Roha Band has influenced the Ethiopian music industry as no other private music band has succeeded in. Perhaps one can safely say that Roha Band means to Ethiopia what “The Beatles” were to Britain.
The establishment of “The Roha Band” draws upon heavily or has a strong relation with the fall outs from the wind down and disintegration of the Ibex and Dahlak bands. Members of these two bands recollect that the reasons for the dissolution of the two bands have to do with the emigration of band members to the Sudan and the US leaving a serious vacuum of skill in the bands.
The Roha Band took it’s name from the historic town of Lalibela. The founding members of the band were Giovanni Rico (Bass guitar), Selam Seyoum (Lead guitar), Fekade Made Meskel (Tenor Sax), all these three hail from Ibex Band and those who joined the Roha Band after the disintegration of the Dahlak Band were Dawit Yifru (Key board and music arranger), Levon Fondachi (vocalist), Tekle Tesfazgi (drummer and vocalist joined the Roha Band leaving their private activities. After the band begun its work, it soon realized that it needed an additional skill and resources. This resulted in the second wave of outsourcing which brought Yonas Degefe (saxophone) and Elias Bekele, Berhanu Yoseph and Ashenafi Awel (both drummers) as well as Yared Teferra (saxophone) in to the fold of the band.
The startup was difficult specially in terms of capital and musical instruments. Thus, the former Ibex Band members brought the musical instruments they got upon the dissolution of the band to use them in their new band assignments. The band also secured a loan of Birr 40,000.00 from Ato Abeselom Yihdego for the purchase of additional instruments. This well known philanthropist thereby left a deep sense of gratitude in the memory of the band member’s to date. In fact, the man is known for a helping hand he extends from time to time to those engaged in the activities of music and sports.
Roha Band reunion
The beginnings of the Roha Band were pretty humble and it remains a relative unknown for some time. It was affiliated to the Hilton and Ghion hotels, not a great way to reach the wider public other than the small number of customers of these hotels.
The band’s introduction to the public rather came through its involvement in the recording industry where it accompanied and engaged in music arrangement. It benefited nearly all of the best known vocalists of the country both veteran and emerging talents. With this the fame of the band sky rocketed. The skill of the members was phenomenal, their rythems and arrangements were electrifying. The name Roha Band became synonymous with an paralled musical talent and it was the number one preference for a singer who contemplates an album release.
Its excellence is such that music lovers never mind to buy cassettes even those released complete stranger if it is accompanied by the Roha Band and produced by the Ambassel Recordings. The two brands offer a guarantee through quality. The legacy of the Roha Band has influenced the music industry in some other ways. For instance, usually it is the singer or the vocalist that takes the lion’s share of the admiration and fame after a successful release. The public never asks about the band accompanying the singer. There is no doubt the Roha Band’s influence changed this in drawing the attention of the public to the bands behind the fame and glory of singers.
Among the focalists in whose releases the Roha Band took part (both in accompanying and music arrangement) were Mahmoud Ahmed, Tehome Wolde, Muluken Melesse, Alemayehu Eshete, Melkamu Tebeje, Kuku Sebsbie, Hamelmal Abate, Neway Debebe, Tsehate Yohannes and many many others.
Roha Band - Oromigna
Besides its regular engagement at the Hilton and Ghion hotels, the band also took part in several musical tours with the vocalists it accompanied. It’s tours took it to towns like Asmara, Assab, Massawa, Mekele, Bahar Dar, Jimma, Dire Dawa, Awassa, Nazareth e.t.c.The instrumental it released was an instant hit and exhibited the individual and collective skills of the band members. The cassette is still highly sought after, a limited release as it was.
In the cassette Aster Aweke’s “Hode Mela”, Mahmoud Ahmed’s “Shegule ya lelawo”, Tekle Tesfazgi’s “Fikere telemeni” went instrumental showing how best the band can play both fast and slow music. Among the several music tours the band did the one that requires a special mention was the band’s tour to the areas of Metekel and Gambells where students and instructors of higher education institutions were on duty of building houses for a grand resettlement programme. The band toured these remote border areas and gave live shows free of charge. It has to be noted here that the government sent the band to these areas at the request of the students. The shows it gave were successful both in entertaining the tens of thousands of students who were in hostile and most basic of conditions ans in securing a good reputation to the band.
The Roha Band further developed its resources and brought better musical instruments some of which were new to the domestic music industry. Having strengthened itself, the band toured even further, this time to voluntaries in Africa, the Middle East, Europe and several states in America.
The fact that the band members were, besides their musical talent, versed in various individual skills and had different trainings, gave the band the opportunity of making use of this resource and be able to have a very good financial administration and resource management. For instance, the band’s music arranger and key board player Dawit Yifru is a professional accountant, Giovanni Rico studied management. In fact the band was a well managed one.
In a band setting, working together for 13 years is a rare thing. The Roha Band did this until it finally dissolved in 1993.
Factors such as members desire to earn a living by engagements and businesses other than music, the hardship the entertainment industry faced with and the unfavorable and a business centered competition from second rate bands offering their service cheap e.t.c. all pushed the Roha Band out of the lime light and into oblivion. Out of the band members Dawit Yifru, Yonas Degefe (Simon Libanos), Yared Teferra and Ashenefi Awel are still in the music industry. Dawit Yifru is the current president of Ethiopian Musicians Association. The other band members gave up music for good and are leading their lives in other engagements. Apart from Tekle Tesfazghi who died in a car accident in 1987, the others are not only alive but also had a serious plan in mind. Following an over whelming request from the public ina recent radio programme on one of the FMs, the band members confirmed that they have a well thought over plan to regroup one again and give a show as a fare well bid to their fans wheather of not an age factong on musical talent is something to be seen.
Roha Band - 01 - Ambassel - Instrumental (6:24)
Roha Band - 02 - Kememot Aldenem (6:48)
Roha Band - 03 - Fikrey Telemeni [Tegregna] (4:58)
Roha Band - 04 - Haderegna (4:36)
Roha Band - 05 - Endegena, Yeshi Haregitu, Merekan Bito (4:36)
Roha Band - 06 - Hode Mela Mela (5:36)
Roha Band - 07 - Akale (4:21)
Roha Band - 08 - Lale Lale [Guragegna] (4:42)
Roha Band - 09 - Nega Jiredu [Oromegna] (3:05)
Roha Band - 10 - Enetarek (5:08)
Roha Band - 11 - Tizita Garedew (8:09)
Roha Band - 12 - Eyekorekoregn (5:56)
