Debo Band - Debo Band [2012] [usa-ethiopia]

Debo Band - Debo Band [Full Album Stream]

         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)

Either/Orchestra - More beautiful than death [2000] [usa]

Either/Orchestra with Tsedenia Markos live in Ethiopia - Bati

      The Either/Orchestra (E/O) is a jazz group formed by Russ Gershon in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, in 1985. 

      E/O is configured as a "small big band", with three saxes, two trumpets and one or two trombones. E/O's is characterized by a heavier and more orchestrated sound than that of a smaller jazz combo, but remains more streamlined and improvisation-oriented than most big bands.

       With a small but significant change of instrumentation - add congas/percussion, remove one trombone - and major changes in personnel - only bandleader Russ Gershon and veterans Tom Halter and Charlie Kohlhase are holdovers from their last album - the E/O has made its most sensual, rhythm-heavy recording ever.

       Famous for the breadth of its musical vision, the E/O rides the powerful drums of Harvey Wirht, from Suriname, and the exciting congas of Vicente Lebron, from the Dominican Republic, on a trip from North American jazz/blues/funk, to Latin jazz, and Township jazz/calypso, to Ethiopian pop tunes from the '70s. All of these grooves are incorporated into original compositions by Gershon, except for the three Ethiopian tunes which have been arranged by the band.

     The result is an intoxicating brew, forceful and seductive, with memorable melodies, superb ensemble playing and some of the best soloing ever heard in the long history of the Either/Orchestra. This is without a doubt the most accessible E/O album ever. The groove emphasis brings the E/O's tradition of challenging writing and cutting edge playing into a form that will be enjoyed by fans of African music, Latin music, even reggae and jam bands, without losing the core of E/O fans and jazz critics.

Tom Halter - trumpet, flugelhorn

Colin Fisher - trumpet, flugelhorn

Joel Yennior - trombone

Jaleel Shaw - alto saxophone

Russ Gershon - tenor, soprano saxophones

Charlie Kohlhase - baritone saxophone

Dan Kaufman - Steinway, Rhodes and Wurlitzer pianos, Hammond B-3

Rick McLaughlin - bass

Harvey Wirht - drums

Vicente Lebron - congas, bongos, percussion

1. Amiak Abet Abet (Teshome Sissay; arr. by E/O; 10:03)
2. Number Three (10:20)
3. More Beautiful than Death (10:46)
4. Musicawi Silt (Girma Beyene; arr. by E/O; 6:21)
5. Breaktime for Dougo (8:35)
6. All Those SOBs (8:58)
7. Slow Mambo for J.J. (4:53)
8. Feker Aydelmwey (Ayalew Mesfin; arr. by E/O; 7:09)
9. The Eighth Wonder (6:54)

       The E/O began performing original arrangements of Ethiopian songs, inspired by a compilation called Ethiopian Groove: the Golden 70s. 

    In 2000, after three of these songs appeared on the album More Beautiful than Death, Francis Falceto, the producer of Ethiopian Groove, contacted Gershon and eventually arranged an invitation for the E/O to play at the Ethiopian Music Festival in Addis Ababa in 2004. Along with Indo-British singer Susheela Raman the same year, the E/O was the first non-Ethiopian artist to appear in the festival, and was the first US big band to appear in Ethiopia since Duke Ellington's in 1973. 

     Their concert at the festival was recorded and ultimately appeared in Falceto's Ethiopiques series on the French Buda Musique label. 

   Five Ethiopian guests appear on the recording: Mulatu Astatke, Getatchew Mekurya, Tsedenia Markos, Bahta Hewet and Michael Belayneh. This tour and recording have led to an ongoing collaboration with Astatke, the primary founder of Ethiopian jazz, concerts with Ethiopian expatriates singer Hana Shenkute, krar player Minale Dagnew, masinko player Setegn Atanaw, and the great Ethiopian singer Mahmoud Ahmed with whom E/O released a DVD in 2007. 

    Mahmoud Ahmed and fellow legendary Ethiopian singer Alemayehu Eshete played Lincoln Center Out of Doors in 2008 backed by E/O. 

    The group debuted a collaboration with vocalist Teshome Mitiku in the summer of 2010, including a headlining appearance at the Chicago Jazz Festival.

Badume's Band & Selamnesh Zemene - Ale Gena - Ethiopia [2011]

       It is an almost vehement strong voice that shakes the listener from the outset, Korahu ( Proud ), one also entered the international scene of the young Selamnesh Zemene with this second album of Breton septet. Fascinated by the sound of horns and electric guitars Addis Ababa 1960s and mid -70 , with its international tours with the two biggest stars of swing Abyssinian , Mahmoud Ahmed and Alèmayèhu Eshèté, the Badume 's Band puts his sax , clarinet , guitar, bass, drums and Hammond organ service resounding song Selamnesh, new revelation of the Ethiopian capital.

       Selamnesh descended from a line of azmaris, griots, nomads of the region of Gondar, the former capital of Ethiopia, known for its cultural and artistic influence. A past that inspired the singer to his choice of themes, often its ancestral musical modes to the example of this rhythm Wedding Dance fever makes the first track. A festive fervor found in Ketew Abew (where it is beautiful) , an ode to the origins of ululating, a copper piece to perfection with a guitar that turns. Sometimes the dance groove of Ethio - jazz Badume 's Band,  supports voice that pierces surprisingly that such divas du Sahel , as evidenced by this blues rock dominated by brass Sentun Ayehu Banjte meaning with you I have seen all the colors ( sic) .

       Much of the ten tracks ( ncluding two instrumentals, Antchi Bizu , way cool jazz, and Alemnesh, a gently catchy ballad ), are also blues, exhilarating as lamentos Ale Gena (there is) a song morello seasoned, music with jazz accents, a little funky . While Tezeta Duga Aggayú (memory), despite its rock guitar remains a sorrow song marked by ululating, like nagging complaint Sabiyé a composition of the famous singer and actress Asnaqètch Worqu , disappeared in September 2011, seventy-six years , inspiring Mahmoud Ahmed. 

      Moreover, Selamnesh takes another standard Abyssinian Heritage Mela Mela solution , the tube that was made known to the world Mahmoud Ahmed in the 1980s , traditional inspiration, such a sweet haunting trance, a collective prayer.

01. Badume's Band & Selamnesh Zemene - Korahu (5:58)

02. Badume's Band & Selamnesh Zemene - Ale Gena (5:45)

03. Badume's Band & Selamnesh Zemene - Tezeta Duga Aggayu (7:45)

04. Badume's Band & Selamnesh Zemene - Ketew Abew (5:47)

05. Badume's Band & Selamnesh Zemene - Mela mela (6:53)

06. Badume's Band & Selamnesh Zemene - Antchi Bizu (3:30)

07. Badume's Band & Selamnesh Zemene - Minjar (6:39)

08. Badume's Band & Selamnesh Zemene - Sabiyé (6:16)

09. Badume's Band & Selamnesh Zemene - Sentun Ayehli Bante (3:50)

10. Badume's Band & Selamnesh Zemene - Alemnesh (2:54)

Nubian Ark - 3 demo tracks [2010] [usa+ethiopia]

    R   E   U   P   L   O   A   D    

         Nubian Ark is tremendously experimental and has taken the fusion of jazz and Ethiopian music to new levels.

1. Nubian Ark - Diminished Heaven (4:31)

2. Nubian Ark - Mamite (8:15)

3. Nubian Ark - Nine Lives (7:32)

      A tight 7 piece jazz-funk combo playing a mixture of original compositions mixed with excursions intoEthiopian standards, Nubian Ark is an exciting new addition to the Addis musical scene. 

        Driven by bass, drums and keyboards with the three piece horn section (2 sax and trombone) and percussion adding punch and color, Nubian Ark delivers an exciting live show.

musicians : 

Henock Temesgen (bass), 

Nati Tessema (drums), 

Kirubel Tesfaye (keyboards), 

Yishak Dawit (trombone), 

Misale Legesse (percussion), 

Johnny Aklilu (sax). 

featuring Jorga Mesfin (sax)

Akalé Wubé + brass - @ Le Studio de l'Ermitage, Paris [france-ethiopia] [2011] [FLAC]

Unofficial recordings, rip from YT video clips, posted by ALLRIGHTROCKO.

1. Akalé Wubé + brass - (01) (4:03)

2. Akalé Wubé + brass - (02) (3:11)

3. Akalé Wubé + brass - Ayalqem Tedengo (3:08)

4. Akalé Wubé + brass - Dodo (9:37)

5. Akalé Wubé + brass - Munaye Soup (8:00)

6. Akalé Wubé - Muziqawi Silt - live in Paris (3:40)

  Akalé Wubé :

Paul Bouclier : trumpet, percussions

Etienne de la Sayette : tenor sax, Farfisa organ

Loïc Réchard :guitar

Oliver Degabriele : bass

David Georgelet : drums

 Akale Wube + brass 

Yoann Loustalot : trumpet  

Matthias Mahler : trombone

Benoït Giffard : trombone

Cyrille Méchin : baritone sax, clarinet

Olivier Zanot : alto sax

Mahmoud Ahmed & Badume's band - Le pont des artistes [Radio France] [2007]

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Mahmoud Ahmed & le Badume's band   -  Le Pont des Artistes

Studio CHarles Trenet, Maison de Radio France, Paris

Recording : December 12th, 2007
Broadcast : December 15th, 2007

Mahmoud Ahmed

1. Mahmoud Ahmed & Badume's band - Kulun Mankwalesh (4:14)

2. Mahmoud Ahmed & Badume's band - Fetsum Denq Ledj Nesh (4:41)

3. Mahmoud Ahmed & Badume's band - Bemen Sebeb Letlash (4:42)

4. Mahmoud Ahmed & Badume's band - Belomi Benna (5:50)

                                      

 Badume's Band

Admas - Sons of Ethiopia [1984] [usa+ethiopia]

originally posted at Ghostcapital blog - here >

  ... "synth driven Ethiopian-American smooth groove" ...  

1. Admas - Anchi Bale Game (5:15)

2. Admas - Bahta's Highlife (5:58)

3. Admas - Tez Alegn Yetintu (7:52)

4. Admas - Kalatashe Waga (5:25)

5. Admas - Wed Enate (4:55)

6. Admas - Samba Shegitu (4:40)

7. Admas - Astawesalehu (5:27)

Admas - Indigo Sun [2000] [usa+ethiopia]

                                         R   E   U   P   L   O   A   D   

           Henock Temesgen and Abegasu Shiota formed ADMAS (which means "HORIZON" in Amharic) in Washington, DC in 1984. ADMAS, initially a backup band, went on to compose, arrange and produce music for most Ethiopian Artists working in the U.S., Europe and Ethiopia. They believe their music is reflective of today's world, where globalization is defying geographic boundaries.

       ADMAS band members, Henock and Abegasu, are graduates of the distinguished Berklee College of Music in Boston, Ma. Upon graduation, they moved to Manhattan, NY becoming active in the local Jazz and African music scene. ADMAS toured the United States, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Canada with Ethiopian artists, and played at different festivals, including, The Montreal Jazz Festival, Summer Stage at Central Park, Hollywood Bowl, to name a few.

       In 1997, they were joined by Zakki Jawad a longtime friend and fellow musician. Zakki, an accomplished musician in Reggae and World Music circles, has been actively performing in the U.S and abroad for the past 16 years. He has recorded and performed with several Reggae and African musicians, such as the ITALS from Jamaica. Between them they have extensive live and recording experience.

       ADMAS’ latest and sophomore effort, produced by the legendry studio icon Bill Laswell, reflects their continual work in fusing African/Ethiopian ideas with other world music elements. 

       This album also features prominent musicians such as Omar Hakim (drums - previously with Sting and Madonna), Karsh Kale (Drums and Tabla), Lili Haydn (Violin – Seal, Plant/Page), Peter Apfelbaum (Saxophone – Don Cherry, Hieroglyphics Ensemble), Art Baron (Trombone – Duke Ellington), Graham Haynes (Trumpet and Flugel-horn, - Steve Coleman, Gigi), Gigi (vocals - signed by Chris Blackwell to Palm Pictures recently topped the World Music charts in US and Europe), and Abdou Mboup (Percussions - Angelique Kidjo, Jean-Luc Ponty) to name a few.

        The emergence of ADMAS as an original band comes on the heel of the establishment of their own independent label and Production Company, C-Side Entertainment, LLC. ADMAS’ fusion of Ethiopian and other World Music elements is the basis for their unique sound, which they hope to bring to worldwide audience. They believe their music is reflective of today’s world, where globalization is defying geographic boundaries.

01. Admas - Dialogue (6:28)

02. Admas - Kulubi Express (5:59)

03. Admas - Indigo Sun (6:03)

04. Admas - Chiffera (5:54)

05. Admas - Pharaoh (4:40)

06. Admas - A Prize of Peace (6:22)

07. Admas - Won (6:52)

08. Admas - Dankira (4:55)

09. Admas - Rift Valley (5:57)

10. Admas - Pharoah (extended) (6:47)

Dub Colossus - Rockers Meet Addis Uptown EP [2010] + bonus

   R   E   U   P   L   O   A   D   

Dub Colossus - Shegye Shegitu (Blue Nile Mix)

1. Dub Colossus - Uptown Top Ranking (Radio Edit) (4:18)
2. Dub Colossus - Guragigna (5:14)
3. Dub Colossus - Medina (3:08)
4. Dub Colossus - Selemi  (6:45)
5. Dub Colossus - Uptown Top Ranking (Full Mix) (5:02) 
+
6. Dub Colossus & Sintayehu ** - Krems '09 VI 25 -A Town Called Addis– IX (16:52)
7. Dub Colossus & Sintayehu ** - Krems '09 VI 25 -A Town Called Addis– X (5:37)


**Sintayehu Zenebe | vocals; 
    Teremage Woretaw | vocals, mesenko; 
    Samuel Yirga Mitiku | keyboards; 
    Michael Riley | percussions

Minyeshu & Chewata - Estival jazz , Mendrisio [1-7-2006]

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Debo Band - Live on WFMU's Transpacific Sound Paradise with Bob Weisberg [2009]

   R   E   U   P   L   O   A   D   

       Since 2006, Debo Band has thrilled Boston-area audiences with their unique interpretations of classic Ethiopian popular music. Their performances bring together the best of the last forty years of Ethiopian music, with a reverence for the vintage sounds of the 1970s and a commitment to discovering contemporary gems, as well as developing new compositions – they scored the Ethiopian-produced short film, “Lezare,” in 2009. The band paid their dues playing neighborhood bars, church basements, and loft parties, and has emerged as an internationally recognized touring band, with performances at two international festivals in the last year alone.

       Up until now, Debo Band has primarily existed as a live band, playing at venues across the Boston/New England region. Last year, however, Debo began taking steps towards actively documenting and releasing recordings and is also working with a documentary filmmaker on a project about the band’s mission to bring Ethiopian music and musicians to the forefront of world music. Additionally, Debo Band is currently producing a CD/DVD set and LP version of live performances recorded in Boston, New York, and East Africa.

       In May 2009, Debo traveled to Addis Ababa to perform at the 8th Ethiopian Music Festival and several other locations throughout the Horn and East Africa. 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, drummer Asrat Ayalew, and dancers Zinash Tsegaye and Melaku Belay. All accomplished musicians in their own right, these musicians work together at Fendika, a leading azmari bet, or traditional music house, operated by Melaku in Addis Ababa. When working with these four musicians 

       Debo Band grows into a forceful, energetic, and authoritative fourteen-piece ensemble capable of delightful, one-of-a-kind performances. The full ensemble (Debo Band plus Fendika, or “FenDeboKa”) recently performed several concerts in Addis Ababa and at the 7th Sauti za Busara Festival in Zanzibar (February 2010).

1. Debo Band - Akale Wube [trad.] (4:53)
2. Debo Band - Yene Neger [Gossaye Tesfaye] (5:39)
3. Debo Band - Adderech Arada [Menelik Wossenachew] (5:18)
4. Debo Band - Ambassel [trad.] (7:19)
5. Debo Band - Addis Ababa Bete [Alemayehu Eshete] (6:22)
6. Debo Band - Lantchi Biye [Tilahoun Gessesse] (4:03)
7. Debo Band - Musicawi Silt [Walias Band] (5:09)
8. Debo Band - Embwa Belew [Muluken Melesse] (4:43)

Maryam Mursal - The Journey [1998] [somalia]

Few have a more dramatic tale to tell than Maryam Mursal, Somalia’s powerful and dynamic female vocalist.

Before her stunning voice could be heard in the west, Maryam was forced to spend seven months walking across the Horn of Africa with her five children as she fled the civil war in her native Somalia - desperate to escape from the anarchy, death and starvation that was destroying her country. She and her young family hitched rides on trucks, rode on donkeys and walked - out of Mogadishu, the Somalian capital, across Kenya, through Ethiopia, recrossing part of Somalia again and eventually arriving in Djibouti where she was finally given asylum by the Danish embassy.

In Denmark she met up with the Danish arranger Søren Kjær Jensen. Jensen had come across Maryam's music when working in Somalia as a freelance photographer in 1986 and had recorded her extraordinary voice from a radio broadcast. Visiting a Somalian immigrant camp in Denmark he heard her singing to 300 fellow refugees and realised it was the same voice. Jensen brought Maryam to the attention of Peter Gabriel's Real World and, consequently, the label asked her to make two albums - one of traditional material and a second in more contemporary vein.

‘The Journey, Maryam’s solo album, is a highly charged modern take on her Somalian roots, produced by Simon Emmerson and Martin Russell (both of Afro Celts Sound System fame) with Jensen. It features guitars, sequencers and back-up vocals from Peter Gabriel, yet never strays far from its African origins. "She's amazing, she's got everything," Emmerson says. As an instant African classic thrillingly uniting ancient and modern he puts the album on a par with Baaba Maal's incendiary ‘Firin In Fouta’, which he also produced.

Maryam is perfectly at ease working with a more contemporary approach. She began singing professionally as a teenager in Mogadishu in 1966, the first woman in a deeply male-dominated Islamic society. Brought up in the Muslim faith, she was steeped in the traditional music of her country - a remarkable hybrid sound of African and Arabic influences created by centuries of cross-cultural fertilisation between migrating nomadic tribes. But from her earliest years she also eagerly absorbed every influence she could find.

“I began singing in night clubs thirty years ago in Somalia,” Maryam says. “Traditional music is very important to me but I was always listening to people like Ray Charles, the Beatles, everything.” Another western artist she admires is Etta James and it is easy to see a link between the two women - both have a big, uncompromising vocal style.

Although little to do with jazz as we know it in the west, the rich, cultural stew which she developed of African and western sounds, dance music and traditional song, became known as ‘Somali jazz’ and Maryam became a household name.

In July 1997 Real World released ‘New Dawn’ (RW66), Maryam’s recording with the core survivors of the band Waaberi - once a 300-strong troupe of singers, dancers, musicians and actors from the Somalian National Theatre before the destruction of civil war. An acoustic album, the songs tell of loneliness, love and betrayal - sung solo or accompanied by simple percussion and the oud (an Arabic lute-like instrument). It includes a freshly recorded version of Maryam’s song ‘Ulimada’ (The Professors) - a thinly disguised attack on the dictatorial regime in Somalia, which had led to her being banned from performing anywhere in the country for two years.

Maryam Mursal's life and art have intertwined to produce a sound that is profoundly moving and totally unique. She may be a refugee living in exile but her extraordinary talent is certain to guarantee her a heartfelt welcome wherever she sings.

One day Maryam hopes to return home to Somalia. "The first good thing I hear about my country, the first suggestion it is changing, I will go back - and quickly. It might take five years or even ten years but one day things will change. Everybody needs their country. At home you can be a star but then as a refugee you are looked at like a dog. I am a refugee but I am also a singer. That is my job and that is how I survive."

   Reviews   

...dynamic vocal performance from Maryam Mursal.
The sound of contemporary Somalia with a dynamic vocal performance from Maryam Mursal. Whopping chunky brass and thunderous bass and percussion bring in a highly charged set of songs perfectly captured by the Real World engineers.                                            Piccadilly Records  (UK) 


Relying on her unbroken spirit and sandy resolve...
...Mursal tells her story with terrific grace and ebullience even as she mourns her country's difficulties. She’s been through too much to do a polite, sad documentary.                                
Rolling Stone (1998)  (USA)



The very first listen to Mursal will tell you this: she is an authentic, incredible talent...
...a singer of great range and passion and an adept juggler of cultural sounds and styles ... The journey actually sounds like an international achievement ... to create a wonderful music that is both distinctive and unusual, and yet totally inviting.             Option Magazine (1998)  (USA)   



 Somali singer Maryam Mursal is blessed with haunting vocals...
...that pierce your soul, and a keen storytelling ability... Mursal is poised for international stardom.                           Black Elegance (1998)  (USA)  



To put it simply: 'The Journey ' is an album that definitively puts Maryam Mursal up amongst the stars...
...a fantastic, beautiful result of international format.
A captivating and exciting mix of afro-arabic and western music.    
                                                                           Djembe(1998) (Denmark)                                                                                                                        



Her debut album is a sophisticated voyage undertaken with strings and percussion.
Mursal . . . has a fearless, smooth voice and a pop sensibility that brings ‘The Journey’ back home.                                     
                                                                            Marie Claire (1998) (USA)



can't recall when an Afro-pop record bowled me over...
...the way Maryam Mursal's has ... as good as world music gets.
                                                                                   Request (1998)  (USA)

Funkier than a room full of snowboarders.
You experiment with this rhythmic colossus at your peril - inhale it and you could win the giant slalom, break the world speed record and fly a balloon around the world. Undoubtedly the funkiest LP ever to come courtesy of the Danish Music Council.                                         Time Out (1998) (UK)


A voice that pleads for home ...
Far and away the funkiest album ever connected to Denmark . . . sympathetic but indomitable, a woman who knows what she wants . . . her voice is as rich and assertive as those of Margareth Menezes of Brazil and Angelique Kidjo of Benin. ‘The Journey’ rides Somalian melodies into a cross-cultural wonderland. Mursal and her arranger, Soren Kjaer Jensen, realized that her voice could stand up to just about anything. Mursal sounds too tough to let herself be reduced to an exotic sonic ingredient. When she tours this summer as part of Africa Fete, her forthright voice will not be denied.                                          New York Times (1998) (USA)


Deep, dirty funk from Somalia, anyone?
...the kind of classic funk that would have suited Sweet Sweetback's Baadass Song.                                                               Mojo (1998)  (UK)


If you're looking for an artist who stands for something big...
... - who moves you, impresses you, and broadens you while thrilling you - here she is, cutting through it all.                      
Interview (1998) (USA)


"... compelling listening ... 
her voice packs a powerful and emotional punch.
                                                                                 Music Week (1998)  (UK)


Truly breathtaking...
If this album does not propel her ... to consideration as one of the world's great female voices, up there with your Aretha's, there ain't no justice:
                                                                                 Folk Roots (1998)  (UK)

Mursal's honey-smoked alto weaves a hypnotic web...
...of back-home ululations and R&B diva moanings. The Journey and Mursal swing beautifully. Twenty-first century global soul begins here. March 1998 .                                                                     
                                                                                                Vibe      (USA)

This ... is a joyful collage of influences.
This music feels like hobbling on stillettos when you're used to flats: it'll force you to use muscles you didn't know you had.     
                                                                       Jane Magazine (1998) (USA)