Mississippi records continues their tradition of re-releasing obscure and out of print music from all around the world, this time tackling legendary Ethiopian singerMahmoud 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)
Feedel Band is a Washington DC based Ethio-Jazz Band and has been performing as a self contained unit, as well as supporting Ethiopian artists like Tilahun Gessesse, (The king of Ethiopian pop music), very recently with Aster Aweke (The queen of Ethiopian soul music) on her current “Ewedihalehu” or "I love you" US tour.
Feedel band’s is founded in 2010 by Araya Woldemichael, and weeks later, his current band members joined him and together they have formed the first native Ethiopian group in north America as an Ethio -jazz music-oriented band that starred Moges Habte on Sax, Alemseged Kebede on Electric bass, Araya Woldemichael on keyboards and Samson Juffar on drums. After Samson Juffar’s departure to Ethiopia, drummer and percussionist Mikias Abebayehu took Samson’s place. In addition to guitarist Kaleb Temesgen and drummer J, Trombonist Ben Hall and krarist Minale Bezu, the band found Its own and a very unique Ethio - jazz sound.
Feedel or (alphabet) are Ge’ez script and a unique Ethiopian characters that are entirely phonetic structured in seven columns. In other words, each character in the Geez Feedel system has seven sounds. Feedel are not only a dazzling of human creativity but also, in practical terms, a powerful medium for communication and social interaction. The power of Feedel resides in the characters ability to represent virtually every sound. The ancient Ethiopians, who invented Ethiopic writing system, were poised, it seems, to capture and harness all sounds in the universe.
Feedel Band - Belhame
Since 1997 the Éthiopiques series has made Ethiopian music a hipster obsession, exposing jazz heads and rockists to the jazzy funkiness that emanated from East Africa in the ’60s and ’70s. (Never heard of the collection? You may have heard songs from Volume 4—there are now 29 volumes in total—in Jim Jarmusch’s 2005 film Broken Flowers.)
Feedel’s sax player Moges who was born in Addis Ababa, and can be heard performing the funky James Brown Band-influenced cut “Muziqawi Silt” on Éthiopiques’ Volume 13 with his ’70s group The Walias Band. On the other hand Feedel's bass player Alemseged Kebede's great groovy bass lines can be found in Aster Aweke and Tilahune Gessesse's music. Feedel Band’s sound can best be described as a merging of ’60s R&B, funk and jazz with traditional Ethiopian songcraft.
Feedel Band - Araya's Mood
Feedel Band is taking Ethiopian music and Jazz, and blending it into a simmering stew of musical genre’s, textures and feeling. These boys have real feel – for their music, for their audience and for each other. Playing with maturity and passion is second nature to all of them ...
Feedel band has devoted much of a creative career spanning almost 20 years to this eternal, inspiring form - the very base and roots of Ethio-jazz.... gather inspiration from The Golden Age of Ethiopian popular music in the late 1960s and 70s— a time that had Addis Ababa littered with groups playing a brass-heavy concoctions influenced by American soul and jazz. So here they are, as enthusiastic as ever - Ethiopian's finest, most skilled practitioners in the art of the Ethiopian music. They take their newly created original pentatonic melodies and repurpose them with mutated instrumentation like 60s and 70s-era Ethiopian grooves: Congas, electric Guitar, Bass, Saxophone, traditional Krar, Masinko, Piano, Organ, Trombone and Drums.
What sets Feedel Band apart from other acts that play Ethio-Jazz style of music is that they commonly hybridize the regular Jazz style with Ethio-Jazz genres, or modernized the sound with out loosing its original traditional texture or feeling. The energy and power is overwhelming. They are creating and in some cases re-creating the musical language of what has been called Ethio -Jazz.
Since the bands inception, the reception that Feedel has received has been extraordinary. At FestAfrica 2011, APAP showcase "Drom" New York City, World cafe live Philadelphia, Global roots festival Minneapolis, MN and most recently at The Kennedy Center in 2014 and the audience was enamored with their warm and engaging style. While their music is inspired by the Golden Age of Ethiopian popular music, but Feedel Band always perform their own original music.
Their newly released CD is called “Ethiopian Ocean”
06 - Arki Sound - Jazeta Love a Dub in Outer Space (5:29)
07 - Arki Sound - Jezeta (6:32)
08 - Arki Sound - Kulun Mankwalesh (5:22)
Formed in New York City in 2009, Arki Sound consists of: Marcus Cummins - alto and soprano saxophones Frank Marino - drum kit Samson Kebede - bass George Taylor - guitar Andy JordanTexas - tenor (emeritus)
Ethioda (Montpellier) is a group that revisits the Ethiopian jazz through original compositions, improvisations and electro atmospheres. The Ethio-jazz whose golden age is in the 70s (remember Mahmoud Ahmed and his "Ere Mela Mela") leaves reappear east, funk and reggae sounds.
Ethioda - Araray
"Fly to the rhythms, a round and warm, flights of fancy jazz-electro hair-raising ... sudden urge to move your shoulders? No doubt, this is the call of the highlands of Abyssinia, which sounds in music Ethioda! An invitation to travel through an intoxicating music. "
Inspired by the famous recordings "Ethiopiques' 70s, of the Montpellier Ethioda decide to put their two cents in a musical style that goes well beyond the regions of Addis Ababa.
Group compositions and arrangements of traditional songs to the jungle sauce, any excuse is good in these addicts trance to drive the audience into the dance, amid endless crazy solos and grooves!
It was in September 2013 that the group decided to record his first album "Araray."
The Ethiopian word "araray" (Amharic) denotes a range of five notes you play for big festive occasions.
This word alone can evoke the process of Ethioda Group:
take the audience to dance, while offering a very instrumental and improvised music in a festive atmosphere.
Araray is also the name of one of the group's compositions, where the influence of Ethiopian music crosses syncope Jamaican reggae.
Ethiopian composer/arranger/vibraphonist Mulatu Astatke reached a lot of Western ears in the ‘90s when the fourth installment of the Ethiopiques series featured his work. That album presented innovative recordings from the ‘60s and ‘70s that fused jazz and Ethiopian sounds. Astatke got more exposure when some of his pieces were used in the soundtrack for Jim Jarmusch’s Broken Flowers.
In 2009, Astatke and a fine group of American musicians performed at California State University, Los Angeles, and Timeless captures the concert. Featured players include woodwinds wizard Benny Maupin, former McCoy Tyner sideman Azar Lawrence on tenor sax, and trombonist and Tribe veteran Phil Ranelin. A number of younger players also make contributions, including keyboardist Brandon Coleman, violist Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, and trumpeter Todd Simon, who displays a nice feel for Ethiopian scales.
Astatke’s vibraphone solos are always welcome, and if you had to pick a standout track it would be “Mulatu,” where the band finds a deep groove.
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)
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.
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!