Ethiopian music is a term that can mean any music of Ethiopian origin,however,often it is applied to a genre,a distinct modal system that is pentatonic,with characteristically long intervals between some notes.
Éthiopiques is a series of compact discs featuring Ethiopian singers and musicians. Many of the CDs compile songs from various singles and albums that Amha Records,Kaifa Records and Philips-Ethiopia released during the 1960s and 1970s in Ethiopia. Prominent singers and musicians from this era appearing on Éthiopiques releases include Alemayehu Eshete,Asnaketch Worku,Mahmoud Ahmed,Mulatu Astatke and Tilahun Gessesse. However,some other releases contain new recordings.
Mulatu Astatke is an Ethiopian musician and arranger considered as the father of "Ethio-jazz".
Mahmoud Ahmed is an Ethiopian singer. He gained great popularity in Ethiopia in the 1970s and among the Ethiopian diaspora in the 1980s,before rising to international fame with African music fans in Europe and the Americas.
Abatte Barihun is an Israeli jazz saxophonist and composer. His sound is reminiscent of John Coltrane's,who has highly influenced Barihun.
Getatchew Mekurya was an Ethiopian jazz saxophonist.
Search Engine was a weekly Canadian radio show that aired on CBC Radio One,then as a dedicated podcast distributed by the CBC and finally by TVOntario. It was hosted by Jesse Brown,who also co-produced the show with Geoff Siskind and Andrew Parker. Cory Doctorow,novelist and editor of Boing Boing,was also a regular contributor. The program explored the effects of the Internet on politics and culture. The show has focused on stories involving copyright,video games,and China,as well as the social impact and technology surrounding them.
Moa Anbessa is an album by Ethiopian saxophonist Getatchew Mekuria with Dutch post-punk band The Ex and guests,released in 2006 on The Ex's subsidiary label Terp.
Buda Musique is a French record label specializing in world music. It was founded in 1987 by Gilles Fruchaux and Dominique Buscall. After Buscall died in 1990,Fruchaux became the sole owner. The label is especially known for its Éthiopiques series.
Walias Band were an Ethiopian jazz and funk band active from the early 1970s until the early 1990s. Formed by members of the Venus Band,Walias backed up many prominent singers with a hard polyrhythmic funk sound influenced by western artists like King Curtis,Junior Walker and Maceo Parker. In 1977 they recorded one of the few albums of Ethiopian instrumental music in collaboration with vibraphonist Mulatu Astatke,whose role as a bandleader and composer was also a major influence on Ethiopian popular music.
Hailu Mergia is an Ethiopian keyboardist,accordionist,composer,and arranger now based in Washington D.C.,United States. He is known for his role in the Walias Band in the 1970s,one of the most significant groups in Ethiopia’s "golden age" of music.
Enormous Door is an album by Dutch post-punk band The Ex and Brass Unbound,a quartet of horn players hailing from four different countries. The album was released in 2013 on The Ex's own label,comprising reworked versions of previously released songs and alongside entirely new material.
Taddesse Tamrat was an Ethiopian historian and scholar of Ethiopian studies. He is best known as the author of Church and State in Ethiopia 1270–1520,a book which has dominated the field of Ethiopian studies.
The Ex are a Dutch music group from Amsterdam founded in 1979. In their four decades as a band,they have moved from playing anarcho punk to post punk,jazz,folk and African music. They have collaborated on records with fellow indie musicians Chumbawamba,Dog Faced Hermans,Tortoise and Sonic Youth,improvisers like Tom Cora and the Instant Composers Pool,and toured with African musicians Konono Nº1 and Getatchew Mekurya.
Fendika is an Ethiopian music group based in Addis Ababa. Led by dancer/choreographer Melaku Belay,they operate a venue,tour,record,and perform under the name Fendika.
Debo Band are a Boston-based Ethiopian music band led by saxophonist Danny Mekonnen and fronted by vocalist Bruck Tesfaye. Ranging from 10–12 members playing horns,guitars,violins,percussion,and accordion,their sound incorporates Ethiojazz,folk,and pop styles from the Horn of Africa infused with tinges of motifs from Eastern Europe and Asia,as well as punk,experimental,and psychedelic rock. Rolling Stone described Debo's sound as,"guitar solos,massed vocals,violin and brass [that] rush in like a Red Bulled marching band...Dance at your own risk."
27 passports is a 2018 album by the Dutch band The Ex. It is the group's first studio album in five years since Enormous Door,their 2013 collaboration with Brass Unbound,and The Ex's first album of all new material since 2010's Catch My Shoe.
Brodie West is a Canadian alto saxophonist who has worked with The Ex,Getatchew Mekuria,Sandro Perri,Lina Allemano,Hamid Drake and Gord Downie.
Menelik Wossenachew was an Ethiopian singer who was known for his famous singles "Fikir Ayarejim","Sukar Sukar" "Teyaqiyew Biaschegregn " and later "Gash Jembere".
The Ethiopian Golden Age of Music was an era of Ethiopian music that began around the 1960s to 1970s,until the Derg regime progressively diminished its presence through politically motivated persecutions and retributions against musicians and companies,which left many to self-imposed exile to North America and Europe. Several artists and musical companies,as well as recording groups,emerged to produce their own singles and albums;the first being Amha Records,and Philips Records,Ethiopia Records and Kaifa Records,which is primarily based in Addis Ababa.
