Rough Guide to the Music of Ethiopia
While bleak television images of starving people mar the reputation of Ethiopia, the reality is that Ethiopian civilization reaches back 3000 years to King Solomon and Queen Sheba. In modern times, the country and its capitol, "swingin'" Addis Ababa, was a symbol of Westernized cultural enlightenment in Africa. It all came crashing down in 1974 when a Stalinist military dictatorship took control of the country. Compiled by Francis Falceto, who also put together the fantastic Ethiopiques series, these 15 tracks are culled from that collection and other single-artist releases to present a broad array of Ethiopian music, much of it recorded before 1974. Here, we go from the funky grooves of Wallias Band to the smooth jazz style of Mogès Habtè to the warm balladry of Girma Bèyenè to the Latin flavor of Fanayé Tesfayé to traditional Ethiopian music. A great place for the inquisitive to begin, this is an exceptional overview of a scene only recently remembered. --Tad Hendrickson