Elias and Fred chilling out!
I was first introduced to Ethiopian music by a friend of mine called Elias Araya.
He had bought a couple of tapes with Aster Awake when he was visiting Ethiopia that he would play.
Her voice felt so foreign and made such a strong impression on me.
I listened so much to her songs that I started making up stories of what they were about.
It was very expressive, sometimes mysterious sometimes romantic.
The sound on the tapes were charmingly lowfi with allot of distortion and crackling noises.
I've tried desperately to find those songs but it must be old rare material, nothing you can find on itunes ; )
Ethiopia has 80 different ethnic groups each associated with a unique sound of music.
I would love to go there one day.
Not only becouse its one of the oldest countries in the world and has yielded some of humanity's oldest traces but to be able to buy all the tapes I want!!
Aster Aweke-Bedesasa Gojo
Eshet Belaw by Neway Debebe
Neway Debebe ana Tsehaye Yohannes
Mahmoud Ahmed
Unfortunately with the actual islamist gouvernment i don't think the kind of music is still accepted
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ReplyDeleteembrace all sounds
ReplyDeleteEthiopia is not run by a "islamist government"
ReplyDeleteHaving converted during the fourth century AD, it is also the second-oldest country to have become officially Christian, after Armenia.[22] Ethiopia also has a considerable Muslim minority since the earliest days of Islam - being the site of the first Hijra in Islam history, the earliest 9th century Sultanates, the oldest Muslim settlement in Africa at Negash and home to the fourth holiest Muslim city of Harar - but the country has been secular since 1974
The above is from Wiki!!
ReplyDeleteWhat would we do without Wikipedia!
Man its so easy to just check the facts that are out there ; )
I enjoyed that Aster Aweke song. I see how you make up stories to her songs.
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ReplyDeleteI'm definitely loving Ethiopian 'jazz' at the mo. You should definitely check out Sensation Band and Tamrat Ferendji... they've been on every playlist I've made for the past two months or so. Absolutely fantastic.
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