v.a. - Assiyo Bellema - Golden Years of Modern Ethiopian Music [2013]

             All hits compilation of late 1960s to early 1970s Ethiopian soul and R 'n' B. Very intensely groove oriented material by some of Ethiopia's top musicians. Includes songs by Mulatu Astatke, Seyfou Yohannes, Ayelew Mesfin, Getatchew Kassa, and the mighty Abbebe Tessemma. Nonstop party. Old school 'tip on' sleeve.

         Class side of Ethio R&B hits dating to late ’60s and early ’70s. It comes out of the blocks hard with Astatke’s Assiyo Bellema and Tessemma’s Ashasha Beyew both boasting irresistible polyrhythmic grooves, the former bouncing along with queasy steel drum details, while the latter is driven by organ chords and lovely bright brass.

       While other highlights come courtesy of Yohannes’ lounge jazz-inflected Yekermo Sew with smooth sax, bubbling guitar work and a fascinating cyclic piano line, Mesfin’s bouncy funk-soaked Lene Antchi Bitcha Nesh and the irresistible polyrhythmic call-and-response simplicity of Damtew Ayele’s ‘Wefe Yelala’, the whole LP is a delight, although with these warm exotic shuffle grooves it feels like more of a soiree than a party.

01. Mulatu Astatque - Assiyo Bellema (2:54)

02. Abbebe Tessemma - Ashasha Beyew (3:36)

03. Getatchew Kassa & Soul Ekos Band - Bey Lesnabetesh (4:03)

04. Seyfou Yohannes - Yekermo Sew (4:18)

05. Abbebe Tessemma - Gebru Guratch Gute (2:45)

06. Samuel Belay - Lebene Sheweshew (3:12)

07. Seyfou Yohannes - Metche Dershe (3:58)

08. Ayalew Mesfin - Lene Antchi Bitcha Nesh (4:00)

09. Damtew Ayele - Wefe Yelala (2:57)

10. Tamrat Molla & Venus Band - Ber Anbar Seberelewo (3:26)

Alèmayèhu Eshèté & Badume's Band - Le Festival Fiest' a Séte [2010]

                            R   E   U   P   L   O   A   D   


Live at " Fiest'A Sete" (Théätre de la Mer, Sete, France), on the 5th of August 2008.

       Despite a 1948 Imperial edict banning the distribution of Ethiopian pop music, Amha Eshete  launched a record label,Amha Records, and released 103 singles and a dozen albums by Ethiopian artists between 1969 and 1975. In addition to making Ethiopian music known throughout the world, Eshete helped to spark a modern period of creativity in his homeland. During an interview in the early-1990s, Eshete said, "I had a gut feeling that it was the right thing to do. I took the risk.". The governmental resistance against Eshete's efforts proved ultimately insurmountable. By the mid-1990s, Eshete had emigrated to the United States.

Idan Raichel - The Idan Raichel Project [israel+ethiopia] [2007]

   R   E   U   P   L   O   A   D   

                                 

     ...Fusing together Yemenite, Moroccan, Ethiopian, Indian, and Arabic folk music with reggae and ambient, Raichel has created a new genre filled with so much energy, spirituality, and passion. Labeled "Israeli-Ethiopian Fusion", this new and increasingly popular genre has led Raichel's first two albums to reach multi-platinum....

      The Idan Raichel Project is the brainchild of Israeli keyboardist, composer, producer, and arranger Idan Raichel, who invited over 70 different musicians from a wide variety of backgrounds to participate in the recordings. In particular, Raichel has long been fascinated by the music of Israel's growing population of Ethiopian Jews, and many songs feature members of Israel's Ethiopian community. The recordings also include Arab musicians, traditional Yemenite vocalists, a toaster and percussionist from Suriname and a South African singer, among others.

                                              

                       Idan Raichel Project - Bo'ee, Come With Me

        The Project released its first album in Israel in 2002 and quickly became one of the biggest success stories in the history of Israeli popular music. The haunting Ethiopian chorus of the first single, "Bo'ee" (Come With Me), sounded completely unlike anything most Israeli's had heard before. The groundswell of interest propelled the album to heights rarely seen in the local music scene and firmly established Idan Raichel as a new type of Israeli pop star. Now a musical icon in the Israeli community worldwide, The Idan Raichel Project has performed to sell-out crowds in prestigious venues in Paris, Brussels, New York, Los Angeles, Singapore and beyond.

         The international release of The Idan Raichel Project's recordings on the new record label Cumbancha promises to introduce a wide new audience to the electrifying work of this unique musical collective. The Project offers a new vision for how Israelis, their neighbors in this volatile region, and people all over the world, can cherish their individual cultural traditions, celebrate their differences and through respectful collaboration create new and inspiring expressions. "Our ability to live in peace with one other depends on our learning to appreciate and respect each other's differences," notes Idan. "The way forward is not by trying to change your neighbor, but by accepting him and recognizing that we are all looking for the same things in life: bread, water, spirit, respect and love."

Interview : The Idan Raichel Project >>

       The songs in Amharic and other African languages include Ayal-Ayale, Brong Faya (Burn Fire), and Siyaishaya Ingoma (Sing out for Love), and all have a great Afro-beat and tribal feel to them. Ayal-Ayale can also be viewed on IdanRaichelProject[dot]com. The only Arabic song on this CD is Azini. Boasting an incredible female voice from Mira Anwar Awad, an Arab Israeli from Haifa, Azini is a kind of folkloric-sounding song fused with ambient mixes, creating a magical piece that mesmerizes the senses.

01. Bo ee (Come With Me) (4:26)

02. Mi Maamakim (Out Of The Depths) (5:51)

03. Ayal-Ayale (The Handsome Hero) (3:35)

04. Hinach Yafah (Thou Art Beautiful) (4:53)

05. Im Tachpetza (If Thou Wisheth) (3:58)

06. Shuvi El Beyti (Come Back To My Home) (3:54)

07. Im Telech (If You Go) (2:47)

08. Be Yom Shabbat (On Sabbath) (3:34)

09. Brong Faya (Burn Fire) (4:05)

10. Ulai Ha Pa am (Maybe This Time) (2:39)

11. Azini (Comfort Me) (4:26)

12. Siyaishaya Ingoma (Sing Out For Love) (3:30)

Ethioda - Ethiopian Jazz groove [2011] PROMO

      Ethioda (Montpellier) is a group that revisits the Ethiopian jazz through original compositions, improvisations and electro atmospheres. The Ethio-jazz whose golden age is in the 70s (remember Mahmoud Ahmed and his "Ere Mela Mela") leaves reappear East, funk and reggae sounds.

1. Ethioda - En plein dans le Nil (4:56)
2. Ethioda - Metche New (4:24)
3. Ethioda - Musicawi Silt (5:13)
4. Ethioda - Farenj (4:34)

Ethioda are :

Daniel Moreau - compositions, arrangements, fender rhodes, keyboards
Baptiste Clerc - guitar
Armel Courrée - alt and baritone saxophones
Pascal Bouvier - trombone
Romain Delorme - bass
Julien Grégoire - drums

v.a. - Hamar [South Ethiopia] - Nyabole - Singing on the Way to the Dancing Ground [1978]

   R   E   U   P   L   O   A   D   

The Hammere (also spelled Hamar) are a tribal people in southwestern Ethiopia. They live in Hamer Bena woreda (or district), a fertile part of the Omo River valley, in the Debub Omo Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region. They are largely pastoralists, so their culture places a high value on cattle. According to the CSA census of 1994, there were 42,838 Hammer language speakers, and 42,448 self-identified Hammer people of a total population of about 53 million, representing approximately 0.1% of the population.

The Assistant Administrator of Hammer Bena Ato Imnet Gashab has commented that only six tribal members have ever completed secondary education!!!!

v.a. - Ethiopia - Polyphony of the Dorze [1977]

      R  E  U  P  L  O  A  D     

Collected in the field in Ethiopia in 1974-1975 by Bernard Lortat-Jacob

Performed by native villagers.

01. Polyphonies of the Dorze - Song of a Halak'a Festival (3:17)

02. Polyphonies of the Dorze - Song of a Halak'a Festival (5:28)

03. Polyphonies of the Dorze - Song of a Halak'a Festival (5:11)

04. Polyphonies of the Dorze - Maskal Song (3:13)

05. Polyphonies of the Dorze - Work Song (3:23)

06. Polyphonies of the Dorze - Song of a Mahaber Festival (4:51)

07. Polyphonies of the Dorze - Song of a Halak'a Festival (4:46)

08. Polyphonies of the Dorze - Maskal Ritual Song (1:27)

09. Polyphonies of the Dorze - Maskal Ritual Song (1:37)

10. Polyphonies of the Dorze - Spinning Songs (12:43)

11. Polyphonies of the Dorze - Maskal Song (7:05)

12. Polyphonies of the Dorze - Epic Song (4:58)