Alem Kebede - Shemma Tal

I picked up this CD (Akelaletew) in the small and charming Kukulu Market in Edgewater, Chicago last week. The shop had about a dozen different albums stocked under the counter in a glass cabinet, and the shopkeeper guided me through the various titles. He explained to me that younger generations don't have much interest in oldies music and so was pleased and a little surprised when I pointed out the Alemayehu Eshete CD that I wanted to add to my basket. For balance I also bought a Ketema Mekonnen album (traditional music performed on krar) and the Alem Kebede album (a new release by a younger artist) featured here. This song, Shemma Tal, is the album's opener. It kicks off with a synth ostinato that pops up throughout the track and buries itself in the memory of the listener. Synthesised horns weave in and out of Kebede's vocals, themselves treated with a panned delay that makes the melody all the more mind-bending.

Label: Nahom
Year: 2015
Genre: Ethiopian pop

Souleymane Faye - Teylulen

Souleymane Faye is a Senegalese musician, formerly of the internationally successful group Xalam (named after the west African stringed instrument). Xalam actually supported Crosby, Stills & Nash on a European tour... Faye's solo music seems to be a little more low-key. This tune reminds me of something Neway Debebe may have sung. While the whole song is great, I do find myself getting stuck and repeating the 0:19 mark - the initial vocal wail is one of the most stunning intonations I've heard in a long while.

Label: Talla Diagne
Year: 1991
Genre: Pop

Aron Abraham - Amani'do Yetselem

On this blog I have documented a passion for Ethiopian pop music, from the early warbling horn-led music of Selomon Shibeshi to the glossy breakneck r&b of Aster Aweke. Every Ethiopian artist I have featured here offers something different, while remaining distinctly Ethiopian. My search for more amazing music like this expanded first to Somalia (try funk group Iftin for example) and, most recently, to Eritrea. The finest result of my quest so far has been Aron Abraham, a man who now appears to live in Europe but still remains strongly patriotic to his birth nation. The song posted above, Amani'do Yetselem, is from his record of the same name. There are synthetic brass sounds, offbeat key-stabs and interplay between Abraham's voice and the song's various duelling lead instruments.

Label: n/a
Year: 2002
Genre: Jazz, r&b, Eritrean pop

F. Kenya - Dadi Kyi

F. Kenya is (or was) Francis Kenya, a Ghanaian goldsmith who is often considered one of the country's finest highlife guitarists. It was not just this that decorates his legacy, though: he was a huge success across the border in Côte d’Ivoire, in part due to his singing in his native Nzema language. The Nzema people are found on both sides of the border, so this success makes a lot of sense. The song is driven by organs and Kenya's vocals, although his neat guitar licks are what really give it life!

Label: Essiebons
Year: 1975
Genre: Highlife

Mammane Sani et son Orgue - Tunan

Mammane Sani is the first musician from Niger that I've knowingly heard and is probably not the best representation of the country's sound (although who am I to say!). From what I can tell, Sani is a leading figure in the country's avant-garde, composing minimalist pieces for the organ that sound without time. His songs almost take the form of Muzak, but for the warm crackle of the recording crackle that gives the music something personal and comforting.

Label: Sahel Records (reissue)
Year: 1978, 2013 (reissue)
Genre: Electronica, Ambient

Tabu Ley Rochereau - Lina

Although soukous is a musical style that is relatively unfamiliar to me it is something I have a fondness for and have previously written about on this blog. Those earlier posts focused on Leon Bukasa and Dr Nico, two Congolese musicians with a very similar interpretation of the style. On both occasions I used the word "dreamy" to describe their music which - although casual and fairly unsophisticated - holds up as an accurate description of their sound. With Tabu Ley Rochereau, much of this remains true. His music carries that same 'dreamy' sound as Bukasa and Dr Nico, with delay-coloured guitar and beautiful soft vocals. In my summary of Bukasa's work, I mentioned the featured song's name change ('Congo/Zaire Ya Biso') - a process enforced by dictatorial rule, a part of President Mobutu's 'Zairization' of Congo. Very similarly Rochereau - born Pascal-Emmanuel Sinamoyi Tabu - adopted his well-known title as a response to Mobutu's rise to power. In fact, one of Rochereau's later albums was banned by the President, demonstrating the effect of dictatorship on the nation's music. In an unsettling political period it is somewhat peculiar that the music of Rochereau and his contemporary's is so settled; so comforting and mellow.

Label: African
Year: 1969
Genre: Soukous, Rumba, Jazz

Desalegne Welde - Kale Alegne

Over the course of Dig That Treasure!'s existence, I've played twenty-four different tracks of Ethiopian origin on my Resonance FM radio show, and featured many on this blog, too. Yet none - bar Girma Tefera Kassa's 'Man Neber Yalanci', I think - have been released post-2000. With the very limited information about this artists and songs available online I could well be wrong, but hours of researching suggests otherwise*. This track is an exception - and I have an official release date to assure me of that! Put out on Habesha Poetics, a label that specialises in East African music, this song is a lively cut of modern Ethio-Pop, in a similar vein to Neway Debebe's more recent works and those of the aforementioned Girma Tefera Kassa. It retains elements of traditional Ethiopian music whilst introducing synthetic handclaps and what sounds like subtle autotune.

Label: Habesha Poetics
Year: 2012
Genre: Ethio-Pop, Synth-Pop

(* if I do happen to be wrong, let me know) 

Iftin - Gabar ii Noqee

Having focused on Ethiopia's rich musical history for so long, I decided to explore the music of its neighbouring countries. An obvious step was Somalia, whose musical aesthetic may be mistaken for that of Ethiopia's - both share the use of pentatonic scales, 'big band' set ups, and polyrhythmic grooves. However, unlike Ethiopia - the only African country to never have been colonised - Somalia was colonised for long periods of time by Britain and Italy (British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland). It is arguable as to whether this colonisation was an influence on Somalia's music, but one thing for sure is that the country's music scene makes much more of an observance to Western musics than Ethiopia's music scene does. Blues and funk seem to be two common influences on the country's musical landscape: the latter being a great drive behind Iftin's sound. Iftin were a band who dominated the Somali music scene in the 70s and 80s. I guess in a way, Iftin were much like Roha Band: they were a core of musicians that provided the backing for guest singers. Both bands shared the use of a prominent horn section, but Iftin also utilised a funk guitarist. Along with pentatonic horn lines and boggling grooves lays wobbling guitar, giving a unique edge to Iftin's music. This particular song is called Gabar ii Noqee, which translates to 'Be My Wife'.

Label: ?
Year: 197?
Genre: Somali Funk, Jazz

Selomon Shibeshi - Fikre Tetchawetchi

This track from Ethiopian jazz musician Selomon Shibeshi is dressed to kill; it is bold, slick and holds a real tight groove. Typically of Ethio-Jazz, the rhythm of the track evolves around hypnotic polyrhythms. Harmonically, obvious comparisons can be made to Gétatchèw Kassa or the 'pioneer' of Ethio-Jazz, Mulatu Astatke. Unlike those two prolific artists however, Shibeshi seems to have only released two songs - on a single that sells for all of £200+. That, or he's released a load of other records that I embarrassingly can't track down.

Label: Philips
Year: 1974
Genre: Ethio-Jazz, Funk

Girma Tefera Kassa - Man Neber Yalanci

I'm really struggling to find information about both this artist and this song. From what I can work out, Kassa's father was a musician called Tefera Kassa, and Girma has continued his father's legacy (possibly even rerecording his songs?). There's also very little information on when this was released: I've read online that it's from the 70s, but I'm wondering whether that's when his father's version was released. Although there's a good chance this was released in the last decade, I'll label it as 'treasure'... not because of its age but rather its elusiveness. Not that any of that really matters anyway: it's all about the music! This song is fabulous, a really upbeat rhythmic track with a great raspy brass section!

Label: ?
Year: ?
Genre: Ethiopian Pop

Tsegaye Eshetu - Sew Yalesew

This song from Tsegaye Eshetu is quite different to the typical Ethio-Pop I post on here. As well as having a distinct lack of horns it also lacks the fast and complicated polyrhythms that typify much of Ethiopia's pop music, opting instead for a 6/8 time signature. It's none the worse for it though; this is a great, strongly melodic track with smooth synthesisers complimented by Tsegaye Eshetu's cool vocals. It comes across almost as an Ethio 'slow jam'.

Label: ?
Year: 198?
Genre: Ethio-Pop, R&B

Kuku Sebsebe - Benafequote Newe

This song from Kuku Sebsebe takes an uncharacteristically simple approach to Ethiopian pop; but the results are none the worse for it. The smooth organ introduction leads into catchy horn hooks and, unsurprisingly, beautiful idiosyncratic Amharic vocals. All the finest Ethiopian musicians seem to be connected some way or another, so it comes as little surprise that Sebsebe has sung with the Roha Band and Alemayehu Eshete among others during her fruitful career.

Label: Electra Music Shop
Year: 1985
Genre: Ethiopian Pop

Kwamena Ray Ellis - Sasabonsam

Highlife music is usually typified by a prominence of guitars and although this song features a guitar solo, it is not that instrument which forms the basis of this song. Rather it is piano, as played by Ghanian maestro Kwamena Ray Ellis. This piece is pure sunny bliss.

Label: Agoro Records
Year: 197?
Genre: Highlife, Jazz

Mulatu Astatke - Yègellé Tezeta

Mulatu Astatke is definitely one of the most famous Ethiopian musicians. Arguably the founding father of 'Ethio-Jazz', Astatke's music has gained popularity not just in Ethiopia but also in the West, being featured in Jim Jarmusch's film Broken Flowers and sampled my multiple hip-hop musicians. This track, 'Yègellé Tezeta', is a seriously cool example of Ethio-Jazz, with one of the tightest rhythm sections I've heard in ages!

Label: Buda Musique
Year: 1969-74(?)
Genre: Ethio-Jazz

Leon Bukasa - Congo/Zaire Ya Biso

Leon Bukasa is a Congolese guitarist and singer not stylistically dissimilar to fellow countryman Dr. Nico. There's an interesting backstory to this particular song. Supposedly the song was initially just called 'Congo Ya Biso' but was later renamed 'Congo/Zaire Ya Biso' when the "archetypal African dictator" Mobutu took power and re-identified the country as Zaire. Being a particularly popular musician, Bukasa was often commissioned by Mobutu to compose songs as nationalist propaganda. Despite Mobutu's unpopularity, Bukasa remained a favourite in the - now - Democratic Republic of Congo, and this song is an example of what he does best: dreamy guitar-led soukous music.

Label: Ngoma (?)
Year: 195?
Genre: Soukous, Jazz

Neway Debebe - Maebel

Neway Debebe is another Ethiopian oldies singer in the same vein as Mahmoud Ahmed and Kennedy Mengesha. Debebe first came to public attention as a singer for the Roha Band, arguably the most influential Ethiopian band ever. This song, 'Maebel', is a joyful horn-led track, with a seriously catchy melody.

Label: n/a
Year: ?
Genre: Pop, Ethiopian Jazz

Mahmoud Ahmed - Be Leselese Qu'al

This fantastic rare track by Mahmoud Ahmed doesn't sound unlike much of the 'hypnagogic pop' of recent years - the reverberated guitar, the handclaps, the horns... of course, Ahmed came first and the influence of such Ethiopian musicians upon modern Western acts is undeniable: Ariel Pink, for example, covered Yeshimebet Dubale's 'I Remember A Man' on his 2010 track 'Reminiscences'. That being said, there's nothing more rich and authentic than the original, and what Western acts miss in particular are the beautifully distinctive vocals! Mahmoud Ahmed - and Roha Band, who appear on many Ahmed songs including this one - are icons both in Ethiopia and internationally. And understandably so.

Label: n/a
Year: 198?
Genre: Ethiopian Pop, Jazz

Dr Nico & l'African Fiesta Sukisa - Marie Nella

Dr Nico & l'African Fiesta Sukisa were a soukous band from Congo led by guitar marvel Nico Kasanda. This song, Marie Nella, is a dreamy and yearning piece, equipped with finger-picked guitars and sweetly sung vocals.

Label: African / Sonodisc
Year: 197-?
Genre: Soukous, Jazz

Hirut Bekele - Essu Lij Yene Newu

Melodically this reminds me of Kennedy Mengesha but the vocals prove otherwise! This great track by Hirut Bekele is jaunty and upbeat, with great interplay between the Amharic vocals and horn section. Not for the first time have I struggled to gain information about an Ethiopian artist - I can't find any record label, date of release or album for this song!

Label: n/a
Year: ?
Genre: Ethiopian Pop, Jazz

Kennedy Mengesha & Yeshimebet Dubale - Liyish

On my first ever Dig That Treasure radio show, I played a track by Ethiopian oldies singer Yeshimebet Dubale. Something about her distinctive vocals and choice of instrumentation really drew me to her and luckily for me, I stumbled upon her again when browsing fellow Ethiopian Kennedy Mengesha's catalogue. In this song, Mengesha's vocals perfectly compliment Dubale's, over an instrumental that is not unlike that of the latter's 'I Remember A Man'. This is a fantastic slice of Ethiopian pop, a mesmerising duet between two of the most idiosyncratic voices I've ever come across.

Label: n/a
Year: ?
Genre: Ethiopian Pop, Jazz