Ernesto Chahoud’s ‘Taitu’
is a collection of soul-fuelled stompers straight from the dancefloors
of 1970s Addis Ababa. A breathless journey through the unique Ethio
sound that bands were forging at the time, the 24-track compilation is
the result of the Lebanese DJ and crate digger’s decadelong love affair
with the ‘golden age’ of Ethiopian music. Among the musical gems featured are 7”s by some of the heavyweights of the scene including the godfather of Ethio jazz Mulatu Astatke and Alemayehu Eshete, the vocalist dubbed the ‘Ethiopian Elvis’, alongside tracks by more obscure artists such as Merawi Yohannis and Birkineh Wurga. For ‘Taitu’, Chahoud has selected 24 of his essential Ethio-Soul 7”s,
that never leave his DJ box, and together they capture this opportune
moment in Ethiopian music history that saw bands experiment with an
armful of influences: gliding through R&B, rock & roll, jazz,
funk, soul and boogaloo. What came out was a distinctly Ethiopian
interpretation: pentatonic scales, horn-driven melodies and
soul-shattering vocals sung in Amharic. The songs are difficult to box in to one genre but they share a
simplicity and rawness, added to by their lo-fi quality – with many
recordings made in rudimentary studios with only a couple of mics for
the entire band. From the R&B stomper ‘Honey Baby’ by Alemayehu Eshete to Astatke’s swaggering ethnic-jazz instrumental ‘Emnete’ and the bluesy melancholic vocals of Hirut Bekele on ‘Ewnetegna Feker’, ‘Taitu’ is a window in on the exciting records being made in Ethiopia in the 1970s.
TAITU Soul-fuelled Stompers from 1970s Ethiopia - Various Artists
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- Availability:In Stock
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£9.00