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Showing posts with label [krar]. Show all posts
Showing posts with label [krar]. Show all posts

Thursday, February 7, 2019

The Music of Ethiopia - [1967] - Azmari Music of the Amharas (Anthology AST 6000, recorded by Ashenafi Kebede (LP)) [ethiopia]




Another extraordinary blog dedicated to world music sound I just found is :


MusicRepublic - World Traditional Music from LPs and Cassettes













This anthology showcases the music of the Azmari bards, or minstrels, from the Amhara Region in Northeastern Ethiopia. Most Amharas, aka as Abyssinians, are Christians, members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church founded in the 4th century. 







Melaku Gelaw - Misgana (Praise)





The gorgeous program featured here includes Melaku Gelaw playing solo washint wooden flute (A1, A4) and solo krar lyre (A2); and singing and playing krar (B1); Wolde Marriam singing and playing krar (A3); the powerful and inspired interplay between Asegedech Mekonnen’s spellbinding singing and Getamesay Abebe’s masinko, or masenqo, single-stringed bowed lute (A5, A6, B2, B3); and Getamesay Abebe singing and playing masinko (B4).





Melaku Gelaw (medium sized washint) - A1 - Misgana (Praise) (1:25)
Melaku Gelaw (krar) - A2 - YefiKir KeTaima (2:58)
Wolde Marriam (vocal and krar) - A3 - Satina Baburay (Heat-Driven Train of Mine) (3:07)
Melaku Gelaw (long washint) - A4 - Fanno (1:48)
M. Asegedech (vocal) / A. Getamesay (masinko) - A5 - Shilela (4:59)
M. Asegedech (vocal) / A. Getamesay (masinko) - A6 - Ambasel (4:57)




Melaku Gelaw (vocal and krar) - B1 - Shemonmuanaye (My Charming One) (2:51)
Asegedech Mekonnen (vocal) / A. Getamesay (masinko) - B2 - Tizita (5:04)
Asegedech Mekonnen (vocal) / A. Getamesay (masinko) - B3 - Bafi (5:14)
A. Getamesay (vocal and masinko) - B4 - Medina Zelesegna (5:44)










                             FULL BOOKLET INCLUDED   

Thursday, January 17, 2019

Jano Band - Lerasih New [2018] [ethiopia]











Jano Band transcend the Rock genre by infusing traditional Ethiopian melodies and percussions, adding instruments of masinko, krar, and the washint, and bringing you to your feet with unforgettable languages of love and celebration.


Jano Band became the first Ethiopian band to feature on Coke Studio Africa when they collaborated with South African singer Shekhinah in Nairobi, Kenya, last year.

The band – which consists of two female vocalists, two male lead vocalists and six musicians on bass, guitars, keyboards and drums – was brought together by Addis Gessesse in 2011.

Since the release of "Ertale" in 2012 (also posted HERE), the group has collaborated and worked with American producer Bill Laswell who helped the group sparkle on the international arena.





Jano Band - Darigne



In September 2017, news broke that the band was on the verge of a breakup. The band disputed the reports through its current manager Sammy Tefera who went on to announce that the band would be launching its second album in early 2018.

Music In Africa caught up with one of the band’s lead vocalists, Dibekulu Tafesse, to talk about their 16-track album, Lerasih New, which was released on 1 February 2018.

MUSIC IN AFRICA: What was the inspiration behind Lerasih New?  

DIBEKULU TAFESSE: We named the album Lerasih New because it is a commonly used word which translates to 'For Yourself'. Our songs carry different themes that our fans relate to and in this album we choose to urge our fans to be conscious of their actions. As human beings we ocassionally do things without thinking about the consequences. So in this album we are pushing for self-awareness because no one should intentionally hurt themselves or ruin their lives simply because they made the wrong choice.

MUSIC IN AFRICAWas the album produced in Ethiopia?

DIBEKULU TAFESSEThe assembling of the music, which is normally the first stage of recording, was done in Ethiopia but the engineering process was done in Italy at the Blumusica studio in Turin, and the final mastering was done at Lurssen Mastering Studio in Los Angeles, Califonia.

Working with good recording studios and producers has set us apart from other Ethiopian artists since the music that we produce is of high quality. On this project we worked with producer Kistet.

(brief interview is taken from site Music in Africa and it's posted HERE)



Jano Band - 01 - Leba (4:26)
Jano Band - 02 - Hadekiya (3:53)
Jano Band - 03 - Shegiye (4:09)
Jano Band - 04 - Engida (5:15)
Jano Band - 05 - Zew Zew (3:51)
Jano Band - 06 - Wey Zendro (3:24)
Jano Band - 07 - Gudie Fela (3:49)
Jano Band - 08 - Keteraraw Mado (6:22)
Jano Band - 09 - Hamza (3:48)
Jano Band - 10 - Tiz Alegn (5:03)
Jano Band - 11 - Hager Alegn (4:59)
Jano Band - 12 - Lib Sireta (5:21)
Jano Band - 13 - Kal (4:23)
Jano Band - 14 - Adagn (5:15)
Jano Band - 15 - Kenat Wediya (4:54)
Jano Band - 16 - Darign (4:28)


Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Reshan Gebre - Lelay [2002] [ethiopia]












Reshan Gebre the Best Tigrinya Kirarist






Reshan Gebre - 01 - Lelay (8:05)
Reshan Gebre - 02 - Kadire (7:32)
Reshan Gebre - 03 - Halengay (7:09)
Reshan Gebre - 04 - Rihus Gama (7:32)
Reshan Gebre - 05 - Hagirey (4:49)
Reshan Gebre - 06 - Woinay (6:17)
Reshan Gebre - 07 - Tembe Nie (6:02)
Reshan Gebre - 08 - Sewir Gahide (6:07)
Reshan Gebre - 09 - Hade Yihun Alina (6:19)



Monday, October 8, 2018

Mesele Asmamaw - Kignt Mesele, Vol. 2 [2004] [ethiopia]










Mesele Asmamaw (krar) is a composer and arranger from Ethiopia. 


He joined the music industry for the past 20 years, and released many albums and traveled throughout Europe and Africa performing the traditional music of Ethiopia. 

In the last eight years, he has been a favorite guest of the influential punk band called The EX, and he has recorded several albums with the experimental Norwegian drummer Paal Nillson-Love. Also, he toured and recorded with his experimental rock group Trio Kazanches and worked extensively with Mulatu Astatke, both in the studio and on stage. Mesele uses several interesting techniques in band Qwanqwa, including a wahpedal, a distortion pedal, a coke bottle and a plastic tube.






Mesele Asmamaw - Lelitu Alnega Ale





Mesele Asmamaw - 01 - Minew Ene, Sekota (8:29)
Mesele Asmamaw - 02 - Yehager Fikir, Zeraf (7:27)
Mesele Asmamaw - 03 - Lele (Guragena) (4:53)
Mesele Asmamaw - 04 - Wein Abeba,Tiz Alegn (7:37)
Mesele Asmamaw - 05 - Damaye (4:49)
Mesele Asmamaw - 06 - Shegeye, Kemekem (11:02)
Mesele Asmamaw - 07 - Hailaloye (Tigrigna) (5:30)
Mesele Asmamaw - 08 - Yagere Lij (6:43)
Mesele Asmamaw - 09 - Yashirishire (5:17)
Mesele Asmamaw - 10 - Yalew Gelel (4:40)




Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Either/Orchestra - Live at Berklee [usa+eth]











Founded in 1985 by saxophonist & composer Russ Gershon, the ten-piece Either/Orchestra, based in Somerville MA, is one of the jazz world's most long-lived and distinguished groups.  Alumni include jazz stars such as John Medeski, Matt Wilson, Miguel Zenon, Jaleel Shaw & Josh Roseman.

The E/O, featuring a six piece horn section, piano, bass, drums and congas, has put its stamp on just about every style of jazz, from big band, swing and bop to Latin jazz, electric and avant-garde.  The last decade or more has found the band absorbing an Afro-Caribbean influence through a succession of Latino members.  






Teshome Mitiku with Either/Orchestra




More unusually, the E/O has become deeply involved with Ethiopian music, touring there and collaborating with many Ethiopian greats of the outstanding 1960's generation.  Mulatu Astatke, Mahmoud Ahmed and Teshome Mitiku are among the band's favorites.  The Ethiopian connection includes the double CD Ethiopíques 20: Live in Addis and the DVD Ethiogroove: Mahmoud Ahmed and Either/Orchestra.


Over the years, the E/O has been recognized with five Boston Music Awards, perennial placement in the Big Band category of the Down Beat International Critics Poll, and leader Gershon was nominated for an arranging Grammy for his composition "Bennie Moten's Weird Nightmare," included in The Calculus of Pleasure.








The E/O began performing original arrangements of Ethiopian songs, inspired by a compilation called Ethiopian Groove: the Golden 70s. In 2000, after three of these songs appeared on the album More Beautiful than Death, Francis Falceto, the producer of Ethiopian Groove, contacted Gershon and eventually arranged an invitation for the E/O to play at the Ethiopian Music Festival in Addis Ababa in 2004. 

Along with Indo-British singer Susheela Raman the same year, the E/O was the first non-Ethiopian artist to appear in the festival, and was the first US big band to appear in Ethiopia since Duke Ellington's in 1973. Their concert at the festival was recorded and ultimately appeared in Falceto's Ethiopiques series on the French Buda Musique label. Five Ethiopian guests appear on the recording: Mulatu Astatke, Getatchew Mekurya, Tsedenia Markos, Bahta Hewet and Michael Belayneh. This tour and recording have led to an ongoing collaboration with Astatke, the primary founder of Ethiopian jazz, concerts with Ethiopian expatriates singer Hana Shenkute, krar player Minale Dagnew, masinko player Setegn Atanaw, and the great Ethiopian singer Mahmoud Ahmed with whom E/O released a DVD in 2007. 

Mahmoud Ahmed and fellow legendary Ethiopian singer Alemayehu Eshete played Lincoln Center Out of Doors in 2008 backed by E/O. The group debuted a collaboration with vocalist Teshome Mitiku in the summer of 2010, including a headlining appearance at the Chicago Jazz Festival.



Either Orchestra - 01 - Introduction (3:03)
Either Orchestra - 02 - Tigrigna,Oromigna,Guragigna (14:06)
Either Orchestra - 03 - Arehibi (9:34)
Either Orchestra - 04 - Ethiopia (5:20)
Either Orchestra - 05 - Yamnaw Bedele (6:55)
Either Orchestra - 06 - Yeqir Beqa (6:07)



guests :

Minnale Danew - krar
Setegn Atanaw - masinko
Hana Shenkute - vocal



Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Damakase - Gunfan Yellem! [2016] [ethiopia]











       Endris Hassen (The Ex, Ethiocolor, Imperial Tiger Orchestra, Nile Project, MistO-MistO etc) and Cory Seznec (Groanbox, Seznec Bros, solo, MistO-MistO, etc) joined forces in late 2014 to fuse sounds from east and west Africa. Hungry for a fuller sound, they brought in Misale Legesse (Ethiocolor, Addis Acoustic Project, etc) on kebero and Cass Horsfall on bass (Black Jesus Experience, Jazmaris, etc) to flesh things out and create Damakase, a name which comes from a plant used in traditional medicine in Ethiopia to heal "gunfan" (cold/flu) and other ailments. 
       By late 2015 they had enough songs for an album, and asked Kenny Allen to come in as producer. 









       Gunfan Yellem! (translated roughly as Fever No More!) is an album recorded live in Cory's Glasshouse Studios. 

      Guest artists were invited to add a little spice here and there, and Kenny fine tuned and tweaked the mix to perfection. 


      The music is comprised of 6 originals and two covers (Wuba by the Eritrean composer Tewelde Redda, and Mother's Love by the Ethiopian pianist Emahoy Tsegue-Maryam Guebrou).





Damakase - Tizita Gourd





Damakase - 01 - Wuba (4:09)
Damakase - 02 - Tizita Gourd (4:20)
Damakase - 03 - Wassorai Asho Mada (4:21)
Damakase - 04 - Mother's Love (4:27)
Damakase - 05 - Batten Down the Hatches (4:01)
Damakase - 06 - Southern Bound (5:18)
Damakase - 07 - Tizu Konjo Wusha (3:16)
Damakase - 08 - Damakase (3:29)











Damakase is: 

Cass Horsfall - bass, vocals 
Cory Seznec - guitars, ngoni, banjos, vocals 
Endris Hassen - masenqo, vocals 
Misale Legesse - kebero, percussion, vocals 



Guests: 

Kaethe Hostetter - violin 
Mesele Asmamaw - krar 
Mesfin "Baby" Shiferaw - vocals 
Ralf Werner - cello 
Yann Seznec - piano, pump organ






Thursday, October 26, 2017

Asnakech Worku & Alemu Aga - Ende Jerusalem [1996] [ethiopia]


                   

     R   E   U   P   L   O   A   D   




Asnakech Worku or Asnaqètch Wèrqu: Krar player and poet


       Asnaqetch Werqu was born an orphan who went on to become the first actress to appear on the Ethiopian stage. However, her musical talent garnered her attention that outshone her acting career in the National Theatre. Reportedly, she initially worked as an actress and dancer in the Haile Sellassie I theatre troupe and was actually the first woman to be part of this troupe. At an early age Asnaqetch taught herself to play the krar and eventually went on to become famous as a master of the krar (lyre) and a singer who was considered to be the last great storyteller to engage in the tradition of poetic jousting, following in the traditions of the Azmaris or artist caste.







       A five (sometimes six) stringed lyre with a gut resonator, the krar was an ancient Ethiopian instrument frequently used by the Azmari or musician class. It has been said the the Japanese koto has a sound similar to that the krar. Azmari, can be male or female, and are skilled at singing spontaneous verses while playing the krar or masenqo (one-stringed fiddle). They play in drinking establishments known as 'tejbeit' that serve 'tej' (honey mead). They are also often invited to perform at private parties where they would improvise lyrics based on a theme suggested by the host. This poetic jousting not only relies improvisation but the art of poignant verses, wit, imagery and sarcastic puns.








       Following Haile Selaissie's removal from office by the Derg in 1974, artists in Ethiopia were often forced underground to perform or had to attempt to create their music in a very hostile environment. This repressive regime slaughtered hundreds of thousands and fuelled subsequent unrest. Nevertheless a brief period of artistic freedom existed in the 70's between Selaissie's imperial rule and the military junta of the Derg.





Asnakech Worku




       The French label Buda Musique, was able to select 22 songs to compile an album for Volume 16 of the acclaimed Ethiopiques series - named The Lady With The Krar. These songs were chosen from two LPs recorded in 1974 and 1976. Buda Musique acquired them from their previously-acquired Kaifa Records archive (1973-77). Apparently, the first 12 songs on this album were released during the beginning of the revolutionary disorder and were banned almost immediately afterwards, as many records were simply taken off of store shelves. It didn't help that the krar was often regarded as a 'devil's instrument' by certain segments of the population.









       Werqu's verses evoke epic tales and her love ballads are tinged with longing and melancholy. Surprisingly, during her time as an musician and actress, artists in general were frowned upon, and this was especially true for female ones. This contributed to many hardships and suffering in Werqu's life, which she often expressed in her music, as she recorded her struggles against the conventions of established society. Ironically enough, it is from the depths of this emotional angst that we see the emergence of a profound spiritual beauty that resonates with her 'serenely-emotional' vocals as they meld with the hypnotic melodies of the krar.




Alemu Aga

       (born 1950) is an Ethiopian musician and singer, a master of the bèguèna.
Born in Entotta, near Addis Ababa, Alemu became interested in the begena (a ten-stringed member of the lute family, also known as "King David's Harp") at the age of twelve, when a master of the instrument moved in next door to his family, the Aleqa Tessema Welde-Emmanuel. Aleqa Tessema began teaching at Ras Desta school, where Alemu was a pupil. As well as studying the begena at school, Alemu carried his master's instrument to and from school, and thus benefited from more of Tessema's time.











       He went on to study geography at Addis Ababa University, and after graduation went to work as a geography teacher at the Yared Music School, where for seven years he also taught begena. Alemu went on to become an acknowledged master of the instrument, first recorded in 1972 by Cynthia Tse Kimberlin for a major UNESCO collection, and performing and broadcasting around the world. In 1974, however, the Derg military junta came to power in Ethiopia; their anti-religious policies also included the banning of the begena from radio broadcasts, and the closing down of the Yared School's teaching of the instrument. As a result, Alemu Aga decided to give up his teaching post in 1980, and opened a souvenir shop in Addis Ababa's Piazza district.
For a time he played only in private, but the collapse of the Derg's régime led eventually to a change in state policy, and Alemu again began to teach and perform in public.
















01. Asnakech Worku/Alemu Aga - Tizita (7:40)
02. Asnakech Worku/Alemu Aga - Arada (5:27)
03. Asnakech Worku/Alemu Aga - Ende Jerusalem (6:59)
04. Asnakech Worku/Alemu Aga - Mela Mela (6:18)
05. Asnakech Worku/Alemu Aga - Wogene (4:31)
06. Asnakech Worku/Alemu Aga - Abet Abet (6:30)
07. Asnakech Worku/Alemu Aga - Besmeab (12:39)
08. Asnakech Worku/Alemu Aga - Wanen (3:52)
09. Asnakech Worku/Alemu Aga - Yibelahala (3:04)
10. Asnakech Worku/Alemu Aga - Alayenim Belu (3:49)
11. Asnakech Worku/Alemu Aga - Girf (0:56)
12. Asnakech Worku/Alemu Aga - Selamta (12:30)








Sunday, October 15, 2017

Shewankochew, Shibabaw, Egziabher - Love songs from Ethiopia [1997]





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   Christian Ethiopians living in the central north: the Tigre, Amhara, Gojjam, Begemdir and Simen, and the Shewa; the rest of the country, the plateau to the south, is occupied by the Galla tribes. The western frontiers of the country are populated by the Shanqella, the east is dominated by Moslem peoples (the Danakil, Issa and Somali), and the south by various populations regrouped under the term Gurage.

   The musical traditions of Ethiopia reflect this diversity: Christian religious music, sung and danced by priests accompanied by drums and sistrums; the Jewish religious music of the Beta Israel ; the secular music of the Amhara and Tigre Christians; the religious and secular music of the Galla Moslems; and the innumerable vocal and instrumental forms of the southern populations. These traditions are not isolated, and they have tended to mutually influence each other.


   Parallel to the classical poetry which sung at court or in the halls of the lords, a more colorful tradition developed, namely that of the azmari minstrels. This poetry in a more simple style is sung in Amharic or in Tigre.

The verses, often improvised or suggested by others, in which may be found abundance of metaphors and double meaning, but also irony and sarcasm, are most often accompanied on the masinqo bowed lute.

   The voice, used in service to the texts, is displayed over a relatively wide range. Ornamentation and vibrato, voice timbre which becomes brassy in dramatic moments, the use of pentatonic scales: all these techniques clearly illustrate the relationship of this music to the Nilotic world. In addition, a strong and very ancient influence of Arabic culture is detectable, especially obvious in the occurrence of non-tempered intervals.




                        Fantahun Shewankochew - vocals and krar lyra
                        Ejigayehu "Gigi" Shibabaw - vocals
                        Wores G. Egziabher - masinqo bowed lute & vocals






                                             
  front cover




                                              
back cover


















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