Aster Aweke - Segno

Occasionally something unexpected completely blows you away. Most recently for me, it's the ecstatically shapeshifting horn-led introduction of Aster Aweke's 'Segno'. The following four and a half minutes have much to live up to, but manage to expand into a warm East-meets-West-hybrid groove. Aweke's vocals and the track's rhythmic hyperactivity are characteristic of Ethiopian music, but the production and instrumentation - electric piano, saxophone - are distinctive of glossy 80s synth-pop.

Label: Columbia
Year: 1989
Genre: African Folk, Synth-Pop, Afro-Pop