Arabic sounds with dance beats and electronic production. As he points out, “it’s so much more stimulating than your bog-standard 4/4 beat if it’s done in a respectful and intelligent way.” He started the first U.K. column dedicated specifically to global fusion in Wax Magazine before writing for specialist U.K.-based world publications Songlines and The Independent. Meadley has also made his name known by compiling the CDs Zen & the Art of Chilling 1 & 2 for Ark 21, and Asian Chill and Indestructible Arabian Beats for Manteca. A chance to move into production work arose when he was asked to put together the SanScapes project in aid of the Bushmen of the Kalahari for the MELT 2000 label. Simon was one of the producers whom Phil approached for a remix of the Khoi-San Bushmen (he recorded under the moniker Animal Radio).

The idea for this particular mix was to make a hard-hitting and eclectic club album that would appeal to both dance and world music fans. Simon points out that there is a lot of real instrumentation going on throughout the mix. Both felt that too many global beat compilations have relied on chillout material and this conflicted with their experiences as DJs where the heavier the club beats the more euphoric the response. Although ideas were thought out at Phil’s home in the Dorset countryside and Simon’s house in Stoke Newington, the final mix was laid down at the Afro Celts' studio in Islington. The studio used to be the headquarters of Pink Floyd and was where The Wall was recorded. Simon handled the mixing duties on his new Pioneer 1000 decks and trusted Technic turntables, with sequencing decided by both. The mix was then laid down from DAT onto the Afro Celts' mixing desk with additional special effects compiled and mastered by Martin Russell and Mass of the Afro Celts.

Many of the tracks were rare or previously unreleased at the time of recording. "Green Africa" was a track Phil found on Italian label Irma. Apparently the producer Moz-Art was one of the first to champion Afro-beat in Europe and his deep love of the Fela sound is apparent. "The Big Bhang" is an exciting blend of organic Anglo-Indian fusion from acclaimed global beat DJ Nelson Dilation and his new band. Hawke was chosen because Simon loved the psychedelic prog-rock guitar sound and sees a continuing move towards live sound in dance culture. Simon has been working closely with Brighton outfit Headmix and their track mixed by Max Pashm is a completely unique take on Eastern European digital roots. Phil discovered Turkish percussion group Harem and hasn’t stopped playing tracks from their new album when he DJs. The crowds respond really well to the hard beats and strong Arabic percussion with

the track "Orient Carnival" being a rich amalgam of Oriental and Brazilian carnival rhythms. The track is mixed with Snooze’s "It’s More Expensive For This" to give it a harder edge and builds up nicely to Spiritual South’s monstrous Afro-beat anthem "Green Gold." Next comes an exclusive Afro Celt remix of Belgium’s top folk fusion band Urban Trad. The band was inspired by seeing the Afro Celts at Belgium’s biggest folk festival Dranouter, and the bands have kept close links ever since. Bucovina Club's incendiary working of the great gypsy band Taraf de Haïdouks' "Carolina" is taken from the wonderful Electric Gypsyland CD on Crammed Discs. This gypsy dancehall vibe fits neatly into Cakeboy’s wacky "Big & Bouncy" whose cut n’ paste ska sound mutates into Snooze’s "It’s More Expensive For This" (given a unique Outernationalist makeover). The African theme returns with new Trans-Global Underground protégé Doreen Thobekile whose track "Hambanam" is distinctly South African in flavor. Both Simon and Phil love ska and United Eye’s old skool classic "Ska East of the West" hits the mark admirably. "Fire Water" by Agit-dance outfit Fun-Da-Mental is a very powerful mix of Zulu chants and Asian breaks and here is mixed by Moody Boyz into a driving tech-house floor filler. Simon cleverly adds some frenetic ulliean pipe playing from Afro Celts' "Deep Channel" to give the album an explosive Afro-Celtic finale.

Ethnomixicology is a state of mind. We invite you to share our vision.

The Outernationalists

1. Mysterious Traveler – Green Africa 3:52
Written by G. Maselli/G. Mazzotti
Published by Music Market (SIAE)
(p) 2001 Irma Records
Courtesy of Irma Records Group with thanks to Fabrizio Carrer

2. Kamel Nitrate – The Big Bhang 5:06
Written by N. Dilation/T. Marrison
Published by Copyright Control (MCPS)
(p) 2003 Kamel Nitrate
Courtesy of and thanks to Nelson Dilation

3. Hawke – Now We Know (Lovesky Mix) 3:57
Written by Gavin Hardkiss
Published by Conspiracy Three/Six Degrees Beats Publishing (BMI)
(p) 2002 Sunburn Recordings, LLC
Remix and additional production by Michael Lovesky

4. Headmix – Passenger 5:04
Written by S. McLaughlin/N. Friedman/D. Hopton/E. Stovell
Published by Copyright Control (MCPS/PRS)
(p) 2001 Universal Egg
Courtesy of Headmix with thanks to Nuala Friedman

5. Harem – Orient Carnival 6:29
Written by C. Hatipoglu/M. Tunali
Published by MESAM/MSG
(p) 2002 Mega Muzik
Courtesy of Mega Muzik/Pasion Turca with thanks to Sinan Nergis

6. Spiritual South – Green Gold 5:30
Written by M. Robertson/D. Lewis
Published by Copyright Control (MCPS)
(p) 2003 Afro Art Records
Courtesy of Afro Art Records with thanks to Paul Murphy and Simone Beedle www.afroartrecords.com

7. Urban Trad – Berim Dance 5:25
Written by Y. Barbieux
Published by EMI Music Publishing (SABAM)
(p) 2003 Universal Music Belgium
Courtesy of Universal Music Belgium with thanks to Wilfried Brits, Niels Dierckx and Bert Van Roy

8. Bucovina Club vs. Taraf de Haïdouks – Carolina 4:09
Written by Gabi Voicila
Published by Copyright Control
(p) 2003 Cramworld/Crammed Discs
Courtesy of Cramworld-Crammed Discs with thanks to Marc Hollander

9. Cakeboy – Big & Bouncy 4:38
Written by P. Croley
Published by Copyright Control (MCPS)
(p) 2003 P. Croley
Courtesy of and thanks to Paul Croley

10. Snooze – It’s More Expensive For This 2:06
Written by Snooze
Published by Ostinato (SABAM)
(p) 2001 SSR/Crammed Discs
Courtesy of SSR-Crammed Discs, thanks again to Marc Hollander

11. Doreen Thobekile – Hambanam 4:00
Written by Thobekile/Mantu/Kasiek
Published by Warner Chappell/Copyright Control (BMI)
(p) 2003 Trans-Global Underground and Doreen Thobekile
Courtesy of Trans-Global Underground and Doreen Thobekile with thanks to Tim Whelan

12. United Eye – Ska East of the West (United Eye ‘N’ Eye Mix) 5:14
Written by P. Murphy/D. Anderson/T. Stoschek
Published by Copyright Control (IMRO)
(p) 2000 Afro Art Records
Courtesy of Afro Art Records, thanks again to Paul Murphy and Simone Beedle www.afroartrecords.com

13. Fun-Da-Mental featuring Zamo Mbuto & Comrades – Fire Water (Moody Boyz Remix) 5:01
Written by A. Nawaz/Z. Mbuto
Published by Universal Momentum Music/Geequale Music Ltd.
(p) 2003 Nation Records Ltd.
Licensed by kind permission from Nation Records. Taken from the Nation Records E.P. Voices Of Mass Destruction (NR101CD). Produced by Aki Nawaz. Additional production & remix by Moody Tony Thorpe. Thanks to Aki Nawaz.

14. Afro Celts – Deep Channel 3:09
Written by S. Emmerson/J. McNally/M. Russell/I. O'Lionaird
Published by Real World Music (ASCAP for N. America)
(p) 2003 Real World Records Ltd.
Simon Emmerson appears courtesy of Real World Records

Album mastered by Martin Russell and Mass at Sonic Innovation 2, Studio 1, Britannia Row, Islington, London
Art direction/design by Michael Snyder
Photos by Sean Malyon

Phil would like to thank: Mass and Martin, Sarah (my lovely muse), Sean for the photo session, Bob, Pat & all the funky people at Six Degrees, all the artists who gave their support for this project, and ethnomusicologists the world over for inspiring us to break the rule book.

Simon would like to thank: Debbie, Mat and German Cris from Reclaim the Future; Cris Tofu from Continental Drift; Luke Piper from the Avalon Stage, Glastonbury Festival; Sue Johnson, Real World Records; Wilfried Brits from Universal Music Belgium; Simone Beedle from Afro Art Records; Paul Murphy for DJ'ing world fusion back in the early '80s before the term 'world music' had been invented; and finally all the DJs, musicians and hard working people at Six Degrees Records who made this album possible.