Browse by Label: L'AROME PRODUCTION (FRANCE)

Artist:	ASTATKE (FEAT. FEKADE AMDE MASKAL), MULATU
Title:	Ethio Jazz
Label:	L'AROME PRODUCTION (FRANCE)
Format:	LP
Price:	$16.00
Catalog #:	LAP 005LP

2002 release, restocked. "The Ethio Jazz album by Mulatu Astatqé is a jewel of the modern Ethiopian music and a mythical album, since the beginning of Ethiopian music reissues (mainly on Buda Musique). An incredibly groovy Ethiopian record, originally from 1969-1972. Amazing orchestral 'Ethio-groove' filled with US soul, jazz, sometimes Latin and the deepest Eastern rhythms, even including some great nasty and dirty fuzz guitars. A true gem of Ethiopian modern instrumental music, which illustrates perfectly this symbiosis of strong rhythms and quality arrangements of subtle yet deep Ethiopian melodies. A must for all '60s/'70s collectors! In the Ethiopian musical landscape, Mulatu Astatke is a unique musician, composer, arranger. His real contribution consists in his action for instrumental music, in a country where orchestral traditions doesn't exist. For the last 30 years, he is the leading head of the Ethiopian musical scene. First vinyl reissue and definitely one of the most important Ethiopian music albums."

Artist:	VA
Title:	Ethiopian Modern Instrumentals Hits
Label:	L'AROME PRODUCTION (FRANCE)
Format:	LP
Price:	$16.00
Catalog #:	LAP 006LP

2003 release. "Ethiopians' deep-seated ethiocentrism, the legacy of a thousand years of history, has contributed in no small way to their music's strong national identity, particularly impervious to any African influences. Latin influences, so pervasive in the great musical centers of West Africa and the Congo, have been similarly rebuffed, despite the brilliant attempts of a musician like Mulatu Astatke. He was the first and for a long time the only Ethiopian to have studied music abroad (England and USA). In the late '60s, he brought back 'ethio-jazz', as well as a passion for Latin rhythms that was not readily shared by the Ethiopian audience. As early as 1966, he released a single and two LPs in the US entitled Afro-Latin Soul (and a third LP, Mulatu of Ethiopia in 1972), with his Ethiopian Quintet composed of American and Latin-American musicians (Worthy Records). That was three years before Fela's first American tour and six years prior to Manu Dibango's key breakthrough with the release of Soul Makossa in the Western 'pre-World music' market. All this goes to show how much the history of the African continent's musical modernity should be reconsidered in light of the Ethiopian adventure, even though this lone spark bore little relation, musically or ideologically to the musical revolutions initiated most notably by Ghanian highlife, South African jazz, Congolese rumba or, much later on, by Fela."

Artist:	AHMED, MAHMOUD
Title:	Erè Mèla Mèla
Label:	L'AROME PRODUCTION (FRANCE)
Format:	LP
Price:	$16.00
Catalog #:	LAP 007LP

2003 release, restocked. "The re-release series of original Ethiopian classic vinyl continues -- the finest Ethio jazz by Mahmoud Ahmed and his band from 1975 plus two tracks from 1978. The liner notes: 'Melancholy blues, piercingly minimalist country airs, brassy, danceable urban jazz, heart-wrenching, off-key crooners: a rich and stirring patchwork of sounds, crossing Afro-beat, Latino-swing moves and Eastern arabesques (Anaïs Prosaïc).' Such were the first -- informed and enthusiastic -- opinions of the music press when the first strains of modern Ethiopian music sounded on our shores. This was in 1984-1985. Such a positive note, struck about such a country at such a time, created plenty of reverb. The country had been so thoroughly trashed by the media's feeding-frenzy, which spewed out a mix of horror and pious pity, bitter denunciation and humanitarian appeals, wallet-tickling clichés and refusal of identity. In one brutal swoop, TV-reality transformed Ethiopia into a cursed nation, forsaken by God and by man. In contrast to these tragedies, but in the same hackneyed tones, Mahmoud Ahmed's life resembles an edifying fairy-tale where destiny, talent and achievement combine to triumph over poverty, fate and the evil eye. Biography, history and legend, with the help of God, infallibly weave the lesson of merit rewarded. But who can argue, in spite of the mockery that celebrities invariably draw, when faced with one of the greatest voices in all of Africa? Once upon a time, there was a street urchin in Addis Ababa, who started off as a shoe-shine boy and went on to become one of his country's biggest stars, opening the door to Ethiopian music to Western audiences." --Francis Falceto

Artist:	VA
Title:	Ethiopian Urban Modern Music Vol. 1
Label:	L'AROME PRODUCTION (FRANCE)
Format:	LP
Price:	$16.00
Catalog #:	LAP 009LP

...Ethiopian Soul and Groove. 2008 release, repressed. "Urban Ethiopian music stands out within the African continent thanks to its creativity and originality. Whatever the shade -- pop, blues, jazz or soul -- it comes from a fusion of local musical traditions mixed with an echo of Western music. It bewitched Ethiopia during the 'Swinging Addis' decade before recently winning the favors of a well-informed audience all over the world. This first vinyl volume of Ethiopian Urban Modern Music presents some of the Ethiopian 'groove jewels' drawn from the essential CD Ethiopiques series directed by Francis Falceto and published by Buda music."

Artist:	VA
Title:	Ethiopian Urban Modern Music Vol. 3
Label:	L'AROME PRODUCTION (FRANCE)
Format:	LP
Price:	$16.00
Catalog #:	LAP 011LP

..More Ethiopian Soul And Groove 2009 release, repressed. "A few years ago the world discovered a unique sound coming from the distant Ethiopian capital Addis Abeba. The emotional blow was only matched by the brightness of this original and magnificent discovery. The Ethiopiques series directed by Francis Falcetto and edited by Buda Musique provides a comprehensive landscape of this subtle musical universe where local and western cultures do magnify each other. This new Ethiopian Urban Modern Music release follows the first Soul & Groove installment and keeps revealing some essential parts of the modern Ethiopian puzzle. An unequalled soul funk signature until today."

Artist:	AKALE WUBE
Title:	Akale Wube
Label:	L'AROME PRODUCTION (FRANCE)
Format:	LP
Price:	$16.00
Catalog #:	LAP 013LP

"Ethiopian grooves Akale Wube transforms an Ethiopian sound into a retro-futuristic soundtrack which makes you dance from head to toe. It is an improbable story: one that reunites a group of young Parisians with the Swingin' Addis sounds of the seventies. In October 2008, five musicians got together on a wild project: to delve into the repertoire of the Ethiopian golden age, as defined by the producer Francis Falceto, to whom we owe the series of reissues 'Ethiopiques.' 'The idea was to transcribe songs from this period and rearrange them to the sound of our times. First off, it eliminated the need to write songs that risked falling into Ethio-jazz cliches. The aim was not to bring about some artistic revolution through our work but simply to give and take pleasure by performing this music!' Through this retro-futuristic alchemy, the Akale Wube quintet was born: a curious name borrowed from a song by the great saxophonist Getatchew Mekurya, a bit of an old-fashioned expression which can by translated as 'my beautiful' in Amharic, a poetic metaphor which also means 'beauty of the soul.' Body and soul! The Great Black Music currency can be found here, reinvented at every second. Take for example Mulatu Astatqe's classics, the master of Ethio-jazz, songs like 'Metche New' by Teshome Sissay, or even some other lesser known rarities...Akale Wube delivers an original vision which transfigures the original version. 'One of the challenges was to play the songs without a singer.' The vocal parts are thus interpreted by the flute, starting with the bansuri on Ayalqem Tedengo: the opening tune by Alemayehu Eshete, the godfather of local funk, which uncorks the album. The group takes on another challenge by glorifying a song from the Eritrean repertoire called 'Bazay'. It couples swing and straight eighths to develop a dance-floor tune full of breaks and counterpoint. Finally, the ultimate challenge was to integrate four of their original compositions into this journey, guided by the good sense of groove. 'Nebyat', a juicy ballad stained with psychedelic jazz, evolves through a post-rock direction, while 'Jawa Jawa' (meaning 'to sway, to swing' in Amharic) is a prototype of funk soul jazz breakbeats, agile percussion and subtle keyboards, brass playing in unison and a guitar riff in the tradition of The Meters. 'Kokob' is based on a slightly broken up reggae riddim. This track contains a sample of Haile Selassie's historic speech at the United Nations in 1963, the same one used by Bob Marley in his emblematic 'War'. Last but not least, the minimalistic 'Ragale': some light melodica touches, brushes barely grazed by the drummer and the deep blow of the tenor sax close this chapter by opening some new horizons."

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Artist:	ESHETE, ALEMAYEHU
Title:	Ethiopian Urban Modern Music Vol. 2
Label:	L'AROME PRODUCTION (FRANCE)
Format:	LP
Price:	$16.00
Catalog #:	LAP 010LP

Artist:	GESSESSE, TLAHOUN
Title:	Ethiopian Urban Modern Music Vol. 4
Label:	L'AROME PRODUCTION (FRANCE)
Format:	LP
Price:	$16.00
Catalog #:	LAP 012LP

Artist:	MEKURYA, GETATCHEW
Title:	Ethiopian Urban Modern Music Vol. 5
Label:	L'AROME PRODUCTION (FRANCE)
Format:	LP
Price:	$16.00
Catalog #:	LAP 014LP