Amhara Wedding Songs - feat Lemma G. Hiwot, Selamawit G. Selassie and Zenebech Tesfaye
Originally released on Philips Ethiopia in 1973, this seemingly impossible to find LP is available once again to the lucky humans of the world.
With a mix of modern and traditional instruments these fourteen songs go through the progression of an Ethiopian Amhara wedding sung in Amharic. With the trio of singers, Lemma G. Hiwot, Zenebech Tesfaye, and Selamawit G. Selassie, alternating turns at the microphone, and sharing call and response duties, a relentless frenzy of hand clapping incites dancing and smiles. The consumption of tedj (honeywine) and the swirling love of a wedding was captured in the studio with euphoric energy to take away to play over and over again when the festivities are over. With hand screened covers and an insert of wedding photos accompanying the liner notes, this is the next best thing to an invitation to the real thing.
Originally released on Philips Ethiopia in 1973. A co-release with Mitmitta Musika of Addis Abeba, Ethiopia.
In 2004, Teddy released his most successful single to date, Tarik Teserra ("History was Made"), in honor of of world record holder and 2004 Olympic gold medalist, Kenenisa Bekele. The song captured the emotions of the entire Ethiopian nation. A music video was compiled including footage from other great Ethiopian long distance runners, and of Bekele's 10,000 meter gold run in the 2004 summer Olympics. Throughout the video, Bekele is referred to as the new Anbessa ("Lion") in Ethiopian long distance running, succeeding the great Haile Gebrselassie. Bekele is shown several times looking back for his mentor Haile Gebrselassie, who was unable to run the 10,000 meter race at full pace due to a lingering injury.
The single raised Afro's reputation as one of the greatest Ethiopian musical artists of his time, and heightened the release of his second album.
Yosef Gebre is an Ethiopian singer. He is popularly known as Jossy. He is born June 16, 1981 in Dilla, Ethiopia.
Gebre was born in 1981 in Dilla, Ethiopia to Woizero Zermechi Argaw and Ato Gebre Sherga. He attended elementary school at the local Mekane Yesus School. After 6th grade, Jossy moved to Adama and attended the Nazreth #3 Elementary and Junior School. He then completed High School at Adama High School.
Jossy has been interested in music since childhood. He participated in different art projects while in elementary school. In Adama high school he worked as a school journalist and DJ presenting shows on the school PA system (known as Adama MiniMedia) during breaks. After completion of High School Jossy went into business following in the foot steps of his parents. During that time he spent his free time contributing pieces to different news papers and taking music lessons.
While taking music lessons, Jossy started networking with musicians. He also began exploring his potential as a vocalist during this period. Jossy released his first single titled "Kine" to the public via radio stations. The work was unexpectedly well received by the public.
Encouraged by this success, Jossy started pursuing a music career full-time since 2004. His single titled "Enja Yene" was his first release, complete with music video. In 2005, Jossy was nominated for the Kora All Africa Music Awards under the Most Promising Artist category. While all these were singles, he released his first album titled "Jossy", containing 13 tracks, in 2006. The album featured the song titled "Metahuwa".
In 2008, the music video titled "Bati be Jossy Mood" hit TV channel and online video sharing sites and immediately became a hit. This success was due to the combination of careful planning of its elements and proper and professional application of video effects and techniques.
Jossy creates most of his songs himself. He currently tours different cities all over the world.
Debo Band is a 11-piece Ethio-groove collective that has quickly earned an ever-growing and enthusiastic following in the loft spaces, neighborhood bars, and church basements of Boston, MA (USA) performing for American, and Ethiopian and Eritrean communities. Since 2006, Debo Band has been immersed in the unlikely confluence of traditional East African polyrhythms and pentatonic scales, classic American soul and funk music, and the instrumentation of Eastern European brass bands, which produced a unique form of dance music that Ethiopian audiences instantly recognize as the soundtrack of their youth, carried from party to kitchen on the ubiquitous cassette tapes of the time. And increasingly, erudite American and European audiences are also getting hip to the Ethiopian groove, largely through CD reissues of Ethiopian classics on the Ethiopiques series.
With a unique instrumentation – including horns, strings, and accordion – that is a nod to the big bands of Haile Selassie’s time, Debo Band is carrying the torch of classic Ethiopian music by giving new life to these old sounds. Their lead vocalist, Bruck Tesfaye, has the kind of pipes that reverberate with the sound of beloved Ethiopian vocalists like Mahmoud Ahmed and Alemayehu Eshete. But Debo Band is not content simply “covering” the older styles – they also perform original compositions and new arrangements of songs from modern and contemporary artists such as Teddy Afro and Roha Band. Their expansive repertoire and spirited performances have earned them respect and recognition, leading to concert opportunities such as opening for legendary Ethiopian greats Tilahun Gessesse and Getatchew Mekuria.
Danny Mekonnen, an Ethiopian-American jazz saxophonist and a PhD candidate in ethnomusicology at Harvard University, created Debo as a way of exploring the unique sounds that filled the dance clubs of “Swinging Addis” and as an outlet for experimenting with new arrangements, configurations, and compositional techniques. In addition to their dedication to Ethiopian music, the other members of Debo Band are involved in a huge array of musical projects, ranging from free jazz and experimental rock music to chamber and orchestral music. Band members have composed full orchestral works, scored silent films and documentaries, recorded albums with homemade electronic instruments, and for fun, study folk music traditions from around the world, including Balkan folk music, Balinese Gamelan, and Brazilian percussion
ensembles.
For the last several months, Debo Band has committed itself to spreading its music to audiences far and wide. In early 2009 Debo toured the U.S. East Coast taking their Ethiopian grooves to diverse venues in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. In each of these cities, Debo Band inspired all kinds of people to get up and dance, whether they had never seen iskista, the Ethiopian shoulder dance, or had been dancing it since childhood.
In May 2009, Debo traveled to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to perform at the 8th Ethiopian Music Festival, an engagement supported by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through USArtists International with support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. These performances affected Debo Band’s creative and professional development in significant ways, particularly in the collaboration they began with several traditional musicians – vocalist Selamnesh Zemene, dancer Zinash Tsegaye, drummer Asrat Ayalew, and washint (flute) player Yohannes Afewerk. All accomplished musicians in their own right, these musicians have collectively over fifty years of experience at prestigious venues ranging from the National Theater of Ethiopia to Fendika, a leading azmari bet, or traditional music house, in Addis Ababa. Working with these four musicians, Debo Band grows into a forceful, energetic, and authoritative thirteen-piece Ethiopian ensemble capable of delightful, one-of-a-kind performances.
01. Debo Band - Akale Wube (5:01) 02. Debo Band - Ney Ney Weleba (5:30) 03. Debo Band - Not Just a Song (6:06) 04. Debo Band - Yefeker Wegagene (5:30) 05. Debo Band - Asha Gedawo (5:13) 06. Debo Band - Tenesh Kelbe Lay (5:15) 07. Debo Band - And Lay (4:53) 08. Debo Band - Medinanna Zelesegna (4:11) 09. Debo Band - Habesha (6:51) 10. Debo Band - Ambassel (7:06) 11. Debo Band - DC Flower (3:22)
Badume's Band is a eight-piece, atypical Breton (French) group that masterfully recreates the intoxicating sounds of the Ethiopian Golden Era of Music - when Addis Ababa was grooving to the sound of twist, soul, rhythm & blues and jazz in the 1970s. They have become the official backing band of Mahmoud Ahmed & Alemayéhu Eshété.
1. Badume's Band - Sab Sam Argign (4:38) 2. Badume's Band - Yemewded Neger (4:35) 3. Badume's Band - Qelemewa (4:03) 4. Badume's Band - Mela Mela (6:34)
Eric Menneteau (vocals), Xavier Pusset (tenor saxophone), Pierre-Yves Mérel (tenor saxophone), Frank Le Masle (keyboards), Rudy Blas (guitar), Etienne Callac (bass), Antonin Volson (drums), Jonathan Volson (percussion)
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 !
Most people are familiar with the Ethiopian music of the ‘golden seventies’. The great CD-series of ‘Ethiopiques’ focuses on this remarkable period of truly amazing and rich music. The era of the big brass bands came to an end in the period of the ‘Derg’, the military government in Ethiopia from 1975 till 1991. After that, the scene seemed confused.
Many great musicians were forced into exile or passed away. The horns mostly disappeared and were replaced by cheap keyboards everywhere. Awful bombastic overproduced ‘plastic’ pop productions flooded the market. Synthesisers, vocoders, drummachines and hasty productions that all sound alike.
But in the last few years something new is emerging. Young producers have started combining traditional rhythms and strong dance beat production. The result is very original, uplifting and very danceable music. The gurage, wollo, gondar, oromo and other traditional rhythms work wonders for this new dance music. And the Ethiopian youth loves it. It can be heard not only in the hip areas like Bole, but all over Addis and other Ethiopian urban areas. Blasting from restaurants, taxi’s, coffeeplaces, grocerystores and Addis’ giant market, the Mercato.
The ‘Ililta’ CD is a compilation of this new Ethiopian dance music, recorded with a new generation of singers over the last decade. A cross-selection of the production work of Mesele Asmamaw and some of his close colleges.
Tlahoun Gésséssé is widely regarded as the "Voice" of Ethiopia. Born in 1940, his singing and recording career began in the 1950's until his recent death earlier in 2009. As many followers of the Ethiopiques series will know, the incredible 17th installment is dedicated to Tlahoun, largely featuring arrangements by Mulatu Astatke and a selection of the country's finest ensembles. This record is essentially another "Best Of..", featuring a selection of tracks taken from the 60's & 70's golden period of Ethiopian music, when Tlahoun's tenor was recognised as the best around, playing to Haile Selassie I on numerous occasions.
It's standard practice in any country for the most celebrated singers to receive backing from the best players they can offer and Tlahoun worked with the top musicians in Ethiopia. His powerful vocals are well matched by blazing funk, heartfelt soul and superb Ethiopian rhythms, that still sound as fiery and impassioned today as we can only imagine they did back then. The hot and hazy swing of 'Kulun Mankwalesh' or the steaming funk of 'Aykedashem Lebé' show Tlahoun's diversity and range perfectly and are worth the price of admission alone. If you dig any of the Ethiopiques series or Sublime Frequencies Group Doueh this is an absolute must.
