Ethiopiques vol. 25 - 1971 - 1975 - Modern roots

Released : 2009  |   Label : Buda musique  |   Length : 1h16' 49''

Genres :  Afropop | Funk . Disco | Afro-oriental

By focusing on borrowings from the Amhara or Oromo traditions, this compilation features an essentially acoustic line-up. All of these pieces reflect attempts at the time to respectfully "modernise" Ethiopian musical traditions.

Ethiopiques vol. 24 - Golden years of modern Ethiopian music - 1969 - 1975

Released : 2009  |   Label : Buda musique  |   Length : 1h12' 07''

Genres :  Afropop | Funk . Disco | Afro-oriental

Featuring Sèyfou Yohannes, who, sadly, left us very few recordings because he died in the early 1970s, never reaching the age of 30, Seyoum Gèbrèyès, one of the truly great Ethiopian saxophonists of Swinging Addis, Ayaléw Mèsfin, whose unique, angry, high-velocity style could almost be described as proto-punk, ...

Ethiopiques Vol.18: Asguèbba!

Released : 2004  |   Label : Buda musique  |   Length : 1h07' 57''

Genres :  Traditional music | Afro-oriental

Asguèbba! is an invitation to dance in the cabarets of Addis Ababa by the modern Azmari, the minstrels who travel Ethiopia and sing lyrics with sexual innuendos and political commentary. The vocals are accompanied by such intsruments as the messengo (one-stringed fiddle), the krar (traditional lyre), or the kebero (drum).
Asguèbba is a continuation of the goal to cover the contemporany Addis Ababa scene started  in Tètchawèt (Volume 2) .
Volume 18 of the Ethiopiques series, released in 2004 on Buda Musique.

Ethiopiques Vol.15: Jump to Addis : Europe meets Ethiopia

Released : 2003  |   Label : Buda musique  |   Length : 1h03' 43''

Genres :  Ethio-Jazz | Afro-oriental

Instruments :  Horns | Saxophone | Jazz band

A surprising collaboration of musicians from Ethiopia, France, and the Netherlands, an Germany, Jump To Addis brings us a pleasant mix of traditional abyssinian music, jazz, and rock.
Released in 2001 on Buda Music as part of the Ethiopiques collection.

Ethiopiques Vol.13: Ethiopian Groove

Released : 2002  |   Label : Buda musique  |   Length : 1h07' 44''

Genres :  Rhythm n' Blues . Soul | Ethio-Jazz | Afro-oriental

Instruments :  Rock band | Horns

This selection pays tribute to the heyday of Ethiopian music and reproduces the final salvos of musical fireworks before they were brutally extinguished by the dictatorship. These recordings were made with a minimum of technical equipment (two microphones and a two track recorder). There was no studio but instead they usually recorded at clubs like Hotel d'Afrique where the dinner bands performed in the early evenings (because of the curfew).

Ethiopiques Vol.12: Kirba afaa Xonso - Konso Music and Songs

Released : 2001  |   Label : Buda musique  |   Length : 1h09' 50''

Genres :  Traditional music | Afro-oriental

Instruments :  Kihayta (lyre) | Hiibhaara / Maayra (panpipes) | Luuttota (bamboo flute)

This volume of Ethiopiques presents Konso Music. Music plays an essential role in Konso society because it provides the very elements of identity and unity which underlie the society. The songs take their names from each of the activities that make up the peasant's daily life. A more sacred category of song is performed during rituals which accompagny ceremonies ranging from those linked to the cycle of life (birth, initiations, mariage, death) to social activities (the most important of these being the celebration of Xelta).
Released in 2001 on Buda Musique.

Ethiopiques Vol.10: Tezeta - Ethiopian Blues and Ballads

Released : 2001  |   Label : Buda musique  |   Length : 1h14' 36''

Genres :  Rhythm n' Blues . Soul | Ethio-Jazz | Afro-oriental

Instruments :  Rock band | Horns

"Tezeta," meaning memory or nostaliga, is Ethiopia's majestic hymn to the blues. The tenth volume of Ethiopiques presents 13 songs in this genre.

Ethiopiques Vol.08: Swinging Addis

Released : 2000  |   Label : Buda musique  |   Length : 1h14' 19''

Genres :  Rhythm n' Blues . Soul | Ethio-Jazz | Funk . Disco |
Afro-oriental

Instruments :  Rock band | Horns

In the 60's there was a Swinging Addis just as there was a swinging London. In Ethiopia as in Europe or the United States, the first generation born after the war made thier noisy, colorfull breakthrough onto the scene. It was a veritable cultural revolution rather than a simple generational conflict, with music as its detonator and its common denominator. This volume of Ethiopiques aims to collect the clearest examples of soul, R'n'B, and even twist in this album of Ethiopian music in the sixties.
 

Ethiopiques Vol.05: Tigrigna music 1970-1975

Released : 1999  |   Label : Buda musique  |   Length : 1h14' 09''

Genres :  Ethio-Jazz | Afro-oriental

The fifth volume from the Ethiopiques series is dedicated to the music of Tigray and Eritrea. Most people in these territories speak the same language, Tigrigna.  Tigrigna music is of course sung in the Tigrigna language (completely different from Ethiopian) but also differs from traditional Ethiopian music in that it uses disctinctive rhythms. We may speak of Ethiopian music, but in fact this is a catchword for many very different musical styles.
Released in 1999 on Buda Musique.

Ethiopiques Vol.03:L'age d'or de la musique éthiopienne moderne - Golden Years of Modern Ethiopian Music - 1969-1975

Released : 1998  |   Label : Buda musique  |   Length : 1h08' 18''

Genres :  Rhythm n' Blues . Soul | Ethio-Jazz | Afro-oriental

Instruments :  Rock band | Horns

Until the fall of Haile Sellassie, all Ethiopian star vocalists came from institutional orchestras. After starting out with Agher Feqer Mahber, Tlahoun Gèssèssè spent his entire career with the imperial Body Guard Band; the same for Bzunesh Bèqèlè, the "first lady" of Ethiopian song, or for Mahmoud Ahmed, Tèfèra Kassa, Essatu Tessemma and many others. This third release of the Ethiopiques series spots the essential role of these government-sanctioned orchestras.
Released in 1998 on Buda Musique.

Ethiopiques Vol.02: Tetchawet - Urban Azmaris of 90's

Released : 1998  |   Label : Buda musique  |   Length : 1h11' 12''

Genres :  Traditional music | Afro-oriental

Azmari, the vagabond minstrels who traditionally roamed old Abyssinia, have settled down since the founding of the capital Addis Ababa just over a century ago. The clever ones quickly understood that they should set up their own businesses and take a cut on drinks instead of getting by on  random tips while playing from one bar to the next. These azmari eventually took over the city by making a new style of music unique to Addis, Bolel, a mix of traditional azmari music (singing praise or sarcasm on demand, depending on the size of the tip) and of modern urban culture. Tètchawèt comes straight out of a musical postcard of Addis Ababa in the 90s, and does not claim to represent all the styles of music existing there today. And the artists do not necessarily come from the same family of azmaris either.
Released in 1998 on Buda Musique as part of the Ethiopiques collection (Volume 2).

Ethiopiques Vol.01: L'âge d'or de la musique éthiopienne moderne - Golden years of modern Ethiopian Music 1969-1975

Released : 1998  |   Label : Buda musique  |   Length : 1h10' 05''

Genres :  Rhythm n' Blues . Soul | Ethio-Jazz | Afro-oriental

Instruments :  Rock band | Horns

Released in 1998 on Buda Musique.