Walias Band (sometimes spelled Wallias Band; Amharic: ዋሊያስ ባንድ?) is 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 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 Ahmedprimarily to audiences of Ethiopian refugees. Four members—Girma Bèyènè, Mogès Habté, Mèlakè Gèbrè and Hailu 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.
Hailu Mergia and Walias Band 1970
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.
Abebe Teka was introduced to music at an early age. Born and raised in Gondar, Ethiopia, Teka’s career began in the mid ‘80s with the Army Band. As a budding artist he left the countryside to tour in the capital city, Addis Abeba, with the famous Medina and Savanes bands.
His first recording ‘Sew’ was released in 1996. Three years later, he settled in Washington DC and quickly connected with the Ethiopian music scene playing at Dukem, Roha, Dynasty, 2K9 and other local venues. He has toured extensively in Europe with several other noted Ethiopian singers including Abonesh, Hana Shenkute, and Hibist.
Abebe Teka - Meche New
Abebe Teka - 01 - Sew Tiru (6:14) Abebe Teka - 02 - Agerewa Wedia Mado (5:16) Abebe Teka - 03 - Bey Kalresashign (6:54) Abebe Teka - 04 - Wefitu (6:22) Abebe Teka - 05 - Amognal (5:04) Abebe Teka - 06 - Meche New (6:24) Abebe Teka - 07 - Lalagegnat New Wey (5:19) Abebe Teka - 08 - Aresashignim (7:20) Abebe Teka - 09 - Besigat Kereme (6:48) Abebe Teka - 10 - Kelebet (4:45) Abebe Teka - 11 - Ya-Sudan (7:05) Abebe Teka - 12 - Gojo Yikir (6:35) Abebe Teka - 13 - Mela Yelew Mela (5:19) Abebe Teka - 14 - Emu Ney (5:06) Abebe Teka - 15 - Yet Yegegnal (5:48)
Abraham Afewerki (1966-2006), an Eritrean singer, song writer, and music producer died in an accident on the Dahlak Islands, in the Red Sea cost of Eritrea. He was 40 years old. In addition to his humble personality, Abraham was one of the most gifted contemporary Eritrean musical artist, a genius of Tigrinya music writer, and a unique Tigrinya lyricist. Abraham was one of the most recognized figures among Eritrean musicians and celebrities.
Abraham Afewerkiis described as an Eritrean musical tour-de-force. Held in high regard by his fellow Eritrean artists his work garners appreciation and admiration from his peers. His musical influence also crosses borders to Eritrea’s neighboring countries where his music is reproduced by other musicians singing in a different language other than his native Tigrinya.
Abraham was born in Asmara, Eritrea. From an early age Abraham was fascinated with musical instruments and by age nine had learned to play a musical instrument independently. Due to the Eritrean War of Independence Abraham, with his family, fled to Sudan and soon after to Italy where he further pursued his dream to be a professional musician. While studying in Rome, Abraham continued to expand his musical skills by working with internationally known musical celebrities in live performances as well as recording
Abraham’s first CD, Kozli Gaba was released in 1991, which was produced and distributed by Virgin Records in Europe. The album was the first by an Eritrean artist that was produced by
an International recording company and made available to the global audience. Abraham’s music, in due course, was covered by a number of International media outlets.
During the following 15 years Abraham released two more albums which further propelled his popularity among Eritreans. His songs were popular because his lyrics expressed strong and poetic images of Eritrea’s culture. His socially conscious words were evocative and his fans often described his music as inspiring. Abraham is also credited with being one of Eritrea’s master live entertainers.
In his newest CD titled Semai ("Sky" in Tigrinya), Abraham collaborates with several Eritrean musicians, the result of which was an exquisite sound. Abraham continued to blend his music with jazz, R&B, and Reggae rhythms at the same time maintaining his music’s originality and authenticity.
While still continuing his progress in music, the multi-faceted artist, who was residing in the USA, had managed to obtain a BS degree (Bachelor of Science degree) in MIS (Management Information Systems), graduating with honors. Abraham, undoubtedly one of the greatest artist and stage performers, will be REALLY deeply missed by his countless funs, friends and families.
Albums :
So far he has released 4 official cassettes (albums) in Eritrea
"Wegahta" (Dawn or Sunrise) - 1991
"Tesfa'iya snqey" (Hope is my supply or kit) - 1994
Born in Mogadishu, Somalia, K’naan spent his childhood in the district of Wardhiigleey (”The Lake of Blood”) during the Somali Civil War, which began in 1991. His aunt, Magool, was one of Somalia’s most famous singers. K’naan’s grandfather, Haji Mohamed, was a poet. K’naan is also a Muslim. His name, K’naan, means “traveller” in the Somali language.
K’naan’s father, Abdi, left the country, along with many other intellectuals to settle in New York City and work as a cab driver. He mailed money home to his family. As the civil war continued and the situation in Somalia continued to deteriorate, K’naan’s mother, Marian Mohamed, petitioned the United States embassy for an exit visa. In 1991, on the last day the US embassy remained open as the government of Mohamed Siad Barre collapsed their visa was approved, and they boarded the last commercial flight out of the country.
They joined relatives in Harlem, New York City, before moving to the Toronto, Ontario neighbourhood of Rexdale, where there was a large Somali Canadian community. His family still lives there. In his new country, K’naan began learning English, some through hip hop albums by artists like Nas and Rakim. Despite speaking no English, the young K’naan taught himself hip hop and rap diction, copying the lyrics and style phonetically. He then also began rapping. He dropped out of school in grade ten to travel for a time, rapping at open mic events, and eventually returned to Toronto.
K’naan became a friend and associate of Canadian promoter, Sol Guy, who helped him secure a gig speaking before the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 1999, where K’naan performed a spoken word piece criticizing the UN for its failed aid missions to Somalia. One of the audience members, Senegalese singer Youssou N’Dour, was so impressed by the young MC’s performance and courage that he invited him to contribute to his 2001 album Building Bridges, a project through which K’naan was able to tour the world.
This project lead to his work at other UN events, as well as the Montreal Jazz Festival and the Halifax Pop Explosion. It also helped him meet Canadian producer Jarvis Church and his Track & Field team in 2002, who produced his debut album The Dusty Foot Philosopher, which was released in 2005 to critical acclaim.
In 2006, it won the Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year, and was nominated for the inaugural Polaris Music Prize. It also won the BBC Radio 3 Award for World Music in the newcomer category for 2007. The Dusty Foot Philosopher will be re-released and re-packaged as a “Deluxe Edition” featuring new mixes and a bonus DVD in the United States (and various international territories) by the emerging media company and record label iM (Interdependent Media, Inc.) in 2008.
Since then, he has been on tour promoting his album and working on his follow-up release, “Troubadour,” his debut album for new label A&M/Octone Records. He has also been working with artists like Nelly Furtado, Mos Def, The Roots, Dead Prez, and Pharoahe Monch on tours such as Live and Breedlove Odyssey. He also collaborated with Damian Marley on the “Welcome to Jamrock” touring session.
In 2005, the Canadian music scene featured a low-key feud between K’naan and k-os, one of the most prominent Canadian hip-hop artists. Following the release of the music video for the song Soobax, which was shot by K’naan and a film crew in Kenya, k-os released a track B-Boy Stance attacking K’naan : “They took cameras to Africa for pictures to rhyme / Over; Oh, yes, the great pretenders [...] Religious entertainers who want to be life savers.” Though the feud never became high-profile, with K’naan expressing confusion at the attack and respect for k-os, he nonetheless responded with the mixtape Revolutionary Avocado which argued “You the all-knowing with a beer bottle / Wishing you was Plato and me Aristotle? / …Suburban negro turned hip-hop hero / Is there a reason he really hates me, though?” — a rebuttal CBC’s Matthew McKinnon called “cold-cocking the champ”. He recently released The Dusty Foot on the Road, a collection of recording made during his recent world tour on Wrasse Records.
His second studio album, Troubadour, was released on February 24, 2009 on A&M/Octone Records, and will be distributed through Universal Music Group worldwide. The album’s first single, “ABC’s”, was released to radio in late 2008. K’naan has featured in several video games such as “Madden NFL 09? with his song ABC’s, and “Fifa 06? with his song soobax. The song “If Rap Gets Jealous”, a rerecording of a track of the same name - with different verses - from The Dusty Foot Philosopher, features Metallica lead guitarist Kirk Hammett. K’naan was also the first featured artist on X3, a collaborative project between CBC Radio 3, Exclaim! magazine and aux.tv to promote new Canadian music.
Rapper K'Naan is one of the rapidly rising stars of world music. Born in Mogadishu, Somalia, he now lives in Canada, but his experiences as a refugee and growing up in a war zone inform his lyrics with a vivid vivacity.
He's a charismatic performer on stage - as witnessed last weekend in Glastonbury - and his words have a haunting poetry: "Muslims, Jews and Christians war, no one's left to praise the Lord". K'Naan's admirers include many who are not usually interested in rap music.
This strong album includes live performances captured in both Djibouti and New York, although he should find himself a better djembe drum player to improve things musically.
01. K'naan - Wash It Down (2:15)
02. K'naan - Soobax (3:42)
03. K'naan - What's Hardcore? (3:36)
04. K'naan - My Old Home (3:06)
05. K'naan - Moment (0:10)
06. K'naan - I Was Stabbed By Satan (3:50)
07. K'naan - My God (0:22)
08. K'naan - Smile (4:03)
09. K'naan - If Rap Gets Jealous (4:18)
10. K'naan - The Dusty Foot Philosopher (3:56)
11. K'naan - Strugglin' (4:25)
12. K'naan - In The Beginning (3:21)
13. K'naan - Hoobaale (5:05)
14. K'naan - The African Way (feat. Mwafrika) (4:20)
15. K'naan - Voices In My Head (4:00)
16. K'naan - Boxing My Shadow (4:29)
17. K'naan - For Mohamound (Soviet) (0:32)
18. K'naan - Until The Lion Learns To Speak (8:55)
