Blogtrotters

Showing posts with label contemporary ethiopian music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label contemporary ethiopian music. Show all posts

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Mohammed Ibraahim [Xawiil] - Galaana [2008] [ethiopia]
















01 - Mohammed Ibraahim - Jaalala Dhugaa (6:26)
02 - Mohammed Ibraahim - Intaley (5:30)
03 - Mohammed Ibraahim - Jaalalaan (5:47)
04 - Mohammed Ibraahim - Jeedo (4:30)
05 - Mohammed Ibraahim - Jimmitti (5:28)
06 - Mohammed Ibraahim - Habiibi (Sudaan) (5:45)
07 - Mohammed Ibraahim - Hin Yaadini (5:17)
08 - Mohammed Ibraahim - Naf Jacel Halelay (7:04)
09 - Mohammed Ibraahim - Mee Yomiin Si'arka (6:52)
10 - Mohammed Ibraahim - Shirgigaate (8:22)
11 - Mohammed Ibraahim - Yoomuma (5:52)
12 - Mohammed Ibraahim - Galaana (9:59)



Monday, April 27, 2015

Teshome Mitiku & Frehiwot Lemma - [2009] - Zemen [2009] [ethiopia]








       Teshome's career stretches back over thirty years in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia as a member of the influential Soul Ekos Band in the late 60s.


      Teshome Mitiku began performing at local schools and nightclubs when he was just a teenager. In the late 60's, singer and keyboardist Teshome Mitiku; his brother and alto saxophonist, Theodros "Teddy" Mitiku; trumpeter, Tamrat Ferendji; bassist Fekade Amde-Meskel; drummer, Tesfaye Mekonnen; guitarist, Alula Yohannes and singer, Seifu Yohannes formed the influential Soul Ekos Band

      The band released numerous songs. Teshome Mitiku composed and wrote Gara Ser New Betesh, Yezemed Yebada, Mot Adeladlogn and Hasabe.





Teshome Mitiku - Susegnash




01 - Teshome Mitiku & Frehiwot Lemma - Bati (7:46)
02 - Teshome Mitiku & Frehiwot Lemma - Hasabe (5:42)
03 - Teshome Mitiku & Frehiwot Lemma - Kante Gar (5:58)
04 - Teshome Mitiku & Frehiwot Lemma - Susegnash (6:43)
05 - Teshome Mitiku & Frehiwot Lemma - Abren Enwal (4:30)
06 - Teshome Mitiku & Frehiwot Lemma - Gimash Sewnet (6:00)
07 - Teshome Mitiku & Frehiwot Lemma - Himem Sewnet (5:05)
08 - Teshome Mitiku & Frehiwot Lemma - Almetam Kerehugn (5:35)
09 - Teshome Mitiku & Frehiwot Lemma - Eshururu (5:05)
10 - Teshome Mitiku & Frehiwot Lemma - Tinsae (6:59)
11 - Teshome Mitiku & Frehiwot Lemma - Tizitaye (6:16)
12 - Teshome Mitiku & Frehiwot Lemma - Zemen (5:58)











Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Mahmoud Ahmed with Ibex Band - Jeguol Naw Betwa [1978, reissue 2011] [ethiopia]



   R   E   U   P   L   O   A   D   







           Mississippi records continues their tradition of re-releasing obscure and out of print music from all around the world, this time tackling legendary Ethiopian singer Mahmoud Ahmed.  

       Apparently this album of blistering african pop had never been reissued since it's original pressing, so I'm quite thankful that Mississippi did the legwork and got this back out into the ears of everyone. 

       Mahmoud Ahmed is the greatest Ethiopian singer of all time. His recordings with the Ibex Band are proper sweet, even awesome. This album, first released in 1978, is a world music classic. Album has been remastered quite brilliantly by Tim Stollenwerk. 









      

       Recorded at the end of the 'golden age' of Ethiopian urban music, Mahmoud is in top form belting out transcendent intense vocals over the Ibex Bands' hypnotic soulful horns, organs, guitars, bass & percussion. As good as it gets & as close to universally perfect music as ever has been made.





1. Mahmoud Ahmed - Bemin Sebeb Litlash / (4:30)
2. Mahmoud Ahmed - Anwedim Tekatin / (5:21)
3. Mahmoud Ahmed - Gebtewat Yihon Fikrien (5:46)
4. Mahmoud Ahmed - Jeguol Naw Betwa (3:34)
5. Mahmoud Ahmed - Endet Lilakek (4:16)
6. Mahmoud Ahmed - Neshtie / (5:16)
7. Mahmoud Ahmed - Fetsum Dink Lij Nesh / (4:41)
8. Mahmoud Ahmed - Hoy Na-Na Jegnaw Na / (4:40)
9. Mahmoud Ahmed - Marie Gela / (4:37)














Friday, March 20, 2015

AIYE #60 : Mikael Seifu - Africa In Your Earbuds [ethiopia]




       Mikael Seifu is an Ethiopian electronic music producer & performer. Seifu fuses both the secular Ethiopian music of nomadic folk musicians, known as Azmaris, and the sonics of Tobia with garage & his own dream brew, which he calls “Ethiopian electronic.”

     Born and raised in Addis Ababa, Seifu attended the French school Lycee Guebre-Mariam as a child, and went on to study music production & the music industry at Ramapo College of New Jersey, a small school about 45 minutes outside of Manhattan. Here, Seifu studied under avant-garde composer, trumpeter and inventor of the “Mutantrumpet,” Ben Neill. “He opened me up to another way of thinking about music,” says Seifu.




Mikael Seifu - Yarada Lij




      After his time at Ramapo, Seifu traveled back to Addis Ababa where he currently runs his recording studio, a central hub for the perceptive & open-minded local musicians of Addis Ababa, and continues to cultivate & curate the local electronic & Ethiopian experimental music scene.

His debut EP, Yarada Lij, draws from a long list of musical influences including Ethiopian & African Folk, the Addis Acoustic Project, Ben Neill, Burial, Zion Rebels, Air, Röyksopp, reggae and R.F.


“My music is about vibrations…it does something to me and I want to immediately share that with people. It’s not Eastern, Western, Martian… it’s about that impact. If that impact is not shared, it doesn’t matter.” - Mikael Seifu





       Ethiopian beatsmith Mikael Seifu made his impressive debut this year with the 4-track Yarada Lij EP and loose single “Tuff Ruff” — a striking hybrid of house & UK garage production with secular azmari folk and sacred music traditions of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The Addis Ababa-based producer, who cites labelmate Endeguena Mulu, Burial, traditional Ethiopian folk, and Scott Storch as his influences, is the torch-bearing artist on the newly formed Washington, D.C. imprint 1432 R.What do you think?


      For his Africa In Your Earbuds mixtape, Mikael Seifu delivers an astounding, hazy journey through reinterpreted Ethiopian folk sounds. The producer mentions, “The last two songs are the only unaltered from the mix. I basically went for it and picked artists of Ethiopia or who are Ethiopian. That being said I used bits and pieces of their works and composed on top of that for the mix. One can say the majority of the mix is technically original stuff with it’s major influence and theme being Ethiopian folk."










Mikael Seifu - AIYE #60: Mikael Seifu (19:47)



Samples Used For Mix/Tracklist:

Ethiopian Folk

Tommy T - Oromo Dub(Cushitic Dub)
Gash Abera Molla - Enkutatash & other
Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou - The Last Tears of a Deceased
Addis Acoustic Project - Soundcheck at Jazzamba Club
Hailu Mergia - Ambassel
Seifu Yohannes - Yekermo Sew
Zion Rebels ft. Lion Heart Soldiers, Tiger & Black Haze -  Dess Yebelesh
Lema Guebre-Hiwot - Medina Zelessegna


Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Elias Tebabel - Tidar [1999] - [ethiopia]



   R   E   U   P   L   O   A   D   








       The legendary Elias Tebabel was born and raised in Gondar, Ethiopia, and currently residing in Washington DC, USA.



01. Elias Tebabel - Tidar (5:59)
02. Elias Tebabel - Tewdage (7:25)
03. Elias Tebabel - Mamaye (6:35)
04. Elias Tebabel - Ye Gondar Lij (4:16)
05. Elias Tebabel - Degenga (6:46)
06. Elias Tebabel - Kanchi Wodiya (6:07)
07. Elias Tebabel - Borena (4:31)
08. Elias Tebabel - Behager Yelem Keld (6:43)
09. Elias Tebabel - Ye Habesha Set (6:15)
10. Elias Tebabel - Ze Neged Konjo (5:53)



Monday, January 26, 2015

Girma Yifrashewa - Love & Peace [2014] [ethiopia]





The best Ethiopian pianist Girma Yifrashewa


Girma Yifrashewa extended biography and additional info > find here !








01 - Girma Yifrashewa - The Shepherd with the Flute (6:48)
02 - Girma Yifrashewa - Chewata (8:44)
03 - Girma Yifrashewa - Elilta (6:47)
04 - Girma Yifrashewa - Sememen (9:21)
05 - Girma Yifrashewa - Ambassel (8:55)






"a rare and fascinating example of aesthetic adaptation and convergence" - The New York Times


"Gorgeous solo piano studies from Ethiopia... along with a meditative take on jazz that recalls George Winston" - Uncut Magazine


"On his first US release, Love & Peace (Unseen Worlds), Yifrashewa comes off as a fluid hybrid of Erik Satie, Vince Guaraldi, and Matthew Shipp at his most restrained. The performances are tonally rich and subdued, with Yifrashewa's folksy melodies given alternating emphasis—grandiloquent and hushed." - Chicago Reader


"The newest release on Unseen Worlds is a breathtaking collection of solo piano pieces by Ethiopian composer Girma Yifrashewa, who crafts a unique blend of hauntingly melodic works that recall Erik Satie, Keith Jarrett, and Debussy, but filtered through the Ethiopian pentatonic scale, tipping its hat toward the worlds of both jazz and classical music simultaneously. Easily one of the year's most engrossing classical/ambient works, this is vital music by an incredibly gifted composer and musician. Absolute highest recommendation." - Other Music


"A thoroughly engaging set of five solo piano settings ... Adding to the recording's appeal, each of the pieces conveys a satisfying sense of completeness, and to his credit, Yifrashewa consistently opts for emotional directness" - Textura


Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Mulatu Astatke – Sketches of Ethiopia [2013] [ethiopia]




  R  E  U  P  L  O  A  D  






         Sketches of Ethiopia is, extraordinarily, the first album Mulatu Astatke, the godfather of Ethio-jazz, has recorded with his own band for an international label of influence. It has been a long time coming and it is a corker.






         Astatke, on vibraphone and keyboards, is accompanied by his regular touring band, Step Ahead, which has at its core A-list British jazz musicians—among them, trumpeter Byron Wallen, drummer Tom Skinner
bassist John Edwards and reed player James Arden. Step Ahead’s 12-piece line-up also includes players of traditional Ethiopian instruments including the masinko (one-string lute), krar (lyre) and washint (bamboo flute). 

      In addition, there are half a dozen guest musicians, who include rising Malian vocalist Fatoumata Diawara, who sings on the final track.






          The album, a mix of originals and arrangements of traditional Ethiopian tunes, is generally hotter and more urgent than you would expect from Astatke’s classic early 1970s recordings. That vibe is revisited on two tracks: “Gumuz,” a traditional melody given a laid back, West Coast jazz-funk arrangement, and Astatke’s “Motherland Abay,” a showcase for the Ethiopian instruments. Elsewhere the album reflects Step Ahead’s up-tempo, dance-friendly live approach. The material is largely through-written and the emphasis is on the ensemble, as always with Astatke: composer/arrangers Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn were prominent among his formative jazz influences.


           Born in 1943, Astatke studied in Britain and the US in the 1960s. He returned to Ethiopia towards the end of the decade, in the dog days of Haile Selassie’s imperial rule. State control of the music business was weakening and a handful of enthusiasts were setting up independent labels which the expiring regime lacked the energy to close down. But the audience for Astatke’s music was small, for Ethiopia had no broad tradition of instrumental music. In 1974 a military junta, the Derg, ousted Selassie and seized power. Under the Derg, Ethiopia’s fledgling music business was suppressed.


          Internationally, Astatke’s fortunes improved in the late 1990s, when the Paris-based label Buda Musique launched its Ethiopiques reissue series. Volume four, Ethio Jazz & Musique Instrumentale 1969—1974, released in 1998, comprised album tracks and singles recorded by Astatke either under his own name or as arranger/bandleader. 

        People began to pick up on Ethio-jazz, among them US movie director Jim Jarmusch, who featured Astatke’s 1970s recordings prominently on the soundtrack of Broken Flowers (2005). In the film’s wake, Astatke toured and recorded with the Heliocentrics and Either/Orchestra. 


        In 2010, Mochilla released Timeless, recorded in concert in the US with leading local players.


        Sketches of Ethiopia is essentially Astatke and Step Ahead’s live set performed in the studio by an expanded line-up. It makes the transition with resounding success.


Personnel: 

Step Ahead: 

Mulatu Astatke: vibraphone, piano, keyboards; 
Yohanes Afwork: washint; 
James Arben: flute, oboe, tenor saxophone, clarinet; 
Messale Asmamow: krar; 
Richard Olatunde Baker: percussion; 
John Edwards: double bass, bass; 
Indris Hassun: masinko; 
Alexander Hawkins: piano, keyboards; 
Danny Keane: keyboards, cello; 
Tom Skinner: drums; 
Tesfaye: lead vocals (2, 4, 6); 
Byron Wallen: trumpet. 


Guests: 

Fatoumata Diawara: lead vocals (8); 
Francois Cordas: tenor saxophone (5); 
Kandia Kora: kora (2, 4, 7); 
Eric Longsworth: cello (5); 
Jean-Baptiste Saint-Martin: guitar (2, 5, 6); 
Francois Verly: percussion (2-8); 
Memeru: choir leader

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Mulatu Astatke & The Heliocentrics- Live @ Jazz à La Villette 01/09/2011 [VIDEO]



   R   E   U   P   L   O   A   D   



Mulatu Astatke & The Heliocentrics- Live @ Jazz à La Villette 01/09/2011 

   VIDEO   







           In 2005, thanks to Jim Jarmusch film Broken Flowers, the name of Mulatu Astatke finally came out of the small circle of aficionados of Ethiopian music. A 65 years ago, the father of Ethio-jazz then found a new audience ready to taste the unique rhythm of his music. Behind his vibraphone and percussion, Astatke signs unconventional jazz, steeped in Latino sounds, instrumental soul, Ethiopian folk music, where brass and percussion converse in a new way. At home, the samba is shifted, jazz borrows often tortuous spicy funky. 


       Beside him on stage, we note the presence of Heliocentrics saxophonist James Arben, Danny Keane on cello, also part of the project with the Heliocentrics Mulatu and heard alongside Gorillaz, and that of Alexander Hawkins, young British pianist already spotted by the BBC.






Mulatu Astatke (vibraphone, congas), 
James Arben (saxophone, flute), 
Byron Wallen (trumpet), 
Danny Keane (cello), 
Alexander Hawkins (piano, keyboards), 
Liran Donin (bass), 
Richard Olatunde Baker (percussions), 
David De Rose (drums)















Friday, March 28, 2014

Alemayehu Eshete - Addis Ababa [1992] [ethiopia]



   R   E   U   P   L   O   A   D   







             This is a great CD of Alemayehu's (the Ethiopian Elvis) greatest works of his seasoned musical career. The old authentic Ethiopian melodies are composed with mixed symphonyish, jazzy, rich musical extrvaganza. With his powerful bass voice, his vibrant and jubliant immersion in his performance is apparent in his songs. 






      





       He offers his beatuful versions of Tizita and Ambassel (classis Ethiopian melodies). My favorite is however, Marign Biyeshalo with poetic rhymes ('Kodaye tegefo yihunilish chama'- peel my skin off and make a shoe out it for her). I recommend it to anyone who loves the original Ethiopian melodies and appreciates its composition with 21st century instruments.

PS: Watch out for the saxophone solos. 





01   Addis Ababa Bete 5:53
02   Yewoine Haregitu 4:20
03   Manihun Tilek Saw 4:29
04   Yeworma Zengada 3:44
05   Ambassel             7:30
06   Denyew Denaba    3:21
07   Marign Biyeshalo 4:08
08   Chigerish Bene Alfoual 5:14
09   Kotuma Fikrie     4:31
10   Tizita            5:34





Bass - Deredge Tefera
Clarinet - Ivo Papasov
Drums - Tamara Haregu
Engineer - Stephane Caisson
Guitar - Jean-François Pauvros
Keyboards - Berhane Kindane , Nebiyu Tesfaye
Producer - Francis Falceto
Saxophone - Philippe Herpin
Saxophone [Tenor] - Daniel Pabœuf
Trumpet - Yohannes Tekola
Violin - Pascale Meley

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Shambel Belayneh - Hager [1996] [ethiopia]



   R   E   U   P   L   O   A   D   





       When it comes to traditional Ethiopian Music, Shambel Belayneh is well known for his singing and his great skill with the Masinko, a traditional Ethiopian musical instruments. For over 20 years, he has entertained audiences across the globe. Currently residing in the United States, Shambel's heart remains in his homeland and he is deeply committed to performing the music of Ethiopia throughout the world.

       When it comes to traditional Ethiopian music, Shambel Belayneh is well known not only for his singing talent, but also for his great skill with the masinko. He is deeply committed to performing the music of Ethiopia throughout the world. Hager, Shambel's sixth recording, is an attempt to blend traditional musical instruments (masinko and krar) with western instrumentation.






       For those Ethiopians far far away from home, Shambel's music brings back great and unforgatable memories. Especially songs number 1,2 and 3. What better way to remenice about your country and roots than with music like 'Hager'? Song number 2, 'Jemeregn' hits home with it's lyrics. The fact that Shambel is one of the best vocalists of our country also contributes to the essence of this cd. Shambel, cheers to you!

        A CD full of happy moments and wonderful music. If you like Ethiopian dancing (with the shoulders and all) this is definately the CD for you. The combination of modern instruments with Shambel's masinko creates an exciting blend that is bound to get you off of your seat and into the dance floor. To me the songs are all great, but I would like to point out song number 6 for its amazing rhythm. If you are Ethiopian you already have it, and if you are not - go get it !




1. Shambel Belayneh - Amoraw Siyaish Wale (6:24)
2. Shambel Belayneh - Indenesh Indenesh (5:39)
3. Shambel Belayneh - Jemeregn (5:54)
4. Shambel Belayneh - Anchin Iyalkugn (5:50)
5. Shambel Belayneh - Ye Geter Shega (5:59)
6. Shambel Belayneh - Limita Bahirdar (6:54)
7. Shambel Belayneh - Neyna Kashign (7:31)
8. Shambel Belayneh - Ya Le Hager Ayamirim (7:49)
9. Shambel Belayneh - Kalem Alaminew (7:52)