[10][11][12] The inspiration behind the project dates back to 1991, when Simon Emmerson, a Grammy Award-nominated British producer and guitarist, collaborated with Afro-pop star Baaba Maal.

Back in London, Irish musician Davy Spillane told Emmerson about a belief that nomadic Celts lived in Africa or India before they migrated to Western Europe.

In an experiment that would prove successful, Emmerson brought two members of Baaba Maal's band together with traditional Irish musicians to see what kind of music the two groups would create.

"[full citation needed] McNally, who grew up second-generation Irish in London, played whistles, keyboards, piano, bodhran, and bamboo flute.

The band performed at festivals, raves, and dance clubs and regularly included two African musicians, Moussa Sissokho on talking drum and djembe and N'Faly Kouyate on vocals, kora and balafon.

The band, composed at the time of eight members from six countries (the UK, Senegal, Guinea, Ireland, France and Kenya), took pride in its ability to bring people together through music.

[full citation needed] In 2001, the group released Volume 3: Further in Time, which climbed to number one on Billboard's Top World Music Albums chart.

They played a number of shows to promote Volume 5: Anatomic in 2006 and summer 2007, ending with a gig in Korea,[16] before taking an extended break to work on side projects, amongst them The Imagined Village featuring Simon Emmerson and Johnny Kalsi.

Starting in the summer of 2010, the band performed a series of live shows to promote Capture (1995–2010), released on 6 September 2010 on Real World Records.

Simon Emmerson, James McNally and Martin Russell are pleased to announce that they have been able to set aside their differences and come to an amicable agreement to bring their dispute to an end.

[19][20]When Afro Celt Sound System formed in the mid-1990s during the Real World Recording Week, the difference between a guest artist and a band member was virtually non-existent.

However, over time, a combination of people became most often associated with the name Afro Celt Sound System (while Volume 5: Anatomic only lists Emmerson, McNally, Ó Lionáird and Russell as regulars).

The divided grouping of the band into two versions, both operating under the name Afro Celt Sound System, began in January 2016 and was resolved in December 2016 after McNally and Russell agreed to work under a different name from Emmerson.

Russell/McNally version Other musicians who have performed or recorded with Afro Celt Sound System include: Jimmy Mahon, Demba Barry, Babara Bangoura, Iarla Ó Lionáird, Peter Gabriel, Robert Plant, Pete Lockett, Sinéad O'Connor, Pina Kollar, Dorothee Munyaneza, Sevara Nazarkhan, Simon Massey, Jesse Cook, Martin Hayes, Eileen Ivers, Mundy, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and Ciarán Tourish of Altan, Ronan Browne, Michael McGoldrick, Steáfán Hannigan, Myrdhin, Shooglenifty, Mairead Nesbitt, Nigel Eaton, Davy Spillane, Jonas Bruce, Heather Nova, Julie Murphy, Ayub Ogada, Caroline Lavelle, and Ross Ainslie.