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BUDA 860384CD
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"For several years, Nègarit has established itself as the leading orchestra of the Ethiopian instrumental scene, choosing to perform regularly at the Fendika [ፈንድቃ Fèndeqa - exultation, exuberance], underground and popular lair, hyperactive and mutating melting pot, rather than in the conventional clubs of the nice neighborhoods - which today tend to transform into shishabét (shisha bars)... As opposed to Ethiopian pop songs, which always favor the lyrics over and above vocal or instrumental innovation, Ethiopian jazz has for the last 20 years or so received greater interest from a growing and noticeably youthful audience. These younger generations find in instrumental music, spiced up with improvisation, a pleasing compromise between openings onto other worlds and boring Ethiopian pop. The near or total absence of lyrics helps to erase linguistic differences or taboos. Pan-Ethiopian tastes and audiences, a far cry from the ethnic hierarchies of yore, whereas inter-ethnic violence is very much on the rise. It is no small paradox that the peaceable gentleman Teferi Assefa chose Nègarit as the emblem for his group. The traditional insignia of royalty and symbol of power, nègarit is the name of the drum which once called for general mobilization. It is brave souls such as Teferi Assefa and his Nègarit Band who are carrying high, today, multicultural, pan-Ethiopian claims and belonging. Pay close attention to each of the individual talents in this combo. Other experimenters are getting involved in this stirring clear-out, such as Endris Hassen, Haddis 'Haddinqo' Alemayehu, Sammy Yirga, etc. It has been half a century since the release of the album Yekatit - Ethio Jazz (Amha Records 1974, ethiopiques 4, 1998). The Nègarit band is hanging in there, and in its turn forging a delicate path in these times of global epidemic and unacknowledged civil war." --Francis Falceto (Ethiopiques Series Producer)
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BUDA 860388CD
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"Batsükh Dorj was born in 1990 in Tsengel, the last village in western Mongolia. This remarkable musician is a master of the various overtone styles typical of the Tuvas. Rare and complete artist, because, luthier, he brings a major contribution to the tradition. He sings to us about his nomadic culture through mountains and travels, notably imitating the rhythms of horses and the flow of water."
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BUDA 860144CD
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Originally released in 2007. "Alèmayèhu Eshèté is no less than one of the great voices of the heyday of modern Ethiopian music -- the swinging '60s which, in Ethiopia, went on until the fall of the Emperor Haile Sellassie I in 1974. On a par with Tlahoun Gèssèssè, Bzunèsh Bèqèlè, or Mahmoud Ahmed, Alèmayèhu is a star at the top of the constellation that once lit up the wild nights in the capital city Addis Ababa."
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BUDA 860122CD
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Originally released in 2006. "An outstanding pianist and a remarkable composer, Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guébrou, now a Christian nun in a Jerusalem monastery, recorded her own piano solo works, seeped in Ethiopian culture. Their rich, personal poetry brings to mind Carlos d'Alessio's India Song. A rare curiosity indeed, with beautiful melodies and a charming interpretation."
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BUDA 860373CD
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"Shadi Fathi, a setar soloist trained by the great master Dariush Talaï, and Bijan Chemirani, a virtuoso of the zarb, the daf and other percussion instruments, conceived the idea of combining bowed and plucked string instruments as well as percussion and wind instruments. Shadi recites poetries by Khayyam, Mowlana Rûmi and contemporary Persian authors."
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BUDA 860354CD
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"Taarab is a music genre popular in Tanzania and Kenya. It is influenced by the musical traditions of the African Great Lakes, North Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent. In the early 1970s a new taarab emerged in the East African coastal cities of Mombasa and Tanga: In Mombasa, Matano Juma's Morning Star replaced strings with distorted organ sounds, amplified violin or clarinet; Zuhura Swaleh promoted an electrified tashkota as a major new sound in her band, digging deep in coastal ngoma rhythms and dances. Crossing the border from Kenya to Tanzania, in Tanga, Black Star Musical Club's electric guitars and dance music rhythms paved the way for a broader audience reception of taarab away from the coastal Swahili towns. Mombasa was at the forefront of taarab production from the 1960s to the 1990s, thanks in no small measure to the enterprising Mzuri record label. They would not just record and promote Mombasa based artists, but also invite groups from Tanzania like Black Star or Dar es Salaam's Egyptian Music Club. In the course of the 1970s records were displaced by the cassette and the initiative moved to Mbwana Radio Service in Mombasa's Old Town, soon the new center of taarab production and distribution. Taarab rose to new heights in the 1980s with the voices and hits by Malika and Golden Star's Mwanahela. With the economic and political crisis in Kenya in the early 1990s and the concurrent rise of Dar es Salaam as the new center of music production in East Africa, Mombasa began to fade from its position as the prime taarab center. The early 1990s saw the rise of so-called modern taarab, a new style based on drum machine rhythm, powerful sound systems, and a novel fashion of inciting and insulting lyrics. Nevertheless, the musical innovations of Matano, Zuhura and Black Star opened up new vistas early on; and Malika's and Golden Star's lyrics paved the way for what was to come in the 1990s. In recognition of this, taarabfrom the Mombasa -- Tanga era is now affectionately known as 'First Modern'."
"I've already been knocked out flat by the year's sure-to-be best reissue." --Peter Margasak
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BUDA 860323CD
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"Malagasy Guitar Masters is the meeting of three musicians from Madagascar. Three generations rub shoulders there: Teta, 'guitarist with the fingers of fairy', undisputed grand master of the tsapiky. Chrysanto Zama, young prodigy guitarist, combines virtuosity, originality and richness of the compositions. Joel Rabesolo, perfectly masters all the styles of the Malagasy guitar."
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BUDA 82252
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"Kirba afaa Xonso offers the missing link in African music concentrating on modern Ethiopian traditional music recorded 2000 and 2001 in Konso." Konso music is played entirely on indigenous instruments, similar to the lyre, Pan flute, bamboo flute, bell, horn trumpet, xylophone, drum, etc.
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