Ethiopian Music (Tewelde Redda and others)

If I had to choose one record to remind me of my 5 years in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, it would be "Ab Tequai Kerebi" by Tewelde (or Tewolde) Redda, featuring Mulatu Astatke and his orchestra.

Listen here

It's a great song for dancing, and for the skista (shoulder dance). It's somewhat confusing, in that Tewelde Redda is an Eritrean guitar hero and the Ethiopiques 5 CD on which this masterpiece was reissued is subtitled Tigrigna Music.

What does it matter? It's great music and it was a huge hit in Addis before the revolution. Eritrea was part of Ethiopia then. You should be grateful that I didn't post my own efforts on the masenko, a difficult one-stringed instrument on which I once had lessons (from Alemaya Fanta), or my attempts to play the tizita tune or "Anchi lij"! My antique masenko is now in the Horniman Museum. You can hear some Ethiopian music I recorded for the soundtrack of a documentary film I made on http://www.interpotts.com/movies/the-cross-makers.wmv, or, more easily, on YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0N3nJ6AlYg

Here's another Tewelde Redda recording , followed by a more traditional Amhara song, showing something of Amhara culture.

Betam egzer yistlign! Dehina yihunu.