Demere Legesse was born on February 19, 1969 from his father Legesse Tesema Bilhate and his mother Debre Beshah Ayele. He was born in Agarfa, Bale in a small town called Galema Hebeno. He attended grade 1 up to 6 in Galema Hebeno Sefera Mender School, 7 and 8 in Agarfa Melestegna Primery School, 9 and 10 Batu Terara Secondary School, 11 and 12 in Addis Abeba Nifas Silk and Maremiya Betoch School.
In February 8, 1987 he traveled to Addis Ababa and employed as a police officer in Maremiya Betoch. After 6 month military technical course in Aleltu he was introduced as a vocalist in Maremiya Police Orchestra. After working for 14 years from 1987 to 2001 in Maremiya Police Orchestra he formed his own music band named DL Band. He handled numerous music concerts and matrimonial festival for bride and bridegroom in Ethiopia and for those who come from America, Canada, Europe, Australia and different countries.
Demere Legesse - Awdamet
Demere is one of the members of Yellow Page which is Ethiopian musicians community. He has a great roll in Ethiopian musical industry of wedding and culture. As a mater of fact he presented cultural and nuptial music such as Kana Zgelila (Special Church Song), Melkam Kelebet (Reggae Style Nuptial Music), Awddeamet 2001, Awddeamet 2003, Kotu Malo, Sendelewa, Burtukkee, and others.
Back in Maremiya Betoch Orchestra, Demere found his soul mate Etenesh Girma Bogale and married in March 18, 1990. One year later they have their first baby Nathnael in May 1991, the second baby Abel in October 1996 and the third Rodas in August 2008. And now Demere has 3 children and 3 houses plus personal band.
Demere’s discography:
In 1996 his first wedding album – Mirt Yeserg Zefenoch (Best Wedding Music)
In 1997 second modern album - Taxi
In 2000 third Amharic cultural album – Mirt Yebahl Zefenoch (Best Cultural Music)
In 2001 forth album contains nationality and wedding records – Des Yilal
In 2004 fifth Amharic cultural album - Wegen Alegn
Back in the '80s Ethiopian music was extremely hard to come by outside of Ethiopia. Mahmoud Ahmed's brilliant Ere Mela Mela was released on LP by the Belgian label Crammed Discs around 1985, and later in the decade the exile singer Aster Aweke released Aster, recorded in the UK with mainly non-Ethiopian backup musicians. That was just about it, unless you were lucky enough to know Ethiopians who could supply you with scratchy, poorly dubbed cassettes from the motherland.
All that changed in the '90s when political change opened the country up. A fine collection of traditional and modern music, Music From Ethiopia (Caprice CAP 21432) came out in 1992, and within a few years the incredible Ethiopiques series opened the world's ears to the classic sounds of "Swingin' Addis" from the '60s and early '70s
When it became possible for Ethiopian musicians to travel freely it was only natural that they would gravitate to U.S. recording studios, and in the last 15 years there has arisen a robust market in CDs made here. For the most part these are "under the radar" - not available through the usual "World Music™" outlets like Sterns. The main issue I have with these American recordings is the overwhelming use of synthesizers. That said, many of these productions are surprisingly sophisticated, a far cry from the rinky-dink keyboards and drum machines of much contemporary African music.
In 2004, Quantic, Miles Cleret and B+ went to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, to find records and meet with Mulatu Astatke. It was fitting then that when Quantic came to LA to DJ for the Mulatu show he came with records almost all found on that first unique trip. Trawling eBay is not the same as a trip to East Africa.
Quanticmade the trip and on the evening of February 1st, 2009, he buckled everyone at the Luckmann Theatre into their seats, and took us on a one hour flight back. Here is the DJ set in its entirety. And don't be alarmed by a few crackles and pops, that's what 30+ year-old records sound like.
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.
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)