Hirut Bekele (or Hirut Beqele) is one of the most popular, beloved and famous Ethiopian singers back in seventies.Her music is still very popular and is often an inspiration for young artists.
Her personality as well as her unique music make her a real diva in the history of Ethiopian music. We have never heard of Hirut Bekele's new music since 80s due to spiritual reason (rumour). We missed her and hope she would come back some day as Aster Kebede did.
Here is unknown Hirut Bekele audio cassette. If anybody know something about this songs, or can translate to english, welcome to the blog !!!
Listening the tape you'll find magnificent vocalist Hirut Bekele flexing supernatural powers among a haunted organ. But this goes much deeper than cute accompaniment. There's a stunning selection of compositions here. Spare but virtuosic orchestrations via krar and aforementioned organ create psychotropic room-filling sonics captured by the rough recording.
Zeritu was born and raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where she currently resides. At a very early age her parents LP records were her musical inspirations which opened a new world of music. Eventually, the school she went to became her first platform to perform and exhibit her talent. Her first public performances at her mid teens gave sign that Zeritu had a special talent which many admired. With the great passion for music she has, Zeritu always showed and proved her dedication in her musical career.
In the Ethiopian contemporary context Zeritu is what ETHIO-HIP in Ethiopia. Her self titled debut album, ‘ZERITU’ has won the hearts of many putting her among the very favorite artists in the country. Her lyrics that reflect the reality of many lives have givenher acceptance of artistic maturity at a young age.
In 2006 Zeritu went on a nation wide tour to prove what no artist has ever done before. Namely, performing in 10 cities around Ethiopia. This first of its kind domestic tour has acquired great admiration by both the overall public and particularly by artists. With her special musical characteristic, today Zeritu ranks among the top artist in Ethiopia. Working on her second album Zeritu is surely the future of Ethiopia music.
Bringing contemporary and classical jazz, celebrated pop songs from the golden era of Ethiopian music, traditional Ethiopian rhythms and deeply-felt classical piano undertones, this young man from Addis has opened up a whole new door on a musical genre and region which has already grabbed the interest of many people around the world.
Samuel was just ten years old when he knew he wanted to become a musician. At home he devoured the Ethiopian pop music and American R and B that he heard on the radio and cassettes but he had no encouragement from his parents who were afraid that learning music would distract him from his academic studies. One day, however, he heard that Addis Ababa’s Yared School of Music was holding auditions for new students. The following week, at the age of 16, against his parents’ wishes and having never touched a musical instrument in his life, Samuel entered the school and, with a coin tapping out rhythms on the top of the piano, breezed through the exams. Of the 2,500 people who took the exam, Samuel came third.
But the struggles weren't over. His parents eventually forgave him but it was one of the school's teachers who put up his next hurdle. "Because I came third in the exams," he says, smiling wryly at the memory, "I was allowed to choose whatever instrument I liked. I chose the piano." But the head of department looked at his hands and said it wasn’t possible. "She said my hands were too small. I don't believe in small hands or big hands: music is not about that, music is about what's inside.” Samuel was undaunted. Eventually, the school agreed he could study the piano that he'd so longed to get his hands on. And there began a relationship with the instrument that has brought him to musical acclaim in his hometown of Addis and now, with his debut album, to an international audience. He was determined, after all the obstacles he'd already mounted, that he was going to be the best pianist in Ethiopia.
Samuel Yirga took to his new instrument with unbridled enthusiasm and dedication. "I would go to school at 6.30am and at 11 pm I would go home. Usually I missed all my other studies and just played the piano on my own. It was really tiring," he laughs, "but it was my dream to be in music, and the piano was what I wanted to play, so that's why I pushed myself so hard." Samuel played like this, for more than 12 hours a day, for three years. "I was so into the music," he says, "that I didn't bother eating."
Samuel played the classical music he was given by his teachers but he also had a growing interest in Ethiopian music, from the popular wedding and folk songs he'd heard as a child, to the Ethio-jazz legends that, in the last decade, had made a comeback. Here he found himself once more in trouble with the school.
"I was playing my own versions of these Ethiopian songs, but the teachers passing the piano room would come in and ask me what I was doing. We weren't allowed to play any contemporary music because it was a classical music school. They would say that Ethiopian music was simple. I was very angry about that, because I'd always had a dream to change my country and its music. I didn’t agree with them but I would just tell them that if something was simple, then we should try to make it better. We need to research and experiment."
And experiment he did. By the time the music school asked him never to come back because of his insistence on playing contemporary music, he was playing funk and Ethiojazz with one band, playing jazz gigs at a local club, experimenting with popular Ethiopian songs and creating contemporary versions with another band, and at the same playing salsa and classical music. Wherever his music went, however, he always held the beat of Ethiopian music at its heart. Samuel plays with Addis funk band, Nubian Arc and is a member of the UK/Ethiopian collective, Dub Colossus.
Samuel Yirga's debut album is the product of his years experimenting with the music of his roots and the outside influences of jazz, Latin, and classical music. It explores the traditional musical history of his homeland, ventures into big-band brass ensembles, moves through soul and funk, and then simmers with the deeply impassioned solo piano tracks. While the latter can be introspective, he carries with him some great singers and instrumentalists, from Ethiopia, Europe and the Caribbean.
Featured vocalists are the Creole Choir of Cuba, a Cuban choir whose songs go back to their Haitian roots; Mel Gara, a British singer whose origins are in Iraq; and Nicolette, a Nigerian-British singer, famous for her collaborations with Massive Attack. The album is produced by Nick Page, the British musician and producer behind Transglobal Underground, Syriana and Dub Colossus.
Music from Ethiopia - The Central Highlands, the Desert Nomads and Eritrea
01. Music of the Central Highlands - Music of the Ethiopian Church (3:21) 02. Music of the Central Highlands - Ethiopian Funerals (2:29) 03. Music of the Central Highlands - Judiac Falasha (2:38) 04. Music of the Central Highlands - Biblical Harp of David (2:41) 05. Music of the Central Highlands - Wax and Gold (2:37) 06. Music of the Central Highlands - Simple Notched Flutes (2:01) 07. Music of the Central Highlands - Skista (2:06) 08. Music of the Central Highlands - Kerar (2:04) 09. Music of the Central Highlands - The Gurage (2:23) 10. Music of the Central Highlands - Incitement-Into-Battle (0:55) 11. Music of the Central Highlands - A Great Gathering (1:28) 12. Music of the Desert Nomads - The Gadabursi (1:10) 13. Music of the Desert Nomads - The Afar (1:43) 14. Music of the Desert Nomads - The Rashaida (1:57) 15. Music of the Desert Nomads - Afar Territory (2:23) 16. Music of the Desert Nomads - The Borana (1:38) 17. Music of the Desert Nomads - The Borana Wells (2:40) 18. Music of the Desert Nomads - The Gerre (9:10) 19. Music of Eritrea - The Rashaida (2:06) 20. Music of Eritrea - The Rashaida (1:35) 21. Music of Eritrea - The Beni Amer (1:57) 22. Music of Eritrea - The Baria (1:51) 23. Music of Eritrea - The Afar (2:16) 24. Music of Eritrea - Music of Serae (2:17) 25. Music of Eritrea - The Assaorta (2:18) 26. Music of Eritrea - The Kunama (2:02) 27. Music of Eritrea - The Zar (2:40) 28. Music of Eritrea - The Bilen (2:24) 29. Music of Eritrea - Ballad of Neguesse (3:24) 30. Music of Eritrea - The Kunama (2:11) 31. Music of Eritrea - Milking Songs (2:31)
Tripped out Italian library LP about the effects of LSD, very rare, strangely has a really good crazy Latin tune mixed with electronic sounds, pretty unique record from an Italian TV show talking about LSD and drugs.
The bugaloo jazzy and funky Latin musical background is by Mulatu and the Ethiopian quintet, with psychedelic effects due to drugs.
Musicians Girma Yifrashewa and Michael Belayneh released a CD entitled “Meleya Keleme” co-financed through the common support fund for Franco-German cultural projects in third world countries on the occasion of the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Franco-German “Friendship Treaty”. The lyrics of the new music are written by the well-known Ethiopian playwright, actor and poet Getnet Eneyew.
The CD was officially presented at an Ethiopian music concert at the Hilton Hotel. Girma and Michael recorded three of the eight tracks, with French violinist Patrice Legrand, director and German cellist Markus Lentz who will be in Addis to perform at the concert.
This Ethio-Franco-German musical realization was made possible through the collaboration of the Alliance Ethio-Française and the Goethe Institute in Addis Ababa under the sponsorship of their two embassies.
The CD was also released in France and Germany, and will then be made available in other countries through the international distribution network of BNL Productions based in France.
On January 1963, President Charles de Gaulle and Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer signed a treaty of friendship which set the seal on the reconciliation between Germans and French in an historical disputed Europe. The treaty was named “Elysée Treaty” after the place where it was signed in France.
Girma, Michael, Patrice and Markus will soon be on tour in France and Germany.
In the summer of 1972, Lin Lerner and Chet A. Wollner traveled throughout southwestern Ethiopia, recording the songs, chants, and dances of the various people they met. Folk Music and Ceremonies of Ethiopia documents their journey, exploring the music of Ethiopian ritual with analyses of performance practice, summaries of the stories told through song lyrics, and historical backgrounds which imbue each work with tremendous cultural significance for both individual performers and entire communities. The liner notes also include original transcriptions of song melodies with photos of performers and descriptions of pertinent choreography.
Tribal groups from Southern Ethiopia come together to perform and celebrate their traditional songs and dances.
A soundscape of the third festival of music and dance held at Arba Minch, Ethiopia, December 2005. 26 of over 50 distinct communities from Southern Ethiopia came together to celebrate and share their traditional music and dance. Global Music Exchange was asked by the Christensen Fund to help organise and record this third festival. About 9 hours of music was recorded by Martin Cradick, and Colin Powerstepper has edited an hour's worth of it in this CD that conveys the spirit of this fascinating part of the world.
"A decade ago, Martin & Su Cradick set off for the Cameroon rain forest and brought back exquisite recordings of the music of the Baka people (The Heart of the Forest/Hannibal Records). In 2005, they took their remarkable skills in energizing and documenting traditional African cultures to the Rift Valley of Southern Ethiopia. The result is a stunning collection of tribal music, assembled for its excitement and its beauty rather than its documentary value to scholars. The work they do resembles no other; they are fast becoming one of the developing world's great cultural assets."
An utterly fascinating compilation drawn from 1971 field recordings made in various parts of Ethiopia. While a version of the album was originally issued on Lyrichord, this version amounts to a complete restoration and overhaul of the project, with digital equipment used throughout the editing and mastering chain. The material on the album is only a tiny sample of Ethopia's musical treasure -- certainly, because of literacy issues that have resulted in oral transmission of songs from generation to generation, there is a distinct possibility that the roots of much modern Ethiopian music go back thousands of years, a form of living history. The album also provides a strong hint of a different kind of musical sensibility, one that does not deny the formalized Western system but works with and around it; this kind of exposure to alternate musical systems is a valuable educational tool. Whatever way you wish to look at it, this album (and the continuing series) should have a place in any really good music library, if only as a reference point. ~ Steven McDonald, Rovi
Haile Selassie was still Emperor of Ethiopia when these recordings were made during the summer of 1971. They serve as a small sample of both time and place from a region noted for its unique and complex natural setting. Ethiopia absorbed cultural influences from inner Africa (north to the Sahara and south to Kenya) and also from the Red Sea and Arabia. Perhaps most unique for a country from the Horn of Africa, its king in the mid-4th century converted to a Coptic version of Christianity that believed in the monophysite nature of the Christian deity. The rise of Islam isolated Ethiopian Christians, creating an entirely unique body of liturgical music. Latter 19th-century expansion brought in up to a hundred languages and ethnic groups. The consequence is a nation with a music of extraordinary scope and diversity. A simple drum dirge, followed by the song "Wub Allem" ("Beautiful World") that for a moment sounds almost Cajun, provides a hint that this music features some distinct regional flavors. These thirteen tracks demonstrate the sounds of Ethiopian folk instruments like the masenko (a one-string fiddle), the craar (a gut-string lyre), several washint (flutes), kabaros (single- or double-headed drums), and the bagana (a large 8- to 10-stringed plucked lyre. Butterfly-like melodies are produced on "Two Afar Flutes" and similarly on "Galla Song" which features the washint. One track illustrates the use of a toum (thumb piano)-a nod to the mbira's wide influence across the continent. An Afar divination chant represents the nominally Muslim Cushites in a session with an oracle seer. The plucked strings of the Nuer harp and craar captured my ear, and by the time I listened carefully to the Nuer and Konso dances that close out this collection I just wanted more. A very wonderful and brief introduction to the urban and tribal music of Ethiopia, with an emphasis on "tribal"; these are not the "urban" pop music tunes of the '70s. - Richard Dorsett
Comprised of Addis Ababa's greatest acoustic musicians, the Addis Acoustic Renaissance Group brings forth Ethiopia's popular tunes from the 1950's and 1960's in a new light.
Ethiopia’s pop music of this era predominantly featured acoustic instruments such as the mandolin, accordion, clarinet, and double bass, played alongside traditional instruments such as the Kirar, Kebero, Washint and Massinko.
Directed and arranged by guitarist Girum Mezmur, the Addis Acoustic Renaissance Group unfolds Ethiopian music from the past in a modern and jazzy way.
The band, composed of veteran musicians such as Ayele Mamo (Mandolin), Shaleka Melaku Tegegn (Accordion) as well as contemporary musicians such as Girum Mezmur (Guitar/Arrangement), Henock Temesgen (Double Bass), Natnael Tessema (Drums/Percussions), Dawit Ferew (Clarinet), and Mesale Legesse (Kebero/Percussions), produces unique sounds dear to most Ethiopians and that undoubtedly appeal to a greater world music audience.
1. Addis Acoustic Renaissance Group - Ambassel (5:12) 2. Addis Acoustic Renaissance Group - Anchim Endelela (4:34) 3. Addis Acoustic Renaissance Group - Ante Temeta ene (4:37) 4. Addis Acoustic Renaissance Group - Ambassel [Girma Beyene] (7:47) 5. Addis Acoustic Renaissance Group - Feker kegna endayleyen [Girma Beyene] (4:18) 6. Addis Acoustic Renaissance Group - Yefiker Megeb (6:04) 7. Addis Acoustic Renaissance Group - Fiker Ayaregim (4:23)
Helen Meles' biography is the story one of the biggest African stars of the early 21st century. She established herself as a talented singer, song writer and bona fide diva during her two decade long musical career. She has become one of the biggest selling Eritrean artists of all time, and has captured the hearts and minds of Eritreans and neighboring African countries alike.
In her early years, Helen Meles joined the EPLF (Eritrean Peoples Liberation Front) at the age of 13. Like many Eritreans, both her parents were also fighters of the Eritrean liberation struggle. Helen was brought up in ‘Biet tmhrti sewra’ (EPLF’s revolutionary school). Her friends describe her as a free-spirited and rebellious individual who was not afraid to show her ‘other’ sides of her personalities. During those revolutionary years, a fighter who showed other inclinations, including his/her artistic sides, could easily be misunderstood.
Helen has two sisters named Aster and Senait, and an older brother named Mikael (better known as "wedi Meles"). Like Helen, her older brother Mikael was also a fighter and a singer, who was one of the first students of biet tmhrti (shool of) sewra of the EPLF. He would end up being heavily wounded in the pitched battles of the 6th Offensive in 1982, he was almost given up for dead and his comrades were ready to bury him when another comrade insisted that they first take him to the frontline’s hospital, where he was saved and through the excellent medical care fully recovered his wounds and returned to frontline duty after four months. Many of Mikael Meles’s comrades recall his exceptional intelligence and amazing heroic feats and describe him in glowing terms not only as a brave warrior, but also as a gifted and sensitive artist who composed many songs and acted in several skits on stage. One of his memorable songs, “abiet SnAt abiet qoraSnet,” whose lyrics have hidden meanings of the heroism and martyrdom of his comrades on the HalHal Front, was later redone by his younger sister Helen Meles in her first CD release. A few days after meeting his sister Helen in 1990, Mikael, who by this time had risen to be the leader of a bren (heavy) machinegun platoon, was wounded in the battle to liberate Massawa, and martyred from enemy’s aerial bombardment while on his way to the hospital.
In 1998 BBC interview, Helen recalled the reaction of many Eritrean women from traditional communities when they first joined the battlefields. Helen Stated: "It was very difficult for them; even wearing trousers was strange and they were shocked when they had to share a blanket or bed with the men". However, By the end of the war in 1991 the lives of Eritrean women had changed so much they were determined not to go back to their traditional old roles.
In 2007, Helen married an Eritrean saxophonist named Issac Asefaw. Their wedding was held in Asmara, Eritrea and many Eritrean musicians such as Bereket Mengisteab and others performed at her highly anticipated wedding. In early 2008, Helen gave birth to her first child, a boy. The following year, she gave birth to her second child, whom also is a boy. It is generally believed Helen is now in her late thirties or exactly 40 years of age.
Helen is a highly passionate artist who reads and is responsive to her own feelings, a trait which is not clearly exhibited in many artists, especially those from the fighter community. One can feel the throbbing of her soulful voice which sends strong vibes all over. Her beauty is mesmerising and it can be described by her proud and majestic posture and her profile can be sketched by her captivating facial expressions while doing her dance routines. Strangely, if one is not familiar with her history, she does not exhibit any indication of the harsh life she led in the battlefields of Eritrea in her looks. Indeed, she was a combatant with a strong touch of music in her. Although somewhat camouflaged, perhaps carefully depicted, she seems to elegantly include her past experiences in her some of her songs. One can’t help but wonder how she really dealt with the bloody past that miraculously generated a strong sense of love amongst the fighters. That interesting but contradictory personal struggle that took place in the battlefields of Eritrea is demonstrated in the voice and bursting and sensuous movements, not necessarily in her lyrics.
Helen's expertise lies in popular music which encompasses a wide range of styles of both local and international origins. She takes Tigrinya music to a different level by mixing traditional and modern music which is influenced by European, Arabic and African music. For instance, (only junior to the Creator) can be described as one of the most interesting songs from the ‘ResAni’ CD because of its new style which Ms Helen introduces in the song – a mixture of South African beat accompanied by a gospel-like sound.
Helen can easily be compared to the diva of the Eritrean music scene of the sixties and seventies, Mrs Tberh Tesfahunegn, who instilled a strong patriotic feeling in many young Eritreans of the time. Both Mrs Tberh and Mrs Helen sing from the heart and their musical styles, although separated by decades of events and technological developments, are interestingly similar. It is vague how deep Mrs Helen’s knowledge of Mrs Tberh is, as there exists a generational divide between them. But they both share a precious experience in the liberation struggle within the EPLF camp.
One can feel that there is a controversy in her style, as opposed to her lyricists’ and composer/producers’ input in her songs. It is bit confusing to tell whether they compliment each other or simply tear each other apart beautifully. Whether they are at odds or compliment each other, the end product is highly interesting. On the other hand, Mr MuKtar Saleh’s smooth composition and Mr Solomon Drar, Mr Solomon Berhane, and Mr Samuel Almede’s lyrics find an excellent niche in Helen’s remarkable talents. This applies to Mrs Tberh’s songs as well, as many would question whether she was representing the feelings of the great musical master, Mr Asres Tessema, or she was equally powerful in her presentation.
Soul Echos singer Seyfu Yohannes, who died at age 26 recoreded only 6 songs on vinyl.
The Soul Ekos were the first independent band to be recorded in Ethiopia. When Mulatu Astatqe returned from the United States in 1968, the two bands he had an opportunity to work with were the Ras Band and Soul Ekos. It was during this time that Mulatu introduced the Soul Ekos band to Amha Eshete.
Amha Eshete was taken by the bands sound and agreed to record them in 1969. The Soul Ekos arranged and played the music to Seyfu Yohannes’ popular songs, Tizita and Mela Mela.
The band was comprised of Teshome Mitiku (Keyboards/Vocals), later Messele Gesesse took over the Keyboards, Tewodros Mitiku (Saxophone), Tamrat Ferenji (Trumpet), Fekade Amdemesqel later Hailu “Zehon” Kebede (Bass), Tesfaye “Hodo” Mekonnen (Drums), Alula Yohannes later Andrew Wilson (Guitar) and Seyfu Yohannes (Vocals).
The Soul Ekos Band was later renamed the Ibex Band which later became The Roha Band.
Girma Beyene was one of the arrangers who made the Ethiopian music of the Golden Era different than the music of today. He was a lyricist, a music writer, an arranger, a vocalist, an accomplished pianist and finally a bandleader. To most, if any name comes to mind with the word arranger, it is probably that of Mulatu Astatke. Yet, according to Ethiopiques Series producer Francis Falceto*, in the heyday of vinyl records, Girma Beyene is credited to having arranged close to 65 titles, compared to Mulatu's 40.
The 7th edition of the Ethiopian Music Festival held from the 7th to 17 May 2008 in Addis Ababa. Organized by the Alliance Ethio-Francise as a part of its centenary celebration and as a tribute to the Ethiopian pianist, composer and arranger Girma Beyene, the festival bring renowned and young musicians.
Francis Falceto in his book Abyssinia Swing, a pictorial history of modern ethiopian music describes Girma as one of a pioneering generation of artists that has a huge influence on the current ethiopian music. From the very beginning of the 1960’s and for some twenty years, he ranked among the ethiopian musical scene’s most creative and prolific artists. He left precious few recordings behind him as a vocalist: it was above all as a pianist, organist, composer and arranger that Girma made his mark on what is today agreed to be the golden age of ethiopian music. Throughout the heyday of Vinyl record production (1969-1978), the figure of Girma Beyene dominated the recording sessions. The then-privileged partner of Alemayehu Eshete, Girma innovated, through his simple and to-the-point playing, melding the lightness of pop into the ethos of a changing Ethiopia. Admired for his musical elegance, Girma none the less met one of the saddest fates in ethiopian music. Though his countrymen still remember his charming voice and his knack for pop, they have totally forgotten his role and importance as an innovator.
Going into exile in the USA in 1981, Girma departed the ethiopian music scene, sinking into the anonymous “Little Ethiopia’ of America’s East Coast. According the Alliance booklet, there has been a renewed interest of late in the work and personality of Girma Beyene. International groups such as the Either/ Orchestra, The Daktaris, Le Tigre (Platanes), The Ex, Badume's Band and Antibalas have added some of Girma’s major compositions to their repertoires.
Hibist Tiruneh, The Siren of Ethiopia, who stepped to the limelight with her rendering of Bizunesh Bekele's 'Yemiyaslekis Fiqir' a few years ago makes her debut to the forefront of Ethiopian pop music with her almost perfect recent CD release 'Yeqerta!". "Qoy-bicha', 'Befetereh", and "Akkam Akkam" are some of the notable pieces in this well-received CD.
