The Trio Kazanchis manages to produce a hi-energy mix which finds it's roots in ethiopian groove, having traditional melodies and songs as a starting point. However they can as easily follow a melodic line and traditional rhythm as drop it and letting the dynamics of the moment decide.
Improvisation, a hardly known angle in traditional Ethiopian music, plays a substantial part. The sometimes Hendrix like krar mixes great with the pure farfisa sound, Wyatt resonant, and Fabien's forward drumming style.
These three musicians already succesfully explored their common musical interests on stage in January 2009 in Addis.
Great-granddaughter and granddaughter of traditional singers, Sahra has been singing the repertoire inherited from her ancestors since her childhood. Despite her parents' disapproval and the discredit attached to women musicians in her native Somaliland, she has grown up and has started her career accompanying bands and playing in musicals.
When the war burst out in 1988 in Somaliland territory situated in north-eastern Somalia and formerly a British protectorate "Little Sahra" (Sahra Yart) commits herself and sings by the Walalo Hargeysa's sides, soldiers fighting for the independence of their country. On the front lines, Sahra acts as nurse for the Red Cross. In the middle of the jungle, she sings to allay the sufferings of the wounded soldiers.
"Little Sahra" then becomes "Sahra the combatant" (Sahra Halgan), a nickname given to her by a separatist radio of the country. In a tight social and political context, she runs off the country in 1992.
Political refugee settled in Lyon, she is still actively supporting the cause of her country, self-proclaimed independent in 1991, but so far unrecognized by the international community.
Since then, she is considered as an absolute musical icon of the country and as the voice of the Somalilandese community dispersed to the four corners of the world. Her unique and atypical vocal identity has largely contributed to this recognition.
Characteristic of the territories of eastern Africa, where the influences of the Middle-East and of Africa are intermingling, her voice surprises by its suppleness, its timbre and its originality; combining throat-voice, tribal inflexions, ululations and oriental ornamentations. Since her arrival in France, Sahra Halgan has staged her atypical route and her musical family inheritance with the complicity of African musicians settled in Lyon.
After the release of her first album in 2009, she has covered the stages of Europe and of the world, and she has endeavoured to make the very unrecognized somalilandese culture discovered by the European audience. "I haven't left Somaliland to go sightseeing, I didn't had the choice" says Sahra, in one of her song.
True ambassadress of her country's music, Sahra sings the nostalgia, the memory and the rips of the exile. With lightness and in shows full of emotions, she becomes a vibrant echo of Somaliland and sings love, peace and war. On stage, this great east-African voice with an incredible stage presence has a gift to take the audience to a unique journey where good mood and shared smiles are blending...
Absolutely killer compilation of Ethiopian R&B from the golden age of Ethiopian music.
Classic performances by Lemma Demissew, Tilahoun Gessesse, Seifu Yohannes, Bahta Gebre Heywet, Teshome Meteku, Mahmoud Ahmed & Alemeyahu Eshete.
All songs never reissued on vinyl before. A nonstop party record that we can recommend without any reservations. The 3rd LP in continuing series of releases culled from the monumental Ethiopiques series.
Another great eritrean singer. Alamin is the role model for every new and upcoming Eritrean singers.
Unfortunatelly I can't find any decent piece of information about Alamin Abdulatif, or Abdelatif, or Abdellatif. But, here is the music, and that's the main thing.
Nine untagged songs, nearly an hour of beautiful eritrean music in modern arrangements.
Few have a more dramatic tale to tell than Maryam Mursal, Somalia’s powerful and dynamic female vocalist.
Before her stunning voice could be heard in the west, Maryam was forced to spend seven months walking across the Horn of Africa with her five children as she fled the civil war in her native Somalia - desperate to escape from the anarchy, death and starvation that was destroying her country. She and her young family hitched rides on trucks, rode on donkeys and walked - out of Mogadishu, the Somalian capital, across Kenya, through Ethiopia, recrossing part of Somalia again and eventually arriving in Djibouti where she was finally given asylum by the Danish embassy.
In Denmark she met up with the Danish arranger Søren Kjær Jensen. Jensen had come across Maryam's music when working in Somalia as a freelance photographer in 1986 and had recorded her extraordinary voice from a radio broadcast. Visiting a Somalian immigrant camp in Denmark he heard her singing to 300 fellow refugees and realised it was the same voice. Jensen brought Maryam to the attention of Peter Gabriel's Real World and, consequently, the label asked her to make two albums - one of traditional material and a second in more contemporary vein.
‘The Journey, Maryam’s solo album, is a highly charged modern take on her Somalian roots, produced by Simon Emmerson and Martin Russell (both of Afro Celts Sound System fame) with Jensen. It features guitars, sequencers and back-up vocals from Peter Gabriel, yet never strays far from its African origins. "She's amazing, she's got everything," Emmerson says. As an instant African classic thrillingly uniting ancient and modern he puts the album on a par with Baaba Maal's incendiary ‘Firin In Fouta’, which he also produced.
Maryam is perfectly at ease working with a more contemporary approach. She began singing professionally as a teenager in Mogadishu in 1966, the first woman in a deeply male-dominated Islamic society. Brought up in the Muslim faith, she was steeped in the traditional music of her country - a remarkable hybrid sound of African and Arabic influences created by centuries of cross-cultural fertilisation between migrating nomadic tribes. But from her earliest years she also eagerly absorbed every influence she could find.
“I began singing in night clubs thirty years ago in Somalia,” Maryam says. “Traditional music is very important to me but I was always listening to people like Ray Charles, the Beatles, everything.” Another western artist she admires is Etta James and it is easy to see a link between the two women - both have a big, uncompromising vocal style.
Although little to do with jazz as we know it in the west, the rich, cultural stew which she developed of African and western sounds, dance music and traditional song, became known as ‘Somali jazz’ and Maryam became a household name.
In July 1997 Real World released ‘New Dawn’ (RW66), Maryam’s recording with the core survivors of the band Waaberi - once a 300-strong troupe of singers, dancers, musicians and actors from the Somalian National Theatre before the destruction of civil war. An acoustic album, the songs tell of loneliness, love and betrayal - sung solo or accompanied by simple percussion and the oud (an Arabic lute-like instrument). It includes a freshly recorded version of Maryam’s song ‘Ulimada’ (The Professors) - a thinly disguised attack on the dictatorial regime in Somalia, which had led to her being banned from performing anywhere in the country for two years.
Maryam Mursal's life and art have intertwined to produce a sound that is profoundly moving and totally unique. She may be a refugee living in exile but her extraordinary talent is certain to guarantee her a heartfelt welcome wherever she sings.
One day Maryam hopes to return home to Somalia. "The first good thing I hear about my country, the first suggestion it is changing, I will go back - and quickly. It might take five years or even ten years but one day things will change. Everybody needs their country. At home you can be a star but then as a refugee you are looked at like a dog. I am a refugee but I am also a singer. That is my job and that is how I survive."
Reviews
...dynamic vocal performance from Maryam Mursal. The sound of contemporary Somalia with a dynamic vocal performance from Maryam Mursal. Whopping chunky brass and thunderous bass and percussion bring in a highly charged set of songs perfectly captured by the Real World engineers. Piccadilly Records (UK) Relying on her unbroken spirit and sandy resolve... ...Mursal tells her story with terrific grace and ebullience even as she mourns her country's difficulties. She’s been through too much to do a polite, sad documentary. Rolling Stone (1998) (USA) The very first listen to Mursal will tell you this: she is an authentic, incredible talent... ...a singer of great range and passion and an adept juggler of cultural sounds and styles ... The journey actually sounds like an international achievement ... to create a wonderful music that is both distinctive and unusual, and yet totally inviting. Option Magazine (1998) (USA) Somali singer Maryam Mursal is blessed with haunting vocals... ...that pierce your soul, and a keen storytelling ability... Mursal is poised for international stardom. Black Elegance (1998) (USA) To put it simply: 'The Journey ' is an album that definitively puts Maryam Mursal up amongst the stars... ...a fantastic, beautiful result of international format. A captivating and exciting mix of afro-arabic and western music. Djembe(1998) (Denmark) Her debut album is a sophisticated voyage undertaken with strings and percussion. Mursal . . . has a fearless, smooth voice and a pop sensibility that brings ‘The Journey’ back home. Marie Claire (1998) (USA) can't recall when an Afro-pop record bowled me over... ...the way Maryam Mursal's has ... as good as world music gets. Request (1998) (USA) Funkier than a room full of snowboarders. You experiment with this rhythmic colossus at your peril - inhale it and you could win the giant slalom, break the world speed record and fly a balloon around the world. Undoubtedly the funkiest LP ever to come courtesy of the Danish Music Council. Time Out (1998) (UK) A voice that pleads for home ... Far and away the funkiest album ever connected to Denmark . . . sympathetic but indomitable, a woman who knows what she wants . . . her voice is as rich and assertive as those of Margareth Menezes of Brazil and Angelique Kidjo of Benin. ‘The Journey’ rides Somalian melodies into a cross-cultural wonderland. Mursal and her arranger, Soren Kjaer Jensen, realized that her voice could stand up to just about anything. Mursal sounds too tough to let herself be reduced to an exotic sonic ingredient. When she tours this summer as part of Africa Fete, her forthright voice will not be denied. New York Times (1998) (USA) Deep, dirty funk from Somalia, anyone? ...the kind of classic funk that would have suited Sweet Sweetback's Baadass Song. Mojo (1998) (UK) If you're looking for an artist who stands for something big... ... - who moves you, impresses you, and broadens you while thrilling you - here she is, cutting through it all. Interview (1998) (USA) "... compelling listening ... her voice packs a powerful and emotional punch. Music Week (1998) (UK) Truly breathtaking... If this album does not propel her ... to consideration as one of the world's great female voices, up there with your Aretha's, there ain't no justice: Folk Roots (1998) (UK) Mursal's honey-smoked alto weaves a hypnotic web... ...of back-home ululations and R&B diva moanings. The Journey and Mursal swing beautifully. Twenty-first century global soul begins here. March 1998 . Vibe (USA) This ... is a joyful collage of influences. This music feels like hobbling on stillettos when you're used to flats: it'll force you to use muscles you didn't know you had. Jane Magazine (1998) (USA)
Samuel Tesfamichaelis a gospel song writer and singer (mezmur), based in Addis Ababa Ethiopia. His Facebook page describes his interest as "Guitar, Worshiping & Meditating on the Word of God! Singing, Traveling, spending time with his beautiful Wife!".
01. Samuel Tesfamichael - Bemegemerya Lamesgen (9:00)
02. Samuel Tesfamichael - Chheten Sema (5:24)
03. Samuel Tesfamichael - Ketefat Godana (4:36)
04. Samuel Tesfamichael - Endante Yale Yelem (5:50)
Dawit Mellesseis one of Ethiopia's hottest new artists. His unique style fuses Ethiopian contemporary music with a variety of world beats to create an intoxicating sound. This beat laden recording includes the following rhythm forms: Ballad, Boogie, Cha ka Cha ka, Chic Chic ka (Iskista), Highlife, and Soca.
Dawit has performed with the renownedRoha Band, the Ethio-Stars Band,Abyssinia Band,Wallias Band,SevanBandand, most recently, with the Express Band. He has toured extensively around the world with stops in Europe, Asia, and East Africa
It was Dawit's debut album, Alchalkum, in 1991 which made him a favorite with Ethiopia's youth. Since then, he has recorded four albums, including 1995's Lottery (AIT Records) and 2000's Anchin New, which have earned Dawit a place among Ethiopia's greatest performers. both albums were collaborative effort of Dawit and Ethiopia's renowned Admas and Express bands.
The new album, Andiken, is yet another musical masterpiece that combines both traditional and contemporary Ethiopian music into something creative, new and extraordinary.
01. Tamrat Desta - Yemayresaw Geta (4:31) 02. Tamrat Desta - Sayat (4:33) 03. Tamrat Desta - Aykebdm Woy (4:28) 04. Tamrat Desta - Kanchi Aybeltim (5:01) 05. Tamrat Desta - Mechi (4:06) 06. Tamrat Desta - Yam Yam (4:48) 07. Tamrat Desta - Deju (4:45) 08. Tamrat Desta - And Sew (4:12) 09. Tamrat Desta - Saw Mekrosh (4:44) 10. Tamrat Desta - Enchawet (4:24) 11. Tamrat Desta - Shegnugn (4:42) 12. Tamrat Desta - Ayitebekim (4:17) 13. Tamrat Desta - Tizita (6:32)
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