#4922, Music from Northeast Africa
Hear blend(s) of music rooted in Northeast Africa by Ethiojazz pioneer Mulatu Astatke with Hoodna Orchestra, London-based Somali-rooted Dur Dur Band, and Somaliland musician and singer Sahra Halgan.
Listen to music by Sahra Halgan of Somaliland (a territory to the north of Somalia, close to Djibouti.) The vocalist, former refugee, and music venue owner (Hiddo Dhowr), has since relocated to Somaliland and made it her mission to promote Somaliland’s culture, language, music, and traditions. Hear music from the Sahra Halgan record Waa Dardaaran. Then, there’s music from the eight-piece London-based band Dur-Dur Band Int. who have roots in Somalia from decades ago before the civil war, when there was a thriving pop music scene centered in the capital of Mogadishu. Many of the musicians have been living in exile in Europe and met up in Berlin to record a new album of music together. Hear legendary Somali singer Xabiib Sharaabi, together with Dur-Dur Band Int. in a song, “Hasha Geel,” also shows the influence of the Ethiopian pop of the early 70s.
Hear music that come from “Golden Age” of Ethiopian pop, where the remarkable combination of James Brown funk, 60s psychedelia, Indonesian scales, Hindi film scores, and European marching bands created the sounds of "Swinging Addis" in the early 1970s. Then, hear the wide reach of this style on the rest of the world, in new music from Hoodna Orchestra in collaboration with the “father of Ethio-jazz,” Mulatu Astatke on vibraphone. Listen also to Afro-soul/jazz with groove by L.A.-based Dexter Story, whose music borrows from Ethiopian pop of the 1960’s and 70’s, as well as other East African music. Sample tunes from Dexter Story’s record, “Wondem” (means “brother”), featuring Yared Teshale, who sings in the Amharic language. Plus, music by Sudanese artist and tambo-guitarist, Noori & His Dorpa Band, who celebrate the music and culture of the Beja people, where the music has “connections to Eritrean Tigray, Sudanese Shaigiya, or even slight, coincidental hints of guitar music from Agadez, Niger”, (Rootsworld.com.) That, and more. - Caryn Havlik
Program #4922, Music from Northeast Africa (First aired 9/12/2024)
ARTIST: Mahmoud Ahmed
WORK: Abbay Mado [1:00]
RECORDING: Ethiopiques, Vol. 7: Erè mèla mèla 1975-1978
SOURCE: Crammed, Cram 047 (1987), reissued as Ethiopiques, Vol. 7: Eré Méla Méla on Buda Musique
INFO: https://www.budamusique.com
ARTIST: Mulatu Astatke & Hoodna Orchestra
WORK: Tension [4:58]
RECORDING: Tension
SOURCE: Batov Records, due out Nov. 8
INFO: https://mulatuastatke.bandcamp.com/album/tension
ARTIST: Noori & His Dorpa Band
WORK: Qwal [6:21]
RECORDING: Beja Power! Electric Soul & Brass from Sudan's Red Sea
SOURCE: OSTINATO
INFO: ostinatorecords.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Dexter Story
WORK: Sidet Eskemeche ft Yared Teshale [2:45]
RECORDING: Wondem
SOURCE: Soundway Records
INFO: https://soundwayrecords.com
ARTIST: Mahmoud Ahmed
WORK: Abbay Mado [3:18]
RECORDING: Ethiopiques, Vol. 7: Erè mèla mèla 1975-1978
SOURCE: Crammed, Cram 047 (1987), reissued as Ethiopiques, Vol. 7: Eré Méla Méla on Buda Musique
INFO: https://www.budamusique.com
ARTIST: Dur-Dur Band Int.
WORK: Hasha Geel [6:02]
RECORDING: The Berlin Session
SOURCE: OUT HERE RECORDS
INFO: dur-durbandint.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Maryam Mursal
WORK: Kufilaw [4:50]
RECORDING: Real World 25
SOURCE: Real World Records - #CDRW 203 (3 CD Set)
INFO: realworldrecords.com
ARTIST: Sahra Halgan Trio
WORK: Kiidhaba [3:16]
RECORDING: Waa Dardaaran
SOURCE: Buda Musique
INFO: sahrahalgantrio.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Alamayehu Eshete
WORK: Yeweyn Haregitu [3:23]
RECORDING: Ethiopiques 9
SOURCE: Buda Musique
INFO: https://www.budamusique.com
ARTIST: Minyeshu
WORK: Ethio yo yo Pia [3:23]
RECORDING: Netsa
SOURCE: ARC Music
INFO: https://naxos.lnk.to/NetsaEL
