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Showing posts with label compilation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label compilation. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

v.a. - ethio jazz compilation [2012] [ethiopia]



                             
   R E U P L O A D   





       


       One of my first compilations made for this blog. Brief introduction to the beginings of ethiopian jazz music, with some newer authors.

         Enjoy and comment!





1. Mulatu Astatke - Maskaram Setaba (1:47)
2. Teshome Mitiku - Yekrmo Sew (4:18)
3. Tesfa Maryam Kidane - Heywete (5:16)
4. Bahta Gebre-Heywet - Ewnet Yet Lagegnesh (2:47)
5. Charles Sutton quartet - Uuta ayaskefam  (5:40)
6. Girma Beyene - Set Alamenem  (5:28)

7. Sax Summit - Feker ende sekuar  (8:18)
8. Addis Acoustic Project - Selam Yihoun Lehoulachin (4:43)
9. Mulatu Astatke - Netsanet (5:35)
10. Arat Kilo - Get a Chew (4:48)
11. Akalé Wubé - Ragalé (5:10)
12. Imperial Tiger Orchestra - Selam Temagwet (5:36)

13. Debo Band - Akale Wube [trad.] (4:53)
14. Asmara All Stars - Bloom Brothers Mood (6:36)
15. Tesfa Mariam Kidane - Victim of Famine (4:35)
16. Girma Wolde Michael - Loga [Nesh Loga] (6:23)
17. Daniel W/Gabriel - Befikirish Meyaze (6:10)
18. Abiyou Solomon - Munane Agew (5:54)

19. Nebiyu T. Kebede - Groovy (3:46)
20. Ethio Band - Ethiopian melody (7:29)
21. Theodros Mitiku - Teddy's Mood (6:29)
22. Moges Habte - Alchalkum (6:17)
23. Yared Tefera - Anchi Hoyew Lene (6:01)
24. Tilaye Gebre - Yenigat Kokeb/Yelelit Berehane (9:31)









Tuesday, July 5, 2016

v.a. - Au Revoir, Mogadishu Volume 1 - Songs From Before The War [2015] [somalia]










            Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, was once a beautiful port city (with a very ancient history) called the “White Pearl of the Indian Ocean.” But since the coup in 1991 and subsequent civil war, the city has become a shattered wasteland of anarchy, child soldiers, war lords, and constant violence. While conditions have improved over the past five years, their modern history has all but disappeared. So it’s no surprise that this modern music is unavailable; and even at the time, it was rarely properly released.

         What makes this mixtape so fascinating is that the folks at Çaykh spent months finding, compiling, and editing “rips of TV and live recordings on old VHS tapes and radio broadcasts to cassette tapes.”

Truly an amazing mixtape.






v.a. - Au Revoir, Mogadishu





       This Tape of 70's and 80's Somali sound is a rich blend of traditional Somali folk music infused with Western funk, rock and reggae and a touch of Indian, Arabic and African flavors.

      Side A is good for that mellow creamy morning. Side B will get your ass wiggling! There are hardly any proper releases of this soulful sound of guitar, synthesizer and drums. 




Track list:

01 Libaaxyada Maaweeliska Banaadir – Naga Tag, Kac Hooyaa
02 Waaberi – ? (edit)
03 Kooxda Halgan – badbaado guri hooyo
04 Qadiijo Qalanjo – Diriyam Oo Hoo Diriyam
05 Waaberi Hargeysa – Soo dhowoow
06 Wabari Xishood & Jaceyl – ? (edit)
07 Iftin – Wanaagaaga
08 Waaberi – ? (edit)
09 Qadiijo Qalanjo – Dhesessha
10 Dur-Dur Band – Ethiopian Girl
11 Iftin – Axdigii Waad Oofin Weyde




Wednesday, June 8, 2016

v.a. - Beyond Addis [Contemporary Jazz & Funk of Ethiopian sound from 70s] [2014]




   R   E   U   P   L   O   A   D   







       Beyond Addis is a collection of contemporary bands (compiled by J. J. Whitefield) inspired by Ethiopian music from the 70′s and features the likes of Akale Wube, Budos Band, Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra, The Heliocentrics and more.

    The music of “Swinging Addis” of the 70′s was a clash of opposite elements: western instruments (drums, bass, guitar, horns) and the stylistic influence of Jazz, Soul, R&B and Rock’n’Roll bumping into traditional techniques of singing and composing, a legacy of Ethiopian popular music. 

    Mastermind of this revolutionary mix was Mulatu Astatke. Now, this compilation gives an overview of the work of young bands around the world inspired by Ethiopian music.









01. Akalé Wubé - Jawa Jawa (Alternate Take) (4:48)
02. The Heliiocentrics - Phantom of the Panther (2:21)
03. Imperial Tiger Orchestra - Yefikir Woha Timu (4:52)
04. Budos Band - Origin of Man (4:54)
05. Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra - Ethio (3:43)
06. Woima Collective - Woima (3:16)
07. Les Frères Smith - La Marche Des Smith (5:55)
08. Karl Hector & the Malcouns - Girma's Lament (2:55)
09. Zafari - Addis Ababa (3:39)
10. Whitefield Brothers - Sem Yelesh (3:22)
11. Transgressors - Beyond Addis (4:03)
12. Tezeta Band - Drop It! (4:53)
13. The Shaolin Afronauts - The Scarab (4:55)
14. Debo Band - Trek from Ethiopia (Part 1) (4:59)

bonus track - vinyl edition
15. International Ducks - The Green Cow (3:27)




Wednesday, May 11, 2016

v.a. - Eshet Eshet [2012] [ethiopia]











Seifu Yohanes  - Mela Mela





Tracklist :

A01 – Menelik Wossenachew         Tezeta
A02 – Mulatu Astake                 Emnete
A03 – Mahmoud Ahmed                 Yeshiharegitu
A04 – Alemayehu Eshete        Enkoy Nat Yabay Dar
A05 – Tamirat Mola                 Meleyetish Keffa
A06 – Lemma G. Hiwot                 Yeweya Abebaye
A07 – Selamawit G. Selassie         Ahua Demeksh
A08 – Zenebetch Tesfaye & Lemma G. Hiwot Asha Gedawo
A09 – Zenebetch Tesfaye        Indalayish
A10 – Hirut Bekele                   Woine Alew Beju
A11 – Alemayehu Eshete        Ayalkem Tedenko


B01 – Lemma Demisew                 Akale Wubie
B02 – Tlahoun Gèssèssè                 Kulun Manqualesh
B03 – Menelik Wossenachew  Belew Bedubaye
B04 – Seifu Yohanes                 Mela Mela
B05 – Tlahoun Gèssèssè                 Sema
B06 – Alemayehu Eshete        Ney Ney Welera
B07 – Menelik Wossenachew  Eshet Eshet
B08 – Belaynesh Wubante & Asegedetch Asfaw    Alemiye
B09 – Tamerat Ferenj                 Anchin Yagengulet
B10 – Alayew Mesfin                 Wegene



Recording made from old 7" records. 



Thursday, May 5, 2016

v.a. - Nahom Favorite, Vol. 18 - Eskista [2008] [ethiopia]










       Eskista is a traditional Ethiopian dance performed by both men and women that is known for its unique emphasis on intense shoulder movement. The dance is characterized by rolling the shoulder blades, bouncing the shoulders, and jilting the chest. 


      Eskista is typically performed to traditional Ethiopian music, but can often be incorporated into modern forms of music such as is played in modern Ethiopian music videos. The complex nature of eskista makes it one of the most highly technical forms of traditional dance.





Traditional Ethiopian Dance - Eskista 





Chalachew Ashenafie - 01 - Yeabay Dar Amora (6:40)
Amanuel Mengiste - 02 - Gojam (5:00)
Meharie Degefaw - 03 - Yenie Kifu Aywetashe (5:13)
Neshanet Ayele - 04 - Hobel (5:15)
Alemayehu Herepo - 05 - Nishit (7:06)
Abebe Fekadu - 06 - Suger Daddy (6:13)
Amanuel Mengiste - 07 - Aba Tatek (4:10)
Neshanet Ayele - 08 - Ytawej Beyfa (5:27)
Fasiel Demoz - 09 - Ahoho Belulet (6:35)
Neshanet Ayele - 10 - Labejaj Bietin (6:17)
Habitemichel Demissie - 11 - Washintu (6:33)
Damtew Ayele - 12 - Anetatreh Mita (7:06)



Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Sheba Sound - Deep Ethiopian Soul Cassette Selection [ethiopia]



visit Sheba Sound webpage HERE > _______









        “For new music, contemporary musicians outside Addis Ababa have little opportunity to record and proudly express their unique mesmerising sounds. 

            We at Sheba Sound are trying to re-address this balance. We are as committed to recording and introducing diverse music to Ethiopians themselves as well as to foreign communities. ??We have our work cut out; there are over 85 separately recognised tribes, all of whom define themselves through their unique language, music, customs, values and clothing. ??We bring traditional deep Ethiopian sounds, with a modern twist, to dance-floors and bars all over the world.”







Listen here :  

https://www.mixcloud.com/Sofrito/sheba-sound-deep-ethiopian-soul-cassette-selection/



Background info:


      In 1974 Mengistu crushed Haile Selassie and came into power in Ethiopia. By the late 70’s, all the music labels pressing up tunes on vinyl, such as Amha and Philips, had been forced to shut down their operations.

      This left the cassette shops to continue the work of publishing the new music that was coming out of Ethiopia. Notable heavyweight houses pushing Amharic music, such as Electra and Anbassel took the lion’s share of the famous vocalists.

      Naturally, as time evolved, so did the sound of music. In this mix, you will hear how the classic 70’s ‘ethio-funk’ sound (represented in the Ethiopiques collections through Buda Musique) digresses to the 80’s into something much less frantic and more precise. The bands themselves tend to be smaller, allowing the bass players to take a more driving lead. This particular evolution of the bass, for us, defines the sound of Amhara music from this period.




Tracklisting:


Atechekenbegnem – Ayalew Mesfin
Tezez Begalaye – Muluken Melesse
Ancbi Lij – Thiedros Tadesse
Tey Enekebaber – Kefel Bekele
Munaye – Ephrem Tamru
Tatche Alkarem – Neway Debebe
Tey Manesh – Solomon Shibeshi
? – Fisseha Alamayehu
? – Fisseha Alamayehu
Yangete Sew Honesh – Tamrat Molla
Kemekem – Muluken Melesse




Sheba Sound have more mixes available on their site, and don’t forget to check his & Fade 2’s stellar mix of off-kilter 90s dancehall versions.



Monday, July 20, 2015

Sheba Sound - Ethio-funk Amhara 'Chichika' beat [2014] [ethiopia]




visit Sheba Sound webpage HERE > _______











       Sheba Sound is the ongoing product of over six years of events, music digging and recordings, originating in Addis Ababa and spanning as many of the areas of the country as is physically possible to reach.

         Music drew us to this beautiful, historic country.

         Most of the old music is littered across cassettes, reels and vinyl in dusty corners. For new music, contemporary musicians outside Addis Ababa have little opportunity to record and proudly express their unique mesmerising sounds.

     We at Sheba Sound are trying to redress this balance. We are committed to recording and introducing diverse music to Ethiopians themselves as well as to foreign communities.

       We have our work cut out; there are over 85 separately recognised tribes, all of whom define themselves through their unique language, music, customs, values and clothing.


       We bring traditional deep Ethiopian sounds, with a modern twist, to dancefloors and bars all over the world.







Ethio-funk mix of songs that have never been re-issued.

I was asked a while back by a label in the UK if I could compile an album of ethio-funk songs from the 70's that were never re-issued.

Being a Dj in Addis, my immediate inclination was to do a comp on the Amhara, traditional Chichika beat - the one that gets everyone dancing.

I used to play this stuff in Fendika Asmari House in Addis with DJ Mitmitta.

The comp never happened, but here's a little mix of that Chichika magic that got the room all heated up.








tracklist :


01.  Abebaye  by  Alameyehu Eshete, PH-125
02.  Kulun Manqualesh  by  Tilahun Gessesse w/ Mulatu Astatke All Star Band, PH-105
03.  Yewyen Abeshie  by  Negash Tekie & Mulugueta Tilhaun, ER-6
04.  Tez Alegn Hagere   by    Alameyehu Borobor & The Walias, KF-7643,
05.  Yeshebelewa   by    Alameyehu Borobor & The Walias, KF-7644
06.  Band Igir Lay Tchama    by    Tamrat Molla, PH-240
07.  Kantchi Lela   by   Mulugueta H Mikael, PH-233
08.  Fikrishin Eshalehu   by    Getachew Kassa, PH-107
09.  Zimam Newhoy   by   Hirut Bekele & The Police Orchestra, PH-255
10.  Eswa Gin Teletchim   by   Tamrat Molla, PH-240
11.  Lemlemwa Hagere    by    Issatu Tessema & Orchestra Ethiopia, PH-179
12.  Goradew Na   by  Kebede Ali & Orchestra Ethiopia, PH-185
13.  Zematch Ashewyna   by   Tilaye Chewaka & The Army Band, PH-251
14.  Akale Wubie   by    Tefera Kassa & Lema Demissew '& his group,' PH-128
15.  Yewefe Ber Abeba   by   Ayalew Mesfin, KF-32
16.  Elil Bale Hoy   by   Solomon Shibeshi, PH-167
17.  Ishuru Belut   by  Muluken Melesse, PH-177



Friday, June 5, 2015

v.a. - Golagul - Chants d'amour et de resistance [eritrea] [1999]

      
   R   E   U   P   L   O   A   D   


                       Eritrea, ancient province Ethiopia became independent at the beginning of the 90's and has lived a painful history. But nothing has ever prevented the people of Eritrea from singing, and not even the numerous famines. 

               The People of the plain of Zula (Afar, Tigré and Saho) give rhythm to their everyday life in simple, repetitive singings. The leader, man or woman, throws a comment on rhythms (handclaps and kebero percussion), the others start again, insisting on the same rhythmic, as an obsessive loop. History the concern of protecting the culture and politics, stimulates more than a singer. " On one hand, he killed you, whereas on the other one he fed you " tells a Saho about Haile Sélassié.

            A kebero is a double-headed, conical hand drum used in the traditional music of Eritrea and Ethiopia. A piece of animal hide is stretched over each end, thus forming a membranophone. A large version of the instrument is also used in Orthodox Christian liturgical music, while smaller versions are used in secular celebrations.




01. Ana meto agébé [Tigré Tribe] 2:57
02. Ayrègèdè [Afar Tribe] 2:05
03. O'h yéharshema [Saho Tribe] 2:34
04. Haleto lale lalô [Saho Tribe] 2:19
05. Sêda [Afar Tribe] 3:05
06. Toriyota [Afar Tribe] 1:38
07. Erab Ghedam [Tigré Tribe] 3:48
08. Adate [Tigré Tribe] 2:59
09. Aran heutoukta [Saho Tribe] 6:41
10. Innyo soklié [Saho Tribe] 3:39
11. Kéké [Afar Tribe] 2:31
12. Sänädirlê [Saho Tribe] 2:24
13. Farum Ghedan [Saho Tribe] 6:46
14. Selâm [Tigré Tribe] 3:49
15. Yewêlâlè [Tigré Tribe] 2:17
16. Erytrea nèdègé [Saho Tribe] 4:24
17. Worada [Saho Tribe] 4:13
18. Lâleh [Afar Tribe] 2:47


Thursday, April 30, 2015

v.a. - [2013] - The rough guide to the music of Ethiopia [cd 1] - Traveling Trough Ethiopia (Vinyl) [ethiopia]








               Whether it conjures up legendary marathon runners, the rock-hewn churches at Lalibela, richly brewed coffee, Rastafarian spirituality, tumbling waterfalls or steaming hot springs, Ethiopia is a country famed for diverse reasons. Home to 82 million residents, the landlocked country is also birthplace to a multiplex of brilliant musics.

           On this Rough Guide the ‘Golden Age’ of recorded Ethiopian music is paid homage to via tracks by seminal Ethio-jazz musicians Mahmoud Ahmed and Alemayehu Eshete. Other handpicked gems are selected from the Ethiopiques album series produced by Francis Falceto, an aficionado and scholar of rare Ethiopian records. The energetic music of saxophone prodigy Getatchew Mekuria references the long history of military brass bands in the country fused with a thoroughly modern rock ethos.

             Dynamic London-based ensemble Krar Collective also make an appearance and rock the track ‘Ende Eyerusalem’ with their signature forthright attitude and soaring female vocals. On the track, ‘Sek’let (Crucifixion)’ Zerfu Demissie can be heard playing the begena, a large Ethiopia harp that reverberates thick and loudly, sounding almost electronic, like a futuristic synthesizer.

             The Rough Guide to Ethiopia also considers some unique fusion projects that marry traditional Ethiopian grooves with dub, rock and punk sensibilities. Dub Colossus is the lovechild of UK musician and producer Nick Page and a host of established Ethiopian artists, including vocalists Tsedenia Gebremarkos and Sintayehu ‘Mimi’ Zenebe. Their sound is amped-up classic dub while Invisible System, a band headed up by UK based producer Dan Harper, explore a more experimental and darker sound and provide the excellent bonus album also.

       This Rough Guide is soaked in the urban cool that pervades Ethiopian music, both traditional and modern. Traverse the grooves of the ancient mountain kingdom, from antique vibes to futuristic styles. 









01.Bole 2 Harlem - Ametballe (4:58)
02.Dub Colossus - Guragigna (5:13)
03.Mahmoud Ahmed - Ohoho Gedama (4:46)
04.Getatchew Mekuria & The Ex & Guests - Musicawi Silt (4:22)
05.Orchestra Ethiopia - Datchene Koba (Trio Of Emblitas) (2:26)
06.Krar Collective - Ende Eyerusalem (7:23)
07.Samuel Yirga - Abet Abet (Punt Mix) (5:11)
08.Zerfu Demissie - Sek'Let (Crucifiction) (3:22)
09.Invisible System - Ambassel (5:29)
10.Tirudel Zenebe - Gue (Wire Tapper Edit) (4:16)
11.Alemayehu Eshete - Ney-Ney Weleba (3:46)
12.Tirudel Zenebe - Gue (7:19)
13.Mohammed Jimmy Mohammed - Mela Mela (4:49)
14.Tsegue-Maryam Guebrou - Homesickness (3:51)


Thursday, April 16, 2015

Mulatu Astatke - [2009] - New York-Addis-London - The Story of Ethio Jazz 1965-1975 [FLAC] [ethiopia]











Mulatu Astatke - New York-Addis-London [Full Album]


       Ethio jazz. That's what Mulatu Astatke called his style of music when he invented it back in the 1960s, and it means exactly what it implies: Ethiopian melodies played on Western instruments with room for improvisation. Astatke was a pioneer for his country's modern music. His concept of instrumental music as an end in itself was a bit foreign in his homeland, where singers rule the popular music sphere, and he was among the very first musicians from Ethiopia to learn about music while abroad. He started playing as a teenager at school in Wales, and after a stint at London's Trinity School of Music, he jumped the Atlantic for a brief stay at Boston's Berklee College of Music, ultimately winding up in New York City in the mid-60s. There, he was exposed to sounds he simply couldn't have heard back home in Addis Ababa, and his exposure to jazz and Western harmonic concepts led him to formulate Ethio jazz, the perfect hybrid of the traditional and the modern.









         His first attempts to forge his new genre occurred in the U.S., and his band members were mostly Puerto Rican. You can tell by listening, too. The several tracks here lifted from his two Afro Latin Soul LPs bear a strong stamp of boogaloo, Latin jazz, and other Americo-Caribbean forms. When he returned to Ethiopia, he arrived at a time when the country was opening up as never before, and Addis Ababa was as cosmopolitan as cities came, boiling with cultural restlessness that fed a vibrant nightlife. Recording resources were limited, but in 1969, Mulatu began cutting tracks for Amha Eshèté's Amha, the first independent label ever established in the country. He worked primarily as an arranger, but frequently wrote and recorded instrumentals to serve as B-sides for vocal songs, some of which are being issued here for the first time outside Ethiopia.



       Astatke brought a unique skill set back to Addis with him, where he was able to employ musicians who'd grown up with the music he was so consciously modernizing. The resulting music is simply brilliant, fresh even decades later. The way Mulatu harmonized horns, combining pentatonic Ethiopian melody with Western chord concepts, sounds like no one else-- the music seems both ancient and modern at once, befitting the mixture of raw ingredients. This compilation is utterly intoxicating from the first note to the last-- preternaturally funky, haunting, complex, memorable, exciting, and unique, Ethio jazz easily transcends the era in which it was made.









       "Mulatu", from his 1972 LP Mulatu of Ethiopia, recorded in New York with members of Mongo Santamaria's band during a visit to the States, is a brilliant signature track, a darkly funky tune with a hint of Caribbean shuffle, snaking sax solos, Mulatu's own cloudy vibraphone, and a bit of wah-pedaled Wurlitzer. The stately, smoky "Netsanet" is drawn from 1974's Yekatit: Ethio Jazz LP, the very first Ethiopian LP to be conceived as an album in advance (as opposed to a collection of 45 sides). Like the other songs from that album, it has a weighty solemnity to it that betrays the difficult revolutionary period during which it was recorded. My favorite Mulatu track, "Ené Alantchie Alnorem", was previously featured on Buda Musique's Ethiopiques Volume 4 compilation, and it still kills here. It is a song without a solid core: its fluttering electric piano, flute, and drums spin in an ethereal wash, held together by wind sound effects and a heavy sonority, and the descending piano line that outlines the chords feels like it's falling and catching itself on each beat.


       A handful of vocal tracks dot the compilation, and they're all outstanding as well. "Ebo Lala" features Seifu Yohannes putting on his best Bollywood-inspired show, huffing and puffing over a heavy Latin beat and blasting horn section. "Wubit", featuring Muluken Melesse, has a cool, funky crime jazz strut, a sick breakdown, and a quintessentially Ethiopian melismatic vocal-- that this song has remained hidden from all but a few collectors in Ethiopia until now is almost criminal. Even Mulatu's very first foray into recording, the Latin-tinged instrumental "Shagu", bears his unmistakable signature, playing its cycling piano riff two octaves lower than in most Latin music and featuring a dark, mysterious vibraphone lead playing between Ethiopian pentatonics and modal concepts nicked from post-bop jazz.






Mulatu Astatke - Yefikir Tizita



       Ethio jazz was never a commercial success in Ethiopia. That Ahma and Philips Ethiopia even saw fit to release any of it is a credit to their commitment to art over commerce, and even today it remains little-heard in its homeland. But Mulatu was a master craftsman and one of the most supremely inventive composers of a time when an awful lot of creative music was being made around the world. He's still going today, guesting on radio shows and teaching in Addis, and he released a great album with London's the Heliocentrics as his backing band earlier this year. But even if he'd disappeared after 1975, his legacy would be sealed.

by Joe Tangari