v.a. - new ethio grooves [2014] [ethiopia]

Warm regards to all the readers of my blog. 

Regular followers have probably noticed that the usual Christmas present is late this year, but it does not mean that it will not arrive.

And here it is !

It is only fitting that we end the year with a short overview.This time, it is a compilation of the recent work of the bands whose music is influenced by the Ethiopian sound.

I am not going to bore you a lot. You have come to know most of the authors form this compilation through the posts on my blog, but there is something completely new as well. You will find out for yourself what it is. 

I wish you lots of health, happiness and love in the new year. And lots of interesting music, of course. 

B.

   cd 1  

01 - Nadav Haber - Nanu Nanu Jazz (6:13)

02 - Elias Negash - My Eyes Are Hungry (6:55)

03 - New Constellations - Rift Valley (4:51)

04 - Ethioda - Araray (5:09)

05 - Akalé Wubé - Kidus à cent dix (5:17)

06 - Akalé Wubé - Gab's Trap (4:00)

07 - Imperial Tiger Orchestra - Che Belew (4:02)

08 - Arat Kilo - Ankober Hotel (3:42)

09 - Les Frères Smith - Yègellé Tezeta (My Own Memory) (4:58)

   cd 2  

01 - KAZANCHIS +1 - Bilemo Bilee (6:00)

02 - KAZANCHIS +1 - Agerwa Wasa Magana (5:36)

03 - KAZANCHIS +1 - Astawusalehu (5:34)

04 - Feedel Band - Girl from Ethiopia (7:35)

05 - Feedel Band - Arayas Mood (8:24)

06 - Black Flower - Upwards (4:58)

07 - The Shaolin Afronauts - Abyssinian Suite, Pt. 1 (5:28)

08 - The Shaolin Afronauts - Abyssinian Suite, Pt. 2 (5:07)

09 - The Shaolin Afronauts - Abyssinian Suite, Pt. 3 (3:44)

Imperial Tiger Orchestra - [2013] - Wax [swiss+ethiopia]

Imperial Tiger Orchestra - Le Le Le

       After two albums and a short but well-documented history, Imperial Tiger Orchestra (aka the Tigers) strikes back with a mighty new album, “Wax”, comprising nine killer tracks of tight funk and free-spirited trance wrapped in luscious arrangements. Still inspired by African masters – but not necessarily those you might have thought of – The Tigers have this time delved into the traditional azmari repertoire to uncover astonishing nuggets of synth- and horn-heavy grooviness. Get ready for a journey into the heart of Ethiopia.

          When Imperial Tiger Orchestra first started unravelling the yarn of Ethiopian Music from the Golden Age (1969 – 1975), no one expected the thread to be so long and no one knew where it might end.

          Inspired by original albums that the band found while shopping for rare musical gems on a first visit to Addis Ababa in 2009, Imperial Tiger Orchestra released a first record in 2010, the aptly-named Addis Abeba, which explored

          Ethiopian music from the 70s – when traditional Ethiopian brass bands began feeding off American soul. The second release, Mercato, veered towards a more pop-inspired repertoire from the 80s, and the latest release goes one step further, taking the listener deeper into Ethiopian culture, from the unique sounds of the azmari repertoire to the hypnotic groove of the major tribes.

       After three years touring Europe, Imperial Tiger Orchestra has acquired a solid reputation as a mighty groove machine. The band has also taken its acid riffs to the African continent, touring South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe back in 2010. Having been invited to Addis Ababa by the renowned producer of the Ethiopiques series, Francis Falceto, the Tigers were proud to meet many of the local musicians who work to reshape traditional Ethiopian music. Based in and around Geneva, Switzerland, Imperial Tiger Orchestra has also worked with musicians and dancers from the Ethiopian diaspora, receiving their rewarding approval and blessing for their own original take on Ethiopian music.

        Wax: 80s synths meet traditional kebero percussions and daring rhythms. Gorgeous horn arrangements enwrap powerful bass lines and saturated electronic beats. All of this in a room where the sun pierces through the walls, where spirits dance and bodies are entranced.

   tracklist   

1. Imperial Tiger Orchestra - Konso    06:19 

2. Imperial Tiger Orchestra - Lelele    04:55

3. Imperial Tiger Orchestra - Yasheryshery   05:33 

4. Imperial Tiger Orchestra - Bechereka moshete   05:15 

5. Imperial Tiger Orchestra - Che Belew    04:01

6. Imperial Tiger Orchestra - Shered    03:21

7. Imperial Tiger Orchestra - Tgeregna   07:03

8. Imperial Tiger Orchestra - El Naas Elgiafa   04:38

9. Imperial Tiger Orchestra - Sudani Tune   04:16 

   band members :  

Raphael Anker - trumpet, keyboard 

John Menoud - sax, electronics 

Alexandre Rodrigues - keyboards 

Cyril Moulas - bass, phin, krar, guitar 

Luc Detraz - kebero, pads, kayamb 

Julien Israelian - drums, wax machine 

Getu Tirfe - dance 

Emebet Tezazu - dance

Akalé Wubé - Mata [2012] [fra+ethiopia]

   R  E  U  P  L  O  A  D   

       Akalé Wubé (meaning "my beautiful" in Amharic) is a quintet of musicians based in Paris, France who have been inspired to play "Ethio-Jazz" after drawing inspiration the Ethiopiques and other Ethiopian Jazz groups of the "golden age" throughout the sixties and seventies. They simply have taken older tunes to put a more modern contemporary twist by fusing in funk, tango, reggae, pop and other styles of music, already being an aesthetic in Ethiopian music, to help create their own unique sound. 

    Listening to “Mata”, the second album of Akalé Wubé, is like time travelling to Africa in the 70's. Their music take us to an imaginary musical territory halfway between the ethio-jazz that rocked Addis-Adeba at that time and have fascinated the West since and the Afrobeat from Lagos as conceived by the legendary Fela.

   A further listen however makes us realize that it goes much beyond than just recreating the ethio-groove so much in fashion these days and the hypnotic sound of this Parisian band soon puts us in a trance. Integrating elements of soul, reggae, jazz and garage rock, Akalé Wubé sounds like a kind of Azmari Tortoise of Yoruba ancesters. Between reworked versions of classic songs by Alèmayu Esheté, Mulatu Astatqé or Getatchew Mekurya and own compositions, Akalé Wubé have achieved in 2 albums what many cannot do in a decade. They have defined their own style: a mix of refinement, mystery and virtuosity. Come on board Radio Groovalizacion. Next stop Paris-Adeba!

01. Akalé Wubé - Maryé (4:47)

02. Akalé Wubé - Dodo (4:28)

03. Akalé Wubé - Mata (3:50)

04. Akalé Wubé - Jour de pluie (2:22)

05. Akalé Wubé - Kasalèfkut hulu (5:24)

06. Akalé Wubé - Almaz yèharèrwa (4:14)

07. Akalé Wubé - Asmarina (3:54)

08. Akalé Wubé - Bazay (5:42)

09. Akalé Wubé - Besetchet (2:39)

10. Akalé Wubé - Sabyé (4:37)

11. Akalé Wubé - Tinchel (3:45)     

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

Arat Kilo - 12 Days in Addis [2013] [fra+ethiopia]

Arat Kilo - Babur feat. Socalled

       Ethiopian jazz is a major branch of African music that comes from the bars of Addis Ababa and draws its influence from jazz and traditional Ethiopian music, azmari, Latin sounds and Anglo-American funk. Choosing to adapt this music in a contemporary and more urban style, Arat Kilo draws inspiration from rock music and the hypnotic sounds of dub.

  Their show alternates compositions and standard Ethiopian arrangements (a beautiful meeting was held at RFI’s studio with Mulatu Astatké, the father of Ethiopian jazz) 

       Born of a meeting to the Musiqueyras’s festival in July 2008, Arat Kilo is an elecric quintet which revisits the Ethiopian jazz and grooves of the seventies: between modern grooves, compositions and Ethiopian standards.

01 - Arat Kilo - Ankober Hotel (3:42)

02 - Arat Kilo - Lonmewo Lalie (feat. Mimi) (3:24)

03 - Arat Kilo - Sugal Yelem (feat. Mimi) (4:15)

04 - Arat Kilo - Belu Inji (feat. Nardos Tesfaw & Fendika Crew) [Live] (4:00)

05 - Arat Kilo - Babur, Pt. 1 (S.Mos Remix) (3:00)

06 - Arat Kilo - Enie Konjo (Robert le Magnifique Remix) (3:10)

members are :

Fabien Girard - guitar, balafon
Michael Havard - saxophones, flute
Aristide Goncalves - trumpet, keyboards
Samuel Hirsch - bass, kalimba
Arnold Turpin - drums, melodica

Gérald Bonnegrace - congas, bongos

Getatchew Mekuria & The Ex Orchestra - Live at Diksmuide [2006] [bootleg]

   R   E   U   P   L   O   A   D   

      The meeting of the mythical Dutch punk-rock band The Ex and the legendary Ethiopian saxophonist Getatchew Mekuria has given rise to a CD (Terp Records) as well as many performances to enthusiastic audiences in various venues and festivals, among them the concert in Diksmuide.  

      Most compositions come from the Ehtiopian repertoire. While The Ex do not speak Amharic and Getatchew understands only a few words of English, communication flows between them, in the sensitive way they find musical solutions, the energy they put in and the instant pleasure of playing together.

Getatchew Mekuria (Mekurya) – Biography


Gétatchèw Mèkuria is an Ethiopian jazz saxophonist.

       Mèkuria began his musical studies on traditional Ethiopian instruments such as the krar and the messengo, and later moved on to the saxophone and the clarinet. Upon reaching adolescence, he began his career in 1949 as a part of the Municipality Band in Addis Ababa.

       In 1965 he joined the famous Police Orchestra. He was also one of the first musicians to play an instrumental version of the Ethiopian war chant “Shellela.” 

      With the album Negus of Ethiopian Sax (since re-released as part of the Ethiopiques CD series), Mekuria became known as internationally as one of the most important proponents of Ethio-jazz.

    He has had a long career working alongside many of the biggest orchestras in the Ethiopian capital. He has also accompanied Alemayehu Eshete, Hirut Beqele and Ayalew Mesfin. He still lives in Addis, and shows up regularly at the Sunset Bar at the Sheraton.

     In 1974, he became a professor of police orchestras (?) in Addis, where he still lives.

     The album "Negus of Ethiopian Sax" caught the ears of Dutch avant-garde/punk band The Ex who invited the septuagenarian sax player to perform at their 25th anniversary show in Amsterdam. In turn, Mekuria asked The Ex to be the backup band for his 2006 album, Moa Anbessa. The Ex and Mekuria toured The Netherlands, Belgium and France together in 2006 and 2007.

01. Getatchew Mekuria & The Ex Orchestra - Muziqawi Silt (5:24)

02. Getatchew Mekuria & The Ex Orchestra - Ethiopia Hagere (7:01)

03. Getatchew Mekuria & The Ex Orchestra - Sethed Seketelat (5:05)

04. Getatchew Mekuria & The Ex Orchestra - Ambassèl (5:06)

05. Getatchew Mekuria & The Ex Orchestra - Belomy Benna (6:16)

06. Getatchew Mekuria & The Ex Orchestra - Che Belew Shellela (4:41)

07. Getatchew Mekuria & The Ex Orchestra - Aynamaye Nesh (5:08)

08. Getatchew Mekuria & The Ex Orchestra - Aynotche terabu/Shemonmwanaye (8:08)

09. Getatchew Mekuria & The Ex Orchestra - Eoleyo (6:51)

10. Getatchew Mekuria & The Ex Orchestra - Aha Begena (6:57)

11. Getatchew Mekuria & The Ex Orchestra - Tezalegn Yetentu (11:17)

12. Getatchew Mekuria & The Ex Orchestra - (Getatchew Mekuria solo encore) (4:35)

The Ex – Biography

      After their start in 1979 The Ex developed over the years into a melting-pot of divergent musical styles: noise, rock, jazz, improvisation, and ethnic music have been interweaved under one unique umbrella: ‘Ex-music’. Discordant, highly rhythmic guitars, the rolling, almost African drumming style, and the furious delivery of the often sarcastic lyrics give the music of The Ex its special character.

      So far, in almost 28 years, The Ex played 1,270 concerts all over Europe, Northern America and Africa, and made over 20 CD-albums. Never pigeon-holed into one of pop music’s corny corners, The Ex is continuously in development, and always open for new ideas and collaborations with people of all kinds, people who’s spirit inspires and appeals to the group. The main principle remained; to make music with heart and soul, out of reach of commercial trends or expectations. The consequent independent approach of the group and the manner in which they organize their concerts and release and distribute their records themselves, set a significant example for the alternative music circuit.

Kazanchis + 1 - [2014] - Live @ Taktlos festival, Zurich 05-25

Trio Kazanchis - Nanu Nanu Neye

       Trio Kazanchis got together by coincidence in 2009 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's musical hotspot while playing jam sessions in Melaku Belay's Club Fendika and Mulatu Astatke's own African-Jazz Club before touring Europe in underground venues and related festivals.

  

      Kazanchis +1 plays songs with an Ethiopian origin, either modern or traditional, and a European '80s touch, combined with free energetic improvisation using highly-developed Ethiopian pentatonic scales, from slow and trance-like to up-tempo, energetic moods. The band's choice of instruments presented itself on European stages as very elastic, nicely melting together, and also as a challenging combination -- all-in-all successful. 

     Mesele Asmamaw, described as the Jimi Hendrix of the electric krar (the 6-string Ethiopian lyre), has become known as an innovator & virtuoso of his instrument in Ethiopia. Fabien Duscombs, the quicksilver drummer from Toulouse lays down the perfect grid for Mesele to play his syncopating accents. Jeroen Visser glues the two tightly together, providing bass and chords with his Farfisa organ/synth, or challenges their sounds with his baritone sax. Since the summer of 2013, the amazing masinqo-player (a one-stringed violin) Endris Hassen has become a full member of the group, completing the sound and surprisingly even reinforcing the trio-feel.

     Trio Kazanchis’ Mèssèlè Asmamaw has been selected as 2013 Best Miscellaneous Instrumentalist at www.africanjazz.info.

01 - Kazanchis + 1 - Sadulay (6:19)

02 - Kazanchis + 1 - announcement (0:53)

03 - Kazanchis + 1 - Agerva Wasa Megena (6:04)

04 - Kazanchis + 1 - announcement (0:12)

05 - Kazanchis + 1 - Astawesalehu (7:23)

06 - Kazanchis + 1 - Ayne Hulgize Yesasaleshal [fadeout] (4:36)

Tezeta Band - Tezeta Band EP [usa] [2010]

                                 
                                               R  E  U  P  L  O  A  D   

           Tezeta Band is the sound of memory, of nostalgia, of sweaty soulful dance music, part jazz, part motown, part Ethiopian folk music, inspired by and arranged from the Golden Age of Ethiopian music, the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Imagine James Brown, Elvis Presley, and John Coltrane merged into one sound, one source, melting together in the clubs and lounges of Ethiopia.

      Tezeta Band is a musical reunion of The Five Fingers of Funk (Talbott Guthrie-drums, Ted Hille - Saxophone, Tim Cook - Keyboards, Curt Bieker -  Trombone & Josh Prewitt - Trumpet) formed in 1992 with rapper Pete Miser. For nearly ten years, the Five Fingers were the premier 100% Live Northwest Hip-Hop experience that rocked stages from Portland, Oregon to Portland, Maine and opened for such acts as De La Soul, The Roots, Maceo Parker, Fishbone,Run DMC, Digital Underground, Bootsy Collins and The Greyboy Allstars. 

myspace page

      Now, with the help of Brent Martens (From Asylum Street Spankers and currently the Escapists, Royal Motel Orchestra, and Duo Royale) and Bassist/Composer John Teagle. In 2006 the idea for the band came after a few members came across the Ethiopiques CD series and were inspired to put together a weekly session based on this music. Quickly realizing that they were on to a new challenge that was both exciting and unique, the band was formed and has evolved since.

Le Tigre [des Platanes] & Eténèsh Wassié - Zeraf ! [2008] [france+ethiopia]

              
                    R   E   U   P   L   O   A   D   

     

             Ever since its creation, the band Le Tigre des Platanes (the ‘Sycamore Tiger’) has been into travelling, in the image of the insect it draws its name from —the Corythucha ciliata, better known as  the sycamore lace bug, which accidentally arrived in Europe in the early 1970s.

       Hailing from Toulouse in Southern France, this acoustic quartet has always proudly proclaimed its disorderly musical borrowings, blendings and appropriation of influences from other cultures.

       In 2001, Le Tigre des Platanes discovered the Ethiopiques series, and they soon included some chosen Ethiopian pieces in their eclectic repertoire, interpreting them in their own personal fashion. During a trip to Addis Abeba, they met Etenesh Wassie, a singer with a husky voice, a kind of Abyssinian sister of Edith Piaf and Billie Holiday . They undertook the challenge of playing together with beautiful Ethiopian standards, really exploring in a reciprocal way the new musical territories open to the five musicians and  a world made of the true sum of their personalities.

          This wonderful collaboration of the French jazz group Le Tigre and Ethiopian singer Etenesh Wassie results in music that is visceral, infectious, and culminates with some of the most progressive world music in recent memory.

        "The group is named after the sycamore lace bug (Corythucha ciliata), the nasty little tree-killing insect that was imported to Europe by accident from North America in the early 1970s. In the spirit of its namesake, the Toulouse quartet is all about crossing borders, import, export, invasion, retreat..."

       And that's a fitting description of what's in store; an authentic multi-colored quilt with the sounds of Ethiopia and other locales, free jazz, hard pounding rock, all spiced and enticed by the voice and lyrics of Wassie's earthy ethnic tongue.

       A guttural incantation of growling baritone sax and evocative Ethiopian dialect commences the recording with "Medinanna Zelessegna" yet the mood quickly shifts into the jumping "Muziqawi Silt" where the two-horn affront of Marc Demereau's sax and Piero Pepin's trumpet is ignited by the pulsating heartbeat of bassist Mathieu Sourisseau and drummer Fabien Duscombs.

      A truly eclectic mix of sounds is experienced: the koto-like banjo on "Ambassel Fantay," the feverish ancestral dance on "Tche Belew" (one of many highlights), where Sourisseau's bass is strummed like a chorded guitar (or vice versa) and the horns interact in agreement and discord—totally and hypnotic.

      These excellent musicians play with abandon that at times has the intensity of a Nirvana performance of "Smells Like Teen like Spirit." Distorted strings and cyclonic horns carry "Yezemed Yebaed" and a throbbing drum and bass on "Ney-Ney Weleba" as Demereau's baritone and voice both scream. Oliver Cussac's toy-like organ intonations color the tempered "Awash" a piece where the group finds respite.

      Wassie's haunting voice (which has also been heard in Buda's Ethiopiques series) adds mystery and non-translated meaning on tunes such as "Man Yehon Telleq Sew" where her interaction with the music is perfect. With gentleness and a coarse vibrato she exudes a timeless quality on "Ambassel" that is undeniable and when combined with Le Tigre,Ethiosonic is a journey like no other.

   Eténèsh Wassié : vocals

   Marc Deméreau :  baryton sax,  alto sax, screams

   Fabien Duscombs : drums, percussion

   Piero Pépin : trumpet, bugle, mélodica

   Mathieu Sourisseau : acoustic bass guitar, guitar, banjo,                                                             soubassophone