Meklit Hadero - On a day like this.. [2010] [usa-ethiopia]

   R E U P L O A D   

Meklit Hadero - Float and Fall

       Meklit Hadero, known simply as "Meklit", is a singer and songwriter based in San Francisco, California. She is known for her soulful performing style, and for combining jazz, folk, and East African influences in her music. Born in Ethiopia, she was raised in the U.S. and attended college at Yale, where she studied political science.

       Shortly after graduation, Meklit moved to San Francisco and became immersed in the city's thriving arts scene. "Meklit is an artistic giant in the early stages," wrote a reporter from the San Francisco Chronicle after witnessing an early performance in the city's Mission District. "She sings of fragility, hope and self-empowerment, and exudes all three. What's irresistible, above all, is her cradling, sensuous, gentle sound. She is stunning."

        Named a TED Global Fellow in 2009, Meklit has served as an artist-in-residence at New York University, the De Young Museum, and the Red Poppy Art House. Currently a fellow of the Wildflowers Institute, Meklit has also completed musical commissions for the San Francisco Foundation and for theatrical productions staged by Brava! For Women in the Arts. She is the founder of the Arba Minch Collective, a group of Ethiopian artists in diaspora devoted to nurturing ties to their homeland through collaborations with both traditional and contemporary artists there. 

     As a Senior TED Fellow since 2011 , she co-founded the Nile Project with Egyptian ethno-musicologist Mina Girgis and has since participated in 2 artist residencies (Aswan, 2013 and Uganda in 2014) uniting musicians from 11 countries all along the Nile Basin.

       Meklit has released five records to date. The first was a self-produced and released eight-song EP entitled Eight Songs (2008). The second , her first full-length LP, On a Day Like This... released to wide critical acclaim in 2010 , was recorded at San Francisco's Closer Studios and produced by Eric Moffat and Unsound Recording. Hailed by Filter magazine for "[combining] New York jazz with West Coast folk and African flourishes, all bound together by Hadero's beguiling voice.". It won Meklit feature stories by NPR, PBS, and National Geographic. The San Francisco Chronicle called her " an artistic giant in the making " . She then ventured into a creative collaboration called CopperWire , along with two hip emcees also from the Ethiopian diaspora , Gabriel Teodros and Burntface . Together they created the first hip hop space opera , "Earthbound" which hit #5 in CMJ's hiphop charts . A complete change came with the 2012 release of her extraordinary harmonic duets with Oakland blues and soul crooner Quinn DeVeaux, simply titled Meklit & Quinn. The duo covered terrain as diverse as Arcade Fire (their version of "Tunnels" left many speechless with its simple beauty) , Lou Reed , Neil Young and Stevie Wonder.

       Now she makes yet another quantum leap , in her latest solo album We Are Alive . Produced by sonic genius Eli Crews (best known for his work with tUnE-yArDs) , her inimitable composition talents and unique voice take infinite and inventive flight , from her jazz-standard sounding "A-Train" to the fiery build of "Waiting for Earthquakes" , weaving through a dark and tantalizing version of The Police classic "Bring On the Night" via her funky take on an Ethiopian tune, "Kemekem " (which she subtitles " I Like Your Afro!") , winding up with the grande finale, the declaration "We Are Alive". USA Today says, " Meklit delivers a sound all her own... (We Are Alive) gets even better with every listen ",

  

      The Village Voice comments : "She's a blithe-voiced daughter of Joni who considers music a path to higher ground, with rest stops for the likes of Talking Heads and Lou Reed."

01. Meklit Hadero - Walk Up (5:34)

02. Meklit Hadero - Float And Fall (3:29)

03. Meklit Hadero - Leaving Soon (4:12)

04. Meklit Hadero - You And The Rain (4:30)

05. Meklit Hadero - Feeling Good (4:29)

06. Meklit Hadero - Abbay Mado (5:05)

07. Meklit Hadero - Soleil Soleil (2:33)

08. Meklit Hadero - Call (3:59)

09. Meklit Hadero - Walls (3:40)

10. Meklit Hadero - Under (4:27)

Kegnete Mesele - VII - [Ethiopian Traditional Instrumental Music]

Kegnete Mesele - Le Le Le

Kegnete Mesele - 01 - Ererna Gedamu (8:31)

Kegnete Mesele - 02 - Shegiye Selitu (11:55)

Kegnete Mesele - 03 - Yeshrishri (5:32)

Kegnete Mesele - 04 - Ney Ney yagere lij (6:45)

Kegnete Mesele - 05 - Damay Anchin new (4:52)

Kegnete Mesele - 06 - Yager Fikir tizitaw (7:28)

Kegnete Mesele - 07 - Le Le Le (4:57)

Kegnete Mesele - 08 - Yalew gelel (4:43)

Kegnete Mesele - 09 - Ahay Lalay Lalay (5:46)

Kegnete Mesele - 10 - Weyin Abeba Nesh (7:35)

Kegnete Mesele - VI - [Ethiopian Traditional Instrumental Music]

Bati - Ethiopian Instrumental Music

Kegnete Mesele - 01 - Anchi Lidj (9:59)
Kegnete Mesele - 02 - Ethiopia (10:34)
Kegnete Mesele - 03 - Twar (3:58)
Kegnete Mesele - 04 - Ambassel (6:23)
Kegnete Mesele - 05 - Befekresh Men (11:16)
Kegnete Mesele - 06 - Woye Fikir (10:58)
Kegnete Mesele - 07 - Yehar Shireret (8:49)

no new posts until next friday (november 5)

the author of this blog is on short vacation.

enjoy featured posts.

a lot of new surpises soon!

The Kafa Beanz - Andromeda: The Chronicles Of Blackopia, Volume 1 [2008] [usa+eth]

        The Kafa Beanz is a collective of solo artists who blend their Ethiopian culture and music with hip hop, soul, and alternative musical textures. The name “Kafa Beanz” is a play on words.  If one looks at a map of Ethiopia, there is the Kafa region where coffee is known to originate. Coffee was “discovered” by the Portuguese in Ethiopia in the middle ages.  Coffee is the primary export of Ethiopia to this day and considered the country’s most valuable export. This group of young artists, primarily of Ethiopian origin, wanted to express that the true value of Ethiopia is in the people, thus the name Kafa Beanz. 

        The Kafa Beanz formed in 2007 when a group of accomplished Ethiopian-American musicians, producers and vocalist who have been longtime fans of each other’s respective work decided to join forces. Their first project as a collective is entitled “Andromeda: The Chronicles of Blackopia  Vol. 1.”  The project’s title pays homage to Princess Andromeda who, according to Greek Mythology, was the daughter of Cassiopeia and Cepheus, the king of Ethiopia.

Gabriel Teodros - "Tizita"

          The Kafa Beanz consists of lead vocalists B Sheba(rapper /singer) and Burntface (rapper/producer) and is rounded out by Wayna (singer/songwriter), Gabriel Teodros (rapper), AP (rapper/singer) and various Special Guest Appearances including Hermela Mulatu (singer), daughter of Ethiopian Jazz Musician Mulatu Astatke.

        The Kafa Beanz is a group of solo artists who share a passion for Africa and a desire to expose their music to the world. Four of the five members are of Ethiopian origin, and the exotic sounds of East Africa are evident in their music.

        Despite having a sonic texture heavily influenced by 60s and 70s era Ethiopian Jazz music, The Kafa Beanz have a universal sound that has often been compared to The Fugees, Black Eyed Peas and Outkast. The Kafa Beanz effortlessly blends soulful vocal harmonies and poignant lyrics over an eclectic mixture of classic hip hop and futuristic world music. 

       Each member is an accomplished artist in their own right with their own respective fan bases. Their collective professional experience and talents make for a powerful and versatile combination that can rock a party crowd or tantalize a jazzy lounge or café. In a time when the traditional music industry paradigm is crashing in on itself, and genres are being disregarded, The Kafa Beanz are poised to be the future of world music.

The Kafa Beanz - 01 - Andromeda (1:45)

Wayna, Burntface - 02 - Let It Go (5:04)

Burntface, AP, B Sheba, Wayna - 03 - IRock (2:53)

Burntface, B Sheba, AP - 04 - AA++ (2:28)

B Sheba, Burntface, AP - 05 - Arada  (4:15)

AP, Wayna - 06 - Rebel (2:58)

B Sheba - 07 - Babylon Blues (4:35)

Burntface, B Sheba - 08 - History (3:05)

Wayna, Burntface - 09 - Love's Fool (3:24)

B Sheba, Hermela Mulatu, Burntface, Gabriel Teodros - 10 - Hope (4:43)

Burntface - 11 - Fly Away (3:45)

Burntface, B Sheba, Malik (30), Texx - 12 - Diaspora (3:41)

Gabriel Teodros, B Sheba - 13 - Tizita (4:07)

Wayna - 14 - Final Transmition (3:44)