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Ross Daly teams up with the Iranian master percussionist Jamshid Chemirani, the leading exponent of the zarb drum. The word 'An-Ki' means both 'Heaven-Earth' and 'deity' in the ancient Sumerian language, and An-Ki the record reconciles apparent musical opposites. These range from the ethereal Marmarygi (the Greek word describes the effect of light on marbles as well as the flash of a dancer's feet), which is characterised by Daly's use of a tiny, four-stringed Kenyan harp, to the earthy Bam and zeïbekiko dances from Asia Minor.
For me An-Ki is summed up in Pervane, an arrangement of an Irish melody. This is the first time Daly has recorded Irish music and he describes the piece rather disingenouosly as "what remains in the memory of an Irish-man after 25 years' involvement with non-Irish music". Pervane is Farsi for 'butterfly' and the melody is based on a Tommy Potts composition called Red Admiral. The piece opens with a long introduction in which the woody, resonant Cretan lyra fiddle unhurriedly explores the contours of the melody before playing the tune itself at a slow, courtly tempo. Supporting this the exquisite Middle Eastern orchestration employs Irish conventions to create a sound which is both powerful and delicate. Like Red Admiral, Pervane is a dance, but a different kind of dance.
This is a hugely enjoyable feat of the imagination and one which offers new insights into Celtic music, which has modal characteristics and a certain amount of history in common with the music of the Middle East. With two great traditions brought together in this way we are hearing world music at its finest. - Chris Williams, fRoots
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Ross Daly and Djamshid Chemirani