After the first record’s six-figure sales, this was the moment that the open-armed collaboration truly became a band, a statement of unity and purpose to prove that Sound Magic was no one-off. At turns driving and pensive, joyful and melancholic, Release offered further confirmation that Celtic stringed instruments and African percussion were the most natural of bedfellows, soaring and swooping as one. And that, for that matter, there was nothing wrong with old-as-the-hills musical traditions being turbo-charged by the latest sounds from the clubs. Sinead O’Connor and Youth are among the special guests. “It’s like a hurricane let loose ... the spontaneity, the mix of ancient and modern, the black and white, the fluidity and breathless glee” – Q