Between ethiogroove and modern music you find a musical hybrid called Ukandanz. Intense and powerful songs, mixed with energetic rock, jazz improvisation and Ethiopic soul.
Asnake Guebreyes originates from the vibrant music scene in Addis Abeba where he’s worked with traditional vocal- and drum styles. He appears on the Ethiopiques vol. 18 compilation and has worked with Han Bennik amongst others.
The members of Ukandanz willingly cross different musical borders, at the same time they also maintain the musical identity and origin.
Ethiopia is a world unto itself; European colonists never got a grip on the inaccessible country; not even the Italians. Ethiopian music reflects its’ history; the conspiratorial, oriental melodies and elusive rhythms have little in common with any other form of music. The members of the Ethiopian/French formation uKanDanZ – being heard for the first time in The Netherlands! – play a staggeringly potent blend of traditional melodies, groovy lines from Addis Abeba and hardcore rock. The intensity of their music makes many punk formations seem pale in comparison.
I N C L U D I N G N E W , B E T T E R R I P The Life and Times of Menelik Wossenachew December 24, 2009 marked the one year anniversary of the passing of the wonderful, incredibly talented singer, music writer and lyricist, Menelik Wossenachew. Below is a piece I wrote for Horizon Ethiopia’s November issue. What makes one artist a legend and another with equal or more talent obscure? That was the question that popped in my head when I saw the reaction to Tilahun Gessesse’s passing. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the man. He was an incredible performer and had one of the best voices I’ve come across. And I believe the reaction he received was well deserved. The question for me was, how come I didn’t see 1% of the same reaction when the veteran and amazing talent, Menelik Wossenachew passed away four months prior? A scan in the life and times of the gentle crooner might answer the question.
Early Years
Menelik Wossenachew was born in 1940 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; although he grew up in the city of Harar where he went to a French school. Later on, he dropped out of high school and joined Alliance Ethio-Française in Addis Ababa for five years. In 1960 he joined the Haile Selassie I Theatre Orchestra. He was fist hired as a backup vocalist but quickly became a favorite of the director of the Orchestra, the grandfather of all arrangers; Nerses Nalbandian.
The first two songs he sang on stage were Almaz Eyasebkush and Fiqer Lemn Yiqer. Other hits continued including Afer Atinfegign, Fiker Bastergwami, Yachi Lij Konjo Nat, Teyaqiyew Biaschegregn (Ene Wushetenew,) YeHarerwa WeTat, Fiker Ayarjim, and Sukar Sukar. The last two were written by clarinet player, Merawi Sitot and their music was taken from two popular Sudanese tunes. Nerses Nalbandian was so impressed with Menelik’s vocal range that he had him sing opera as well.
Coming Of Age
In 1965, while still at the orchestra, Menelik joined the second Ras Band which had been assembled by Girma Beyene when the first band left to play at the newly built Ghion Hotel. The second Ras Band consisted of Girma Beyene (piano & English vocals), Tesfamariam Kidane (saxophone), Hailu “Zehon” Kebede (bass), Girma Zemariam (drums), Menelik Wossenachew and Seyfu Yohannes (vocalists). The songs Wub Natand Tikura were performed by Menelik Wossenachew while he was at the Ras Band. Menelik Wossenachew and Girma Beyene continued their friendship and collaboration after the Ras Band disbanded in the late 1960’s.
In the early 1970s Menelik recorded several tracks for Phillips Ethiopia including Fikrachin, Mambo Sambo, Aderch Arada and Tebeb Teqami New. The first two were recorded with the All Star Band and arranged by Mulatu Astatqe while the last two were recorded with the Haile Selassie I Theatre Orchestra and arranged by Nerses Nalbandian.
Tebeb Teqami New was very famous as it was used as the opening to an education program on Ethiopian Radio. Around the same time period he recorded: Nefes Eko Nat (Sele Wubetwa Sadenq,) Asha Gedawo, Menew Bacher Qere, Eshet Eshet, Chereqa, Meqabren Liyew, Tizeta, Belew Bedubaye, Bati and Min Nekash. With the exception of Bati> and Min Nekash (Phillips Ethiopia) all of these tracks were recorded by Amha Eshete (Amha Records). By this time, Menelik’s smooth as silk voice was gaining recognition and his ballads invariably left listeners wanting to hear more.
Menelik was not only vocally talented but a wonderful lyricist as well. Apart from what he wrote for himself (Fikrachin, Mambo Sambo, Nefes Eko Nat, Asha Gedawo, Menew Bacher Qere, Eshet Eshet, Chereqa, Meqabren Liyew, Tizeta, Belew Bedubaye, and Bati) he wrote two incredible songs: Tilahun Gessesse’s Lanchi Biye (he also composed the music for this) and Mahmoud Ahmed’s Fitsum Dinq Lij Nesh.
Parts of Lanchi Biye were recently sampled by the Somalian hip hop artist, K’Naan for his song America. Chereqa(Moon) is a song based on the children song Chereqa Dembulboqa. The beautiful Meqabren Liyew (Let me see my grave) is an eerie song about Menelik’s wish to see his resting place before his death, an unimaginable thought to a majority of Ethiopians.
In the mid 70’s Menelik joined the Walias Band where his friend and old colleague, Girma Beyene was a member. At that time the Walias Band was performing at the Hilton Hotel and Menelik was welcomed as a seasoned performer, regularly performing in Italian and Sudanese as well as Amharic. By that time though, the political climate brought about by the Derg’s revolution in 1974, had begun to make Menelik feel acutely uncomfortable.
Though he stayed several years after the revolution his unwavering independence made him a target from all sides of the political spectrum. He decided to end his collaboration with the Haile Selassie I Theatre Orchestra and the Walias Band and go on a self-imposed exile, first to Sudan and later to Egypt. Though he became a distant figure to his fans in Ethiopia, he became a sought after performer both in Sudan and Egypt.
Late Years
After a total of 14 years in exile Menelik returned to Ethiopia in 1993 with the help of Mohammed Al-Amoudi, the Ethiopian-Saudi businessman. In 1995 Menelik Wossenachew released a CD entitled, Gash Jembere on Ethio-Grooves record. The CD was a compilation of his best hits including the title track which Menelik sang as an ode to Mohammed Al-Amoudi for his kindness and assistance shown to him. It should be noted that Gash Jemebere was a taxi driver near the Itege Hotel (named Awraris Hotel during the Derg) who was known for his kindness.
Apart from special occasions Menelik didn’t perform. I was very fortunate to see him perform one song, Teyaqiyew Biaschegregn (Ene Wushetenew,) in Addis Ababa for the Millennium (GC) festivities. The man still had the voice. One of the last shows he performed was at the 50th Anniversary celebrating the creation of the Haile Selassie Theatre in December 2005.
Menelik Wossenachew’s private life was just that, private! Getachew Debalqe, his friend and old colleague remembers Menelik as a very discreet and shy person but a very talented soul. He shares a story how one of Menelik’s brother was surprised to see Menelik perform live at the theatre as he was not aware of his sibling’s musical career at that time.
Menelik remained a bachelor up until his death and was known to have fathered several children. Menelik died on December 24, 2008 from pneumonia. He was contemplating a comeback and had gone to South Africa to fix an ear problem. Girma Beyene, upon learning of Menelik’s passing, paid the ultimate tribute to his fallen friend.
“He was a one man show. Not only was he one of the most talented singers I came across but also one of the smartest [Menelik could speak Amharic, Tigrigna, English, French, Italian and Arabic]. I’ll miss his kindness, his voice and above all I’ll miss his friendship.”
So coming back to the question I raised on the onset of this piece. Why fame for one and obscurity for another? I guess there are no clear answers. Maybe its luck or because he had stayed away from music during his exile or that he didn’t have quite the discography as others (Tilahun Gessesse, Mahmoud Ahmed, and Alemayehu Eshete) or that he didn’t jump start his career upon his return. Whatever the reason in the end what is important is that his contribution to the development of contemporary Ethiopian music should be recognized and not forgotten.
Although Ethiopia is often perceived as a dominantly Christian country Islam has an important place in the historic and a cultural composition of the country. The first Muslims arrived in Ethiopia during the time of the prophet Muhammad in 615 A.D. and the emergence of the first Muslim sultanates in central Ethiopia date back to the 9th century. Today about 34% of the Ethiopian population are Muslims and Islam is the dominant religion in a number of regions, such as Afar, Somali, Harar, Eastern and Southwestern Oromiya, parts of the Gurage region and the eastern part of the region Wollo. This region is inhabited by a mixture of different ethnic groups, Amhara, Oromo, Argobba and Afar, though Amharic speakers are the majority.
SUFISM
The introduction of Sufi brotherhoods in Eastern Wollo in the 18th century led to the establishment of centers of Muslim scholarship. Some of the most important centers in Wollo are Anna, Dana, Č̣ali, Geta and Tiru Sina. Theses centers are active till this day and draw pupils from other Muslim regions of Ethiopia such as Jimma and the Gurage region, thus their influence extend beyond the local area. The centers have become destinations of yearly pilgrimages and the scholars who founded these centers as well as their successors are often venerated as awliya, i.e. (Muslim holy men).
MANZUMA
Manzuma is an Arabic term meaning “put into poetic form” and refers to a text written in the metrical system of Classical Arabic Poetry. In Ethiopia manzuma usually refers to Islamic poetry which is performed in a chanted manner. Manzuma was first introduced by Jamal ad-Din Muhammad, the founder of the first Sufi center in Anna in Northeastern Wollo. Although being Ethiopian he used the Arabic language to compose manzuma poems. Shaykh Misbah Deresa from Dana is said to be the first who used his mother tongue Amharic for the composition of manzuma poetry. The most influential Amharic manzuma poet was Sayyid Ibrahim Yasin better known as She Č̣ali, who founded Sufi center in the eastern part of Wollo in the first decades of the 20th century.
LANGUAGE
The first manzuma poems composed by Ethiopian Muslim poets were written in Arabic. Because manzuma appeared first in Wollo, where most of the people speak Amharic, most of manzuma poems are composed in Amharic. But in recent times manzuma became also popular in other regions of Ethiopia where other languages are spoken. Today there manzuma poets who compose in other languages, especially in Oromo. In Harar another center of Islamic scholarship in Eastern Ethiopia, religious poetry is known under the name zikri.
CONTENT AND PERFORMANCE OF MANZUMA In Ethiopia most of manzuma texts are praise poems and contain different religious topics such as prayer for the Prophet (tawaṣolāt), praise of the Prophet (madḥ an-nabī), which also include biographical accounts of the Prophet (mawlid and miʿrāǧ), and praising God (ṯanāʾ Allāh). Though manzuma poems are performed orally they are usually written beforehand. In writing manzuma poems authors usually write in the so-called ajem script, i.e. the use of the Arabic alphabet for Amharic. Manzuma poems are usually recited during religious celebrations like mawlid, i.e. the birthday of the Prophet or ziyāra, religious pilgrimages. Other occasions are ḥaḍra meetings, i.e. Sufi gatherings for collective prayers and ḏikr mediations. Manzuma “songs” are chanted by one lead performer who is accompanied by a chorus. The chorus performers are often so-called deresa, i.e. religious students. In Wollo there are basically different forms of manzuma performances. It can be with the accompaniment of a drum, also called dəbbe (dəbbe meaning drum in Amharic), by hand-clapping and sometimes dancing or without any accompaniment in this case called əngurguro.
Traditional music group of the National theatre of Ethiopia (1980)
side 1 1. Amara Rumba (tradditional) 2. Our party gives strenght ( revolutionary song) 3. Music of Ifu Gobene ( traditional instrumental song) 4. No life without kisses (traditional song) 5.Learn from History (traditional song) side 2 1. Aures (tradditional) 2. Brave warrior (traditional song) 3. My revolution (tradditional) 4. Wind of Revolution (contemporary song) 5. My land (tradditional)
