Funeral is Tuesday in Ethiopia. Fans of classic Ethiopian golden era music having to deal with deaths of Kaifa, Mamo, and Eshete now over a very short span.
― curmudgeon, Monday, 3 May 2021 15:49 (three years ago) link
man. so grateful to know about this music and all of those amazing people.
― Totally different head. Totally. (Austin), Monday, 3 May 2021 17:18 (three years ago) link
Hailu Mergia & The Walias Band Tezeta is being re-released on June 4, the band’s first full-length album that was originally released in 1975.
Below is from press release and liner notes
Virtually unheard(-of) outside Ethiopia—and extremely rare locally—the cassette-only release came out on the band’s own label housed in their record shop in the mid-70s. This is a historic record of one of the most interesting and pioneering bands of the “golden age” of Ethiopian popular music. The music is absolutely bonkers despite the sound quality.
FYI—Walias were the house band at the Hilton, Addis’ legendary high-end hotel, where they played nightly. They recorded the album in the nightclub itself and pressed the tape in Athens. The music beautifully encapsulates the way bands were re-vamping traditional music into soulful new renditions, and the Walias were THE instrumental-focused band of the era, breaking ground on so many levels (see notes below).
The record includes archival photos, interview content with former hotel staff and an essay by a long-time knowledgable fan and ATFA friend Tessema Tedele. Audio is carefully extracted and remastered from one of the only known original copies of the tape by the engineer we have worked with on every release, Jessica Thompson.
Odds are, any Ethiopian over the age of 35 who had access to TV or radio by the early 90s, will instantly recognize the sound of Walias. What is not a given is, how many would actually identify the band itself. Barely a day went by without hearing the Walias either in the background on radio or as an accompaniment to various programs on TV. Their music was so ubiquitous in media that most of us who enjoyed it never bothered to go out and look for it. Gradually, they started to slip out of public consciousness by the early 90s when newer works by bands such as Roha and Axumite were favored. Only then did those of us feeling a certain sense of loss started inquiring about "that music from TV" at record stores. Yet, most of their work remains stubbornly elusive.
This "Tezeta" album is one of those that have been impossible to find for nearly three decades. Sourced by Awesome Tapes From Africa and expertly remastered by Jessica Thompson, its unique and funky renditions of standards and popular songs of the day are so quintessentially Walias, flavorful and evocative. Hailu's melodic organ, unashamedly front and center in every track, makes even the complex pieces accessible. The stirringly distinct opening riff from "Zengadyw" took me right back to a certain time in my youth. Deliciously vivid, it's a time capsule in and of itself. "Gumegum" is a definite favorite. The vocal version, most popularly sang by the legendary Hirut Bekele, tells of unrequited love - an over-exploited theme in music of the time. "Tezeta" is the traditional anthem of nostalgia that doing a version of it was, for a long time, a rite of passage for any aspiring musician. "Endegena" (To Love Again), is a sleepy ballad by Mahmoud Ahmed getting a zesty uplift here. "Ou-Ou-Ta" is one of the signature songs of the greatest of them all, Tilahun Gessesse.
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 1 June 2021 03:53 (three years ago) link
https://www.clashmusic.com/news/alemayehu-eshete-has-died
RIP the “Ethiopian Elvis” “Alemayehu Eshete. Some of his 1969 to 1974 songs are on Ethiopiques #9
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 5 September 2021 02:13 (two years ago) link
RIP.
I thought this revive was going to be about this interview with Mulatu Astatke:
https://news.google.com/articles/CAIiEIKDOVgIRYPtT6j56Elz7usqGAgEKg8IACoHCAow-4fWBzD4z0gw_fCpBg?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen
― o. nate, Thursday, 9 September 2021 21:03 (two years ago) link
rest well, alemayehu☮
just catching up with to know without knowing and it's predictably great.
― please don't refer to me as (Austin), Wednesday, 1 December 2021 16:11 (two years ago) link
Yep
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 8 December 2021 14:53 (two years ago) link
see also:https://www.discogs.com/Sosena-Gebre-Eyesus-Sosena-Gebre-Eyesus/release/12947296― sleeve, maandag 7 september 2020 1:16 (one year ago)
https://www.discogs.com/Sosena-Gebre-Eyesus-Sosena-Gebre-Eyesus/release/12947296
― sleeve, maandag 7 september 2020 1:16 (one year ago)
― willem, Tuesday, 21 December 2021 22:05 (two years ago) link
RIP contemporary era Ethiopian singer Madingo Afework at too young an age. Not from classic era Ethiopiques, but thought folks who go to this thread might appreciate him
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-oyFQYoUTc
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 29 September 2022 14:53 (one year ago) link
I keep seeing this Walmart commercial that has Tsegue Maryam-Guebrou playing in the background (she of the almost intolerably beautiful solo piano Ethiopiques #21, Emahoy). I know it is absurdly anachronistic to be shook by music being used in a commercial in 2022, but it's messing with me
― Lavator Shemmelpennick, Wednesday, 2 November 2022 20:43 (one year ago) link
I wouldn't be shocked to hear it in a commercial per se but Walmart in particular is natural to get shook over I think.
― Daniel_Rf, Thursday, 3 November 2022 10:58 (one year ago) link
Ethiopian Gala and cultural dinner w/ singers Maritu Legesse, Fasil Demoze, Abeba Desalgen November 27 in Silver Spring, Md
I wonder if these vocalists hearken back to old school Ethiopiques? Haven’t researched yet
― curmudgeon, Friday, 4 November 2022 13:54 (one year ago) link
https://ethiopianstoday.com/2022/11/06/legendary-ethiopian-artist-ali-birra-passed-away/
RIP Ali Birra
― curmudgeon, Monday, 7 November 2022 05:33 (one year ago) link
Happy Birthday Amahoy Tsegue Maryam Guebrou https://www.nts.live/shows/guests/episodes/emahoy-tsegue-maryam-guebrou-12th-december-2022
― bendy, Saturday, 17 December 2022 18:23 (one year ago) link
RIP
Just learned about the passing of Ethiopian artist Emahoy Tsegué Maryam Guèbrou, one of the most vital composers of the 20th century. It was always a joy to hear her beautiful music, whether on the speakers at home, performed by Maya Dunietz, or in Ethiopian cafes in London. RIP. pic.twitter.com/vTjgiQ1URV— Fielding Hope (@fieldinghope) March 27, 2023
― o. nate, Monday, 27 March 2023 18:54 (one year ago) link
99 years old! Her stuff still sounds so amazing every time I play it. New archival collection coming out soon: https://emahoytsegemariamgebru.bandcamp.com/album/jerusalem
― tylerw, Monday, 27 March 2023 19:00 (one year ago) link
Ah shit. What an absolute genius. RIP.
― Shard-borne Beatles with their drowsy hums (Chinaski), Monday, 27 March 2023 19:37 (one year ago) link
It was really something discovering her music, floating in from a lost world from not so long ago, yet knowing that she was still out there alive in her cloister.
― Terrycoth Baphomet (bendy), Tuesday, 28 March 2023 20:02 (one year ago) link
She was phenomenal.
― stirmonster, Tuesday, 28 March 2023 21:58 (one year ago) link
the ethiopiques compilation is incredible
― corrs unplugged, Thursday, 30 March 2023 13:05 (one year ago) link
https://emahoytsegemariamgebru.bandcamp.com/album/jerusalem
The title track here is incredible.
― Chris L, Friday, 7 April 2023 15:45 (one year ago) link
title track is great because it has her wonderful sense of time, the other songs also have some of that but are more traditional classic solo piano
― corrs unplugged, Saturday, 3 June 2023 07:16 (one year ago) link
vocal compilation forthcoming https://emahoytsegemariamgebru.bandcamp.com/album/souvenirs
― corrs unplugged, Friday, 9 February 2024 11:40 (four months ago) link
If you like some Ethiopiques comps, you might also like seeing the band Qwanqwa live. They are on a US tour now. Baltimore tonight , DC area Sunday and some gigs in between and many after
https://www.qwanqwa.net/tour
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 11 April 2024 13:36 (two months ago) link
Zanzibara done by the same label had some very interesting material too. Not sure if it got anything like the same recognition.
― Stevo, Thursday, 11 April 2024 15:03 (two months ago) link