R E U P L O A D Teodros "Teddy" Makonnenis a composer, arranger, producer, and masterful music performer. "Anchiye" is very rare album. I found it on Soulseek, the best P2P software ever. Don't have any data or coverart, rip is pretty lousy, but music is great.
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.
Walias Band (sometimes spelled Wallias Band) were an Ethiopian Jazz and funk band active from the early 1970s until the early 1990s. Formed by members of the Venus Band, Walias backed up many prominent singers with a hard polyrhythmic funk sound influenced by western artists like King Curtis, Junior Walker and Maceo Parker.
In 1977 they recorded one of the few albums of Ethiopian instrumental music (Hailu Mergia and The Walias Band – Tche Belew)in collaboration with vibraphonist Mulatu Astatke, whose role as a bandleader and composer was also a major influence on Ethiopian popular music.
In 1981 Walias became the first modern Ethiopian band to travel to the United States, playing on a tour with singer Mahmoud Ahmed primarily to audiences of Ethiopian refugees.
Four members Girma Bèyènè, Mogès Habté, Mèlakè Gèbrè and Haylu Mergia stayed in the U.S. and formed a new group called Zula Band in favor of returning to live in Ethiopia under its dictatorship.
Mergia took work in Washington DC driving a taxi cab and released solo cassette tapes of traditional Ethiopian music played on analog synthesizer, electric piano and accordion.The remaining members, Yohannes Tèkola and Tèmarè Harègou,continued to play together under the Derg dictatorship for another decade.
In the late 1990s Walias Band found a wider audience in the west when the French label Buda Records reissued much of the group's music on the Ethiopiques series of compact discs. Their instrumental, "Musicawi Silt", became a popular dance number and has been covered by a number of artists.
The Walias Band's name derives from the walia ibex, an endangered species of the Capra genus native to the mountains of Ethiopia. They share no members with the similarly named Ibex Band who also backed up Mahmoud Ahmed during the same epoch.
1.Walias Band - Malada [Woubishet Fisseha] (5:11) 2.Walias Band - Kalatashew Akal (2:35) 3.Walias Band - Tizzita [Getachew Kassa] (10:25) 4.Walias Band - Ashkaru [Mahmoud Ahmed] (3:06) 5.Walias Band - Ye Kereme Fikir [Getachew Kassa] (4:47) 6.Walias Band - Inchi Libbe Echo Naw [Mahmoud Ahmed] (6:32) 7.Walias Band - Eyuwat Sitnafikagn (3:41) 8.Walias Band - Wa Hoyye [Woubishet Fisseha] (5:13)
playing the Begenna, the Harp of David from Ethiopia
01. Alemu Aga - The Sacred Names Of The Begenna (6:36)
02. Alemu Aga - Alem Marefiya Nat (The World Is A Place Of Rest) (4:25)
03. Alemu Aga - Hosanna (Cry Of Praise And Adoration To God) (4:09)
04. Seyoum Mengistu - Segid Selam (Worship For Peace) (2:44)
05. Seyoum Mengistu - Gidune (Unwillingly) (4:27)
06. Seyoum Mengistu - Hede Minino (Went To The Hermitage) (3:11)
07. Admassu Fikre - Ehud Lelit (Sunday Night - About The Ressurrection) (2:55)
08. Admassu Fikre - Kidus Kidus (The Praise Of The Lord) (5:31)
09. Admassu Fikre - Medinanazelesegna (The Futility Of Life) (4:08)
10. Tafesse Tesfaye - Besemea (In The Name Of The Father) (3:05)
11. Tafesse Tesfaye - Ergibina Wane ((The Praise Of St. Virgin Mary) (4:34)
12. Tafesse Tesfaye - Wodaje Wodaje (About The Sufferings Of Christ) (3:48)
Alemu Aga was born in 1950 in Entoto, near Addis Ababa. Alemu Aga has played the Ethiopian traditional lyre Begenna since he was 12, having been trained by a famous master, Aleqa Alemayehu Wolde-Ammanuel, who was his neighbour and teacher at his school.
After graduating from the Addis Ababa University (with a degree in geography), he taught the Begenna at the Yared Music School until 1980. He now teaches on a voluntary basis and focuses on his research about the Begenna.
He has published numerous audiotapes and several CD‘s and appeared in concert worldwide. Nowadays, Alemu Aga is the most highly respected Begenna player of Ethiopia.
Talking on any subject with Alemu Aga, one cannot help but be taken aback by the exceptionally smooth and enchanting tone in which the veteran begena performer utters his measured responses. Of course, given the gracious and calm mood displayed on all occasions by one of the few living authorities on the begena instrument, it could still be possible to pass Alemu Aga's spiritual and melancholic sounding tones as mere natural endowments of that exceptional man. But take the scores of begena lyrics Alemu is known to sing again and again, especially during fasting seasons, on the national radio and you have just begun to appreciate the high degree of sublimity (as they call it in the theatre) that the personality of Alemu has afforded to the art of that unique Ethiopian treasure.
True enough then that in manners, speech and strict Orthodox Christian way of life, the personality of Alemu Aga, to say the least, could be described as all begena in itself. And this is due to the fact that all the enchanting monotony of lyrical sounds that the traditional string instrument is capable of producing, together with the strict spiritual messages the lyrics carry, have almost perfectly captivated the psyche and physique of the virtuoso performer. "In performing with the begena, one is only supposed to appropriately reflect strictly spiritual and holy messages. Anything less and worldly than that, like modern music, is not attributable to the purposes of the begena and is hence disrespectful," he says.
Ethiopian popular music is in its very nature multi-national. In addition to strong Ethiopian traditional songs, other elements derive from various currents of popular music - from soul and jazz to Italian hits and Islamic vocal styles. The result is a completely original kind of contemporary Ethiopian popular music. It could be described as "Arabic soul singer plays Amharic-Italian funky jazz."
The origin of popular music in Ethiopia can be traced back to the 1920's when Haile Selassie brought over a group of Armenian orphans from Jerusalem and so formed The Bodyguard Orchestra. They brought new instruments with them, like trumpet and saxophone, and from this and other military bands a night-club scene began to emerge. In 1935, Ethiopia was invaded and though this lasted only a few years Italians stayed and formed some dance bands. Regardless of the effect outside influences, such as American rock have had on musicians, Ethiopian popular music is still very strongly based on both sacred and secular traditions from different parts of the country. Perhaps more relevant than the question of how western music has affected Ethiopian, is how Ethiopian music might one day influence western popular music... The Ethio Stars' best known album, Amharic Hits, was split with The Tukul Band.
Ethio Stars
Shimeles Beyene, the leader of the Ethio Stars tells: "We chose the name Ethio Stars because we were the best musicians. We formed the group in 1981... ";"We are running our group by ourselves. Privately, you see. We buy our own instruments. We practice every day. If we don't play well we don't live. What I mean is, we cannot continue like we play in Ghion Hotel if we don't improve our talent all the time. So we practise more and attract more people." ...
"Day by day our music is changing. Before it was soul music. Now sometimes rock. It changes, you see. Before it was more acoustic, now electronic instruments are very important." "We call it Ahmaric music because of the language. How does it sound? as you can hear, it sounds good! Mostly we have four pentatonic scales: tizita, anchi-hoye, ambasel and bati. We compose depending on them. The most usual rhythm we play is chikchika. It's the same like in the Eshet Eshet, the song sung by Getatchew. You can write the beat in 3/4, but if you make it fast it becomes the beat of chikchika"...
The Ethio Stars continue to play their infectuous dance music in the hotel clubs of their homeland. Led by saxophone player Shimeles Beyerie, The Ethio Stars have recorded prolifically with their cassettes selling well in Ethiopian music stores. Most of the Amharic songs tell about love. In Amharic you call it fikir.
Ethio Stars are:
Getachew Kassa: Vocal
Girma Chipsa: Vocal
Shimeles Beyene: Trumpet
Girma Woldemichael: Trombone
Bibisha teferi: Guitar
Abiyou Solomon: Bass
Dawit Senbetta: Keyboards
Samson Mohammed: Drums
Mulatu Astatke: Drum Machine T U K U L B A N D
Tukul Band plays traditional Ethiopian music in a modem experimental way. Musical director Mulatu Astatke is a well known figure in the modernization of Ethiopian music and improving traditional instruments.
The Krar is a six string bowl-Iyre. Tukul Band uses its modem forms: electric lead krar and bass krar. Krar is nicknamed the devil's instrument (yeseyTan mesaria). According to the legend: God himself made the begena and gave it to Dawit. "Use this instrument to adorn and praise My name", God said. The scheming devil, envious and green-eyed, made the krar in distorted imitation. "Play it and adore all the worldly pleasures", said the devil to mano (Ashenafi Kebede, Krar: The Devil's Instrument. Ethnomusicology Vol.xXI Nr. 3.)
The Masinko is the only Ethiopian bowed instrument, a 1-string fiddle. It is the typical instrument of an azmari, or entertaining bard ("griot"/ "troubadour"). Getamasay Abebe from Tukul Band plays an electrically amplified masinko. The Washint is a bamboo flute, usually with four finger holes. Ethiopian drums used in this recording are hollow-bodied with skins at both ends. Adungna Chekel plays three upright drums with sticks and chimes.
