"Last August, I spent a week or so in Eritrea during the country's annual cultural festival. I was alone and documented a lot—buidings, food, the names of internet cafés, among other things. Hunting for music, I spent a lot of time in a small music shop opposite the Asmara post office. I was looking for RnB, but fell in love with the cover artwork of the EPLF (Eritrean People’s Liberation Front) cassette tapes instead. Recorded in the ‘70s and ‘80s, the songs were sung, performed, recorded and distributed among the various EPLF contingents during their 21 year struggle against the Ethiopian occupation and its infamous Derg, before winning independence in 1991.
The silky voiced Tefono and female freedom fighter Abrehet Ankere were among the most popular singers as well as the much-loved Wedi Tikul,. The songs are still listened to today—mostly on cassette tape—and even the saddest lyrics move along happily with a popcorn kind of rhythm."
—NJ Stallard
tracklist :
01 - Kede'At Deki Hager — Fihira
02 — Ayresanayon 77 — Tefono
03 — Wahiz Gu'zo — Zemach
04 — Ab Bebeynu Ewan (Fechew version) — Wedi Tukul
Faytingacomes from the Kunama people, one of Eritrea''s many tribes, where women enjoy equal rights with the men. Her father was war hero Faïïd Tinga, and at the age of fourteen she had already joined her country''s armed struggle for independence from neighbouring Ethiopian rule. Faytinga grew up surrounded by her uncles and aunts singing and playing instruments, in accordance with the Kunama tradition. Her dream was to be a singer, and it came true when she was sent to entertain the troops at the front, using her songs as a message of hope and determination. Faytinga composes her own material as well as performing work from well-known Eritrean poets and composers, playing the krar, a small lyre, in accompaniment to her songs. An accomplished and elegant dancer as well as talented singer, Faytinga is a leading figure and source of inspiration for the men and women of her country. In 1990 she undertook a tour of the United States and Europe as a member of an Eritrean group, touring for the first time as a solo artist in 1995 when she released her first album on cassette. It took until 1999, and an appearance at the Africolor festival, before she recorded her first CD.
Unlike many leading female vocalists from Europe, Africa, Asia and yes, even the Americas, Faytinga is her own auteur, not the creation of an ambitious marketing-savvy producer.
She adapted the ritualistic songs "Numey" and "Kundura" from traditional lyrics and music, and she also integrates the verse of Eritrean poets Agostino Egidio, Arodi Tulli, and Agostino Petro into fresh and metrically varied music fleshed out by the tastefully sparse arrangements of Joel G., who blends traditional instruments and female chorus. Brought in to the Studio Adamas in the capital city of Asmara in April of 1999 to help arrange and engineer this compelling recording, Joel G. leaves no stamp of external ego upon these smoothly crafted studio sessions.
Faytinga's aural vision of Eritrea, from ancient to modern manifestations, is well worth making time for. As a battle-hardened ambassador of peace and creative growth, with the artistic intuition to make expressive use of her country's multi-lingual elements, she recalls another young woman at the far end of the Red Sea, Phalestinian poet-diva Aml Murkus. Murkus, whose own debut recording AML/HOPE presents an Arabic canvas of a historically rooted new nation being born, similarly stresses the creative potential of a bio-regional cultural scene that includes all tribes, rather than excluding those on the wrong end of nationalistic, rather than, racial or tribal enmity. Let us hope Faytinga is the harbinger of an Eritrean cultural renaissance.
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.
The late Yemane Ghebremichael know by his nickname Barya was one of Eritrea's favourite singers. He was exiled during the war but now teams up with the Zemen band to record this album at the Admas Studio in Asmara.
Yemane's songwriting strove to reflect what he perceived to be Eritrean experience during the Eritrean War of Independence. His songs were dotted with stories of love, journey, hope, immigration, and liberation. In 1975, he was jailed for the perceived political interpretation of one of his songs.
A few years after the declaration of the independence of Eritrea, Yemane moved to Asmara and continued to release albums that reflected the new era of hope and national prosperity, with a mixture of Eritrean and Latin melodies. He also sang about the people involved in the movement towards Eritrean independence, and the sacrifices of that movement.
Yemane Barya was also known as the 'Eritrean caretaker', due to his reputation as being of a generous, down-to-earth nature, and for sharing his place with newly arrived Eritreans. He is known for having helped many Eritreans adjust to diaspora life in Sudan and move to better places in the Middle East, America, Europe, etc. He was also reputed for his artistry and mastery of Tigrinya, the most widely used language in Eritrea.
1. Yemane Barya - NATZNET YU KIBRET (6:33)
2. Yemane Barya - MESOB ADE (6:58)
3. Yemane Barya - KULU ENTNAY N'AKI (7:59)
4. Yemane Barya - NEWRI AYKONEN FKRI (8:27)
5. Yemane Barya - AB HILMI MISAKI HADIRE (9:05)
6. Yemane Barya - AKMISKINI HAMOT (8:25)
7. Yemane Barya - FERIHEKI'YE (6:42)
8. Yemane Barya - ETZBEY ALEKU (6:26)
From the softly sensuous sounds of Natzanet, he and the band proceed through a lovely set of songs. On the more traditional side the mournful and haunting sound of the title track gives way to the bouncy style of Kulu and its faster cousin Newri. On the modern side Ab Hilmi is simply gorgeous, so to the bubbly sound of Akmiskini with Yermane's softly warbling vocal style and the lovely mix of sax and guitars they come across beautifully.
Yemane Ghebremichael (commonly known as Yemane Barya), was a well-known Eritrean songwriter, composer and singer. Not confined to musical pursuits, Yemane was also heavily involved in Eritrean politics. He died of natural causes in 1997.
Yemane’s songwriting strove to reflect what he perceived to be Eritrean experience during the Eritrean War of Independence. His songs were dotted with stories of love, journey, hope, immigration, and liberation. In 1975 he was jailed for the perceived political interpretation of one of his songs.
A few years after the declaration of the independence of Eritrea, Yemane moved to Asmara and continued to release albums that reflected the new era of hope and national prosperity, with a mix of African and Latin melodies. He also sang about the people involved in the movement towards Eritrean independence, and the sacrifices of that movement.
Yemane was also known as the ‘Eritrean caretaker’ due to his reputation as being of a generous, down-to-earth nature, and for sharing his place with newly arrived Eritreans. He is known to having helped many Eritreans adjust to diaspora life in Sudan and move to better places in the Middle East, America, Europe, etc. He was known for his deep sense of artistry and mastery of Tigrinya, the most widely used Eritrean language.
Eritrea is an East African country in the Horn of Africa region. Perhaps the most famous Eritrean musicians in history are Eng. Asghedom W. Micheal, Bereket Mengisteab, Yemane Baria, Osman Abderrehim, Alamin Abdeletif & Atowe Birhan Segid, some of whose music were banned by the Ethiopian government in the 1970s. Also of note is Bereket Mengistab, who has had a lengthy career, and 60s legends Haile Ghebru and Tewolde Redda. The latter was one of the first electric guitar players in East Africa, and a singer and writer of the famous 'allegedly' Eritrea's independence song "Shigey habuni" with love theme as coded message for political freedom .
Eritrean music has a unique rhythm that sets it apart from the rest of Africa. Modern popular stars include Bereket Mengistab,Teklé Tesfa-Ezighe Tekele Kifle Mariam (Wedi Tukul), Tesfai Mehari (Fihira), Osman Abderrehim, Abrar Osman, Abraham Afwerki, Yemane Ghebremichael, Idris Mohamed Ali, Alamin Abdeletif, Tsehaytu Beraki, Atewebrhan Segid and Berekhet Mengisteab.
Modern Eritrean popular music can be traced back to the late 1960s, when the MaHber Theatre Asmara began to produce stars like Osman Abderrehim, Alamin Abdeletif, Yemane Ghebremichael also commonly known as Yemane Baria, Jabber, Ateweberhan Seghid, Yonus Ibrahim, Tsehaytu Beraki, Tewolde Redda, Teberh Tesfahiwet and Tukabo. This music was influenced by American psychedelic rock and Motown soul music. The list of eritrean singers and eritrean bands is long.Since then, some musicians, like kraar-player Dawit Sium have helped to incorporate the core indigenous Eritrean musical elements in popular music. Imported styles of music from Europe, North America, and elsewhere in Africa, as well as the Caribbean, are also very popular in urban areas of Eritrea.
If you like the Ethiopian soul-funk sound of the early 1970s, you should find much to enjoy in this contemporary take on it.
Eritrea is Ethiopia's neighbour and many of the country's musicians actually contributed to those classic recordings. The main difference with this contemporary project is the influence of Jamaican reggae. But the dub elements fold perfectly into the sinuous Ethiopian grooves – as our own Dub Colossus have already demonstrated. Vibrant, heady and sensuous stuff.
Eritrea is back. After thirty years of war with Ethiopia and a decade of seclusion, the Asmara All Stars now introduce some of the best musicians and vocalists from Eritrea on the forthcoming Out Here Records release “Eritrea’s Got Soul”. Eritrea has been almost cut off from most outside influences since the early 70s. Recording an album is not an easy task in a country where many aspects of life are dominated by political concerns, and where every working musician gets a salary from the state.
The Asmara All Star project is all about leaving politics behind and focusing on making exciting music. At first, French producer Bruno Blum had a hard time getting the ball rolling, but eventually more and more musicians got excited by his unusual approach and talent began flocking to the studio. In the end ideas were flowing freely in Asmara. A process with several obstacles along the way. The fruit of this long but ultimately rewarding process are now released on this very special album. In a way Eritrea has vanished from the world’s radar. Music lovers around the world have been showing a huge interest in Ethiopian reissues from the 70s. A closer look reveals that many of the musicians on vintage Ethiopian music were really Eritrean.
Today The Asmara All Stars continue to play in a style reminiscent of the golden age of the big band sound, charged with Eri-jazz, soul and roots reggae. The decades of isolation have somehow kept this music alive. The album was recorded in Asmara, Eritrea’s capital city, in 2008 with a heavy, analog live band sound featuring electric krar, a full horn section, a funky organ and haunting vocals by some of the country’s most famous singers. Young singer Temasgen Yared came up with the soulful “Ykre Belni”, seemingly straight out of the heyday of Abyssinian soul jazz. Another highlight is Faytinga’s “Amajo” which fuses Kunama rhythms with a roots reggae beat, and Mahmoud Ahmed Omer delivering the uptempo dancefloor smash “Adunia” featuring a rare sample of local hip-hop...'Eritrea’s Got Soul' explores the vast variety of this country’s genuine music: Tigré legends Ibrahim Goret and Brkti Weldeslassie stand alongside the raw “blues” “Inedir” by Adam Hamid and the beautiful talent of young Sara Teklesenbet.
The album brings together different musical styles and rarely heard languages by eight ethnic groups, including Kunama, Nara, Bilen, Afar, Saho, Hedaareb, Tigré and Tigrigna. A rebirth of urban Eritrean music from the depths of the country’s rich history. The album was produced by Bruno Blum from Paris. A guitarist, songwriter, producer and free spirit, he is known for his Serge Gainsbourg dub and DJ remixes and the now classic version of Bob Marley’s “War” (featuring Haile Selassie’s original speech and the Wailers).
01. Amajo (Feat. Faytinga) 3:38
02. Ykre Belni (Feat. Temasgen Yared) 5:19
03. Adunia (Feat. Mahmoud Ahmed Omer, Temasgen Hip Hop & Doc Reggae) 6:37
Tizita(var. Tezeta; "memory", "nostalga" or "longing") is a type of song in Ethiopian and Eritrean music. The term itself may serve as the name of a ballad performed in this style, or it can refer to the musical mode used in such songs. Western sources often compare tizita to the blues.
Azmaris first introduced tizita. Modern Ethiopian artists who have performed tizita songs include Aster Aweke, Bezawork Asfaw, Teddy Afro and Mahmoud Ahmed.
