Ethiopiques, Vol. 8: Swinging Addis

Amazon.com
With ties--most of them clearly nonbinding--to the sanctioned musical institutions of Ethiopia in the 1960s (police bands and the like), the singers and players on the Ethiopiques series of reissues were in a funky bind. They had pledged some allegiance to Emperor Haile Selassie I and his imperial declarations, but their muses picked up distant signals from North America, including jazz's horn charts, funk's on-the-one rhythms, and an overriding sense of urgency in music made by youth. Here's volume 8 of the Ethiopiques series, testimony in 70-plus minutes to the winning power of the youth culture's music. With the series' most unabashed nod to James Brown in Alèmayèhu Eshèté's six tracks, volume 8 goes further than its predecessors in documenting a jazzy, soulful, electric-keyboard-fueled scene that simply ignores conventional musical borders. Eshèté's vocals bark and then soar over the webbed rhythms with all the force of Brown's--and an additionally rich range of guitars and keyboards that race around and through each other like polyrhythmic drums. What volume 8 shows is that the impact of soul, jazz, and funk (try Lèmma Dèmissew on for size) provided so much quiltwork to be syncopated together in these hip, danceable tunes. Listening to Samuel Bèlay's band kick the horns over an artfully hanging-back rhythmic tide, it's hard to imagine that a musical culture this rich could be stymied by the late 1970s--just a few years after Selassie's regime was crushed. --Andrew Bartlett

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Average customer rating: The Definitive Ethiopiques Volume way up with my favorite cd's totally surprising

Ethiopiques, Vol. 8: Swinging Addis Swinging Addis Manufacturer: Buda Musique ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Ethiopia | Africa | International | Styles | Music General | Africa | International | Styles | Music General | International | Styles | Music General | New Age | Styles | Music General | International | Indie Music | Stores | Music International | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: Ethiopiques, Vol. 4: Ethio Jazz & Musique Instrumentale, 1969-1974 Ethiopiques, Vol. 1: Golden Years Of Modern Ethiopian Music Ethiopiques, Vol. 3: Golden Years Of Modern Ethiopian Music Ethiopiques, Vol. 13: Ethiopian Groove Ethiopiques, Vol. 7: Ere Mela Mela ASIN: B00004WKDC Release Date: 2000-10-03

Tracks:

1. Who Is That Saying 'It's Me'? - Girma Beyene
2. Your Word Is Honey - Mahmoud Ahmed
3. My Worry - Ayalew Mesfin
4. I Get By On My Own - Alemayehu Eshete
5. Alone And Unhappy - Alemayehu Eshete
6. I'm Going Nuts - Bahta Gebre-Heywet
7. Time - Bahta Gebre-Heywet
8. Unforgettable - Lemma Demissew
9. I Lost Your Address - Lemma Demissew
10. Live Forever - Lemma Demissew
11. Yetesfa Tezeta - Tesfa-Maryam Kidane
12. Stop Flirting - Samuel Belay
13. You Are No More - Samuel Belay
14. I Don't Trust Girls Anymore - Girma Beyene
15. I Give Up - Girma Beyene
16. You Are Flawless - Girma Beyene
17. Alone And Melancholy - Getatchew Kassa
18. The Earth Longs For You - Alemayehu Eshete
19. Be Brave, Hang On - Alemayehu Eshete
20. Boundless Worship - Alemayehu Eshete
21. Honey Baby - Alemayehu Eshete

Amazon.com

With ties--most of them clearly nonbinding--to the sanctioned musical institutions of Ethiopia in the 1960s (police bands and the like), the singers and players on the Ethiopiques series of reissues were in a funky bind. They had pledged some allegiance to Emperor Haile Selassie I and his imperial declarations, but their muses picked up distant signals from North America, including jazz's horn charts, funk's on-the-one rhythms, and an overriding sense of urgency in music made by youth. Here's volume 8 of the Ethiopiques series, testimony in 70-plus minutes to the winning power of the youth culture's music. With the series' most unabashed nod to James Brown in Alèmayèhu Eshèté's six tracks, volume 8 goes further than its predecessors in documenting a jazzy, soulful, electric-keyboard-fueled scene that simply ignores conventional musical borders. Eshèté's vocals bark and then soar over the webbed rhythms with all the force of Brown's--and an additionally rich range of guitars and keyboards that race around and through each other like polyrhythmic drums. What volume 8 shows is that the impact of soul, jazz, and funk (try Lèmma Dèmissew on for size) provided so much quiltwork to be syncopated together in these hip, danceable tunes. Listening to Samuel Bèlay's band kick the horns over an artfully hanging-back rhythmic tide, it's hard to imagine that a musical culture this rich could be stymied by the late 1970s--just a few years after Selassie's regime was crushed. --Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews:

The Definitive Ethiopiques Volume.......2007-05-10

The Ethiopiques series is an amazing series of re-issues of Ethiopian nightclub music from the 60's and 70's.
Something special was going on in Addis Ababa, in the swinging 60's and 70's. Ethiopian musicians were mixing American Soul, Funk, Jazz, R 'n B, and their own Ethiopian musicianship into a unique creation. The music is somehow familiar and exotic at the same time, most of the music features (at least to western ears) atypical, time signatures, scales, horn arrangements, and vocalizations. But the music is still swinging soul and funk ala, The Meters, James Brown, and Herbie Hancock. If you have any preconceived notions of "World" and "African" music, this CD will definitely challenge those ideas.
I would wholeheartedly recommend this as a starting point to anyone who's been curious about this series; it will blow you away and open your mind!

way up with my favorite cd's.......2002-11-06

I brought this record to a friend I was staying with out of town--he had a party that night and played it three times in a row. The whole Ethiopiques series rocks & this one with the combination of the Ethiopian pop thing and white-boots go-go grooves is just about pure pleasure.

totally surprising.......2001-04-01

The most immediate effect of listening to this CD for the first time is surprise. The rhythms on all songs are not traditionally Ethiopian, but closer to American R&B from the 50's and 60's. Even a traditional singer like Ayalew Mesfin joins with a funky song. Girma Beyene is a complete original, borrowing very little from his own roots. Lemma Demissaw sound best to my ears. I feel he is very comfortable with the American R&B and sounds real "cool". His songs are the high point of the CD. All songs by Alemayehu Eshete display his R&B style - very successfully. This is not authentic Ethiopian Music, but it is good Ethiopian music and I recommand it to lovers of this genre.

Average customer rating:

Ethiopiques, Vol. 8: Swinging Addis Various Artists Manufacturer: Budha ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Africa | International | Styles | Music General | International | Styles | Music General | New Age | Styles | Music International | Imports | Stores | Music ASIN: B00004T253 Release Date: 2000-04-23

Tracks:

1. Who Is That Saying 'It's Me'? - Girma Beyene
2. Your Word Is Honey - Mahmoud Ahmed
3. My Worry - Ayalew Mesfin
4. I Get By On My Own - Alemayehu Eshete
5. Alone And Unhappy - Alemayehu Eshete
6. I'm Going Nuts - Bahta Gebre-Heywet
7. Time - Bahta Gebre-Heywet
8. Unforgettable - Lemma Demissew
9. I Lost Your Address - Lemma Demissew
10. Live Forever - Lemma Demissew
11. Yetesfa Tezeta - Tesfa-Maryam Kidane
12. Stop Flirting - Samuel Belay
13. You Are No More - Samuel Belay
14. I Don't Trust Girls Anymore - Girma Beyene
15. I Give Up - Girma Beyene
16. You Are Flawless - Girma Beyene
17. Alone And Melancholy - Getatchew Kassa
18. The Earth Longs For You - Alemayehu Eshete
19. Be Brave, Hang On - Alemayehu Eshete
20. Boundless Worship - Alemayehu Eshete
21. Honey Baby - Alemayehu Eshete

Album Description

bin 15784. New second single from 'Orblivion'. Pt.2 featuresfour mixes of 'Asylum': 7' Edit, Kris & Dave's You Are Evil(But I Like You) Mix, Thomas Fehlmann's Mix and The SoulCatcher's Mix. Comes in a brilliant box with space for Pt.1.

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7. Je Chanterai pour Toi
8. Je Te Dis Vous [Import]
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10. La Voix D'alabina [Import]

Rock Music

rock music

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