Tsedenia Gebremarkosis an Ethiopian artist. She has released songs about HIV/AIDS. She shared the prize for best East African female at the Kora Awards in 2004 for the song "Ewedhalehu", with Achien'g Abura (Kenya) for her song "Toto Wangu.
Tsedenia has recently worked with the Ethiopian dub band Dub Colossus. They released an EP, 'A Town Called Addis' in June 2008 through Real World Records and a full length LP album of the same name was released in August 2008 exclusively through the Bowers & Wilkins Music Club.
Tsedenia Gebremarkos
She also sang two songs on the album Punt (Made in Ethiopia) by Invisible System released on Harper Diabate Records and produced by Dub Colossus cousin Dan Harper.
Born 34 years ago in Adama, an Ethiopian city also known as Nazret, Ada Kassaye came to Oakland 15 years back to join her mother and several of her brothers and sisters. She first attracted attention in Northern California’s large Ethiopian community through her effusive dancing at cultural events and is now hoping to follow in the footsteps of such Ethiopian singers as Aster Aweke and Ejigayehu “Gigi” Shibabaw, both of whom lived in the Bay Area prior to finding international fame.
Ada Kassaye - Yamral
Many of the songs on “Yamral” reflect Kassaye’s homesickness for Ethiopia. She has been back twice since moving to California and hopes to return soon in the wake of her CD release. Family members in Ethiopia, she says, “called me and told me, ‘I heard you on the radio today.’”
“I’m happy,” she adds. “The door is open for me.”
Ada Kassaye - 01 - Agebagn (5:15) Ada Kassaye - 02 - Ya Gobez (5:05) Ada Kassaye - 03 - Hagere (5:39) Ada Kassaye - 04 - Yamral (4:37) Ada Kassaye - 05 - Baschalegn (4:26) Ada Kassaye - 06 - Adama (4:24) Ada Kassaye - 07 - Berena gebere (4:50) Ada Kassaye - 08 - Min yishalegnal (5:00) Ada Kassaye - 09 - Enate (5:23) Ada Kassaye - 10 - Yemesgen (4:29) Ada Kassaye - 11 - Madi shishay (5:30) Ada Kassaye - 12 - Lemeles (3:02)
Born and raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Chachi Tadesse has used her roots to grow an international music career. At the age of 16 Chachi joined a well known Ethiopian cover-band, touring extensively while building her musical skills and fan base. In 1982 Chachi moved to the USA, taking classes in Music, acting and modeling and touring extensively with reggae artists.
Chachi Tadesse - I am An African
While living in the U.S. Chachi recorded er first album, combining Amharic lyrics with Reggae beats to create a unique and sought after sound. Following the success of her first album, Chachi joined forces with Dallol, Ziggy Marley's former band, to tour the U.S. and the Caribbean. In the late 1990's Chachi teamed up with producer Clive Hunt at the famous Kariang Studios in Jamaica to produce a collaborative album with some of the biggest names in Raggea.
Over the years Chachi has become a pop icon not only in Ethiopia but across Africa and its diaspora. She has appeared at large international music festivals including Reggae on the River and the Bob Marley Birthday Festival in Jamaica. In Ethiopia her 'I am an African' concert at Meskel square brought upwards of 40,000 attendees.
Chachi Tadesse - 01 - I am An African (7:46)
Chachi Tadesse - 02 - Happy Song (4:57)
Chachi Tadesse - 03 - I am An African (remix) (6:52)
The krar or kraar is a five- or six-stringed bowl-shaped lyre from Eritrea and Ethiopia. The instrument is tuned to a pentatonic scale. A modern krar may be amplified, much in the same way as an electric guitar or violin.
A chordophone, the krar is usually decorated with wood, cloth and beads. Its five or six strings determine the available pitches. The instrument's tone depends on the musician's playing technique: bowing, strumming or plucking. If plucked, the instrument will produce a soft tone. Strumming, on the other hand, will yield a harmonious pulsation. The instrument is often played by musician-singers called azmari. It usually accompanies love songs and secular songs.
Masinko tutorial
The masinko (also spelled mesenqo, mesenko, mesenko, mesinko, or mesinqo) is a single-stringed bowed lute commonly found in the musical traditions of Ethiopia and Eritrea. As with the krar, this instrument is used by Ethiopian minstrels called azmaris ("singer" in Amharic) . Although it functions in a purely accompaniment capacity in songs, the masinko requires considerable virtuosity, as azmaris accompany themselves while singing.
The square- or diamond-shaped resonator is made of four small wooden boards glued together, then covered with a stretched parchment or rawhide. The single string is typically made of horse hair, and passes over a bridge. The instrument is tuned by means of a large tuning peg to fit the range of the singer's voice. It may be bowed by either the right or left hand, and the non-bow hand sits lightly on top of the upper part of the string.
