Ethiopiques
Encyclopedia
Ethiopiques is a series of compact discs featuring Ethiopian
and Eritrean
singers and musicians. Many of the Ethiopiques CDs compile
various single
s and album
s that Amha Records
, Kaifa Records
, and Philips-Ethiopia
released during the 1960s and 1970s in Ethiopia
. Prominent singers and musicians from this era appearing on Ethiopiques releases include Alemayehu Eshete
, Asnaketch Worku
, Mahmoud Ahmed
, Mulatu Astatke
, and Tilahun Gessesse
. However, some Ethiopiques releases are new recordings.
The Paris
-based world music
record label Buda Musique
began the Ethiopiques series in 1997 and initially compiled Ethiopian popular music
releases from the 1960s and 1970s. Some of the subsequent CDs focus on traditional music
, while others highlight individual musicians or specific styles. As of 2010, there have been 27 releases. None of the CDs features modern-day synthesizer
-based Ethiopian pop music. Francis Falceto is the producer of the series.
Some songs from Ethiopiques Volume 4 were featured in the Jim Jarmusch
film Broken Flowers
.
Music of Ethiopia
The music of Ethiopia is extremely diverse, with each of Ethiopia's ethnic groups being associated with unique sounds. Some forms of traditional music are strongly influenced by folk music from elsewhere in the Horn of Africa, especially Somalia. However, Ethiopian religious music also has an...
and Eritrean
Music of Eritrea
Eritrea is a country in the Horn of Africa. Perhaps the most famous Eritrean musicians in history are Eng. Asghedom W.Micheal, Bereket Mengisteab, Yemane Baria, Osman Abderrehim, Alamin Abdeletif & Atowe Birhan Segid, some of whose music were banned by the Ethiopian government in the 1970s...
singers and musicians. Many of the Ethiopiques CDs compile
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
various single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
s and album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s that Amha Records
Amha Records
Amha Records was an Ethiopian record label founded by Amha Ashèté. The company released 103 singles and 12 albums between 1969 and 1975.Prominent singers and musicians who recorded for the label included Alemayehu Eshete, Mahmoud Ahmed, Mulatu Astatke and Tilahun Gessesse.-Resource:* Falceto,...
, Kaifa Records
Kaifa Records
Kaifa Records was an Ethiopian record label which released 53 records between 1973 and 1977. Ali Abdella Kaifa, better known as Ali Tango, managed the company.Singers who recorded for Kaifa included Alemayehu Eshete, Bezunesh Bekele and Mahmoud Ahmed....
, and Philips-Ethiopia
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
released during the 1960s and 1970s in Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. Prominent singers and musicians from this era appearing on Ethiopiques releases include Alemayehu Eshete
Alemayehu Eshete
Alemayehu Eshete is an Ethiopian Ethio-jazz singer active since the 1960s who primarily sings in Amharic. Eshete's talent was recognized by colonel Rètta Dèmèqè who invited the young singer to perform with Addis Ababa's famous Police Orchestra...
, Asnaketch Worku
Asnaketch Worku
Asnaketch Worku, also known by the French spelling of her name Asnaqètch Wèrqu was a famous Ethiopian singer...
, Mahmoud Ahmed
Mahmoud Ahmed
Mahmoud Ahmed is an Ethiopian singer of Gurage ancestry.-Biography:Born in Addis Ababa, Mahmoud shined shoes in that city before becoming a handyman at the Arizona Club, where he first sang professionally in the early 1960s...
, Mulatu Astatke
Mulatu Astatke
Mulatu Astatke is an Ethiopian musician and arranger best known as the father of Ethio-jazz....
, and Tilahun Gessesse
Tilahun Gessesse
Tilahun Gessesse was an Ethiopian singer regarded as one of the most popular of his country's "Golden Age" in the 1960s....
. However, some Ethiopiques releases are new recordings.
The Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
-based world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
record label Buda Musique
Buda Musique
Buda Musique is a French Record label specializng in world music, who are especially known for their Ethiopiques series of albums.They have released over 400 albums in their 18 year history....
began the Ethiopiques series in 1997 and initially compiled Ethiopian popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
releases from the 1960s and 1970s. Some of the subsequent CDs focus on traditional music
Traditional music
Traditional music is the term increasingly used for folk music that is not contemporary folk music. More on this is at the terminology section of the World music article...
, while others highlight individual musicians or specific styles. As of 2010, there have been 27 releases. None of the CDs features modern-day synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
-based Ethiopian pop music. Francis Falceto is the producer of the series.
Some songs from Ethiopiques Volume 4 were featured in the Jim Jarmusch
Jim Jarmusch
James R. "Jim" Jarmusch is an American independent film director, screenwriter, actor, producer, editor and composer. Jarmusch has been a major proponent of independent cinema, particularly during the 1980s and 1990s.-Early life:...
film Broken Flowers
Broken Flowers
Broken Flowers is a 2005 French/American comedy-drama film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch and produced by Jon Kilik and Stacey Smith. The film focuses on an aging "Don Juan" who embarks on a cross-country journey to track down four of his former lovers after receiving an anonymous letter...
.
Discography
- (1998) Ethiopiques Volume 1: The Golden Years of Modern Ethiopian Music, various artists
- (1998) Ethiopiques Volume 2: Tètchawèt! Urban AzmariAzmariAn azmari is an Ethiopian singer-musician, comparable to the European bard or the West African griot . Azmari, who may be either male or female, are skilled at singing extemporized verses, accompanying themselves on either a masenqo or krar...
s of the 90s, various artists - (1998) Ethiopiques Volume 3: Golden Years of Modern Ethiopian Music, various artists
- (1998) Ethiopiques Volume 4: Ethio Jazz & Musique Instrumentale, 1969–1974, Mulatu AstatkeMulatu AstatkeMulatu Astatke is an Ethiopian musician and arranger best known as the father of Ethio-jazz....
- (1999) Ethiopiques Volume 5: Tigrigna Music, various artists
- (1999) Ethiopiques Volume 6: Almaz, Mahmoud AhmedMahmoud AhmedMahmoud Ahmed is an Ethiopian singer of Gurage ancestry.-Biography:Born in Addis Ababa, Mahmoud shined shoes in that city before becoming a handyman at the Arizona Club, where he first sang professionally in the early 1960s...
- (1999) Ethiopiques Volume 7: Ere Mela Mela, Mahmoud AhmedMahmoud AhmedMahmoud Ahmed is an Ethiopian singer of Gurage ancestry.-Biography:Born in Addis Ababa, Mahmoud shined shoes in that city before becoming a handyman at the Arizona Club, where he first sang professionally in the early 1960s...
- (2000) Ethiopiques Volume 8: Swinging Addis, various artists
- (2001) Ethiopiques Volume 9, Alemayehu EsheteAlemayehu EsheteAlemayehu Eshete is an Ethiopian Ethio-jazz singer active since the 1960s who primarily sings in Amharic. Eshete's talent was recognized by colonel Rètta Dèmèqè who invited the young singer to perform with Addis Ababa's famous Police Orchestra...
- (2002) Ethiopiques Volume 10: Tezeta - Ethiopian Blues & Ballads, various artists
- (2002) Ethiopiques Volume 11: The Harp of King David, Alemu AgaAlemu AgaAlemu Aga is an Ethiopian musician and singer, a master of the bèguèna.Born in Entotta, near Addis Ababa, Alemu became interested in the begena at the age of twelve, when a master of the instrument moved in next door to his family, the Aleqa Tessema Welde-Emmanuel...
- (2003) Ethiopiques Volume 12: Konso Music and Songs, various artists
- (2003) Ethiopiques Volume 13: Ethiopian Groove, various artists
- (2003) Ethiopiques Volume 14: Negus of Ethiopian Sax, Getachew Mekurya
- (2003) Ethiopiques Volume 15: Jump to Addis, various artists
- (2004) Ethiopiques Volume 16: The Lady with the Krar, Asnaketch WorkuAsnaketch WorkuAsnaketch Worku, also known by the French spelling of her name Asnaqètch Wèrqu was a famous Ethiopian singer...
- (2004) Ethiopiques Volume 17, Tilahun GessesseTilahun GessesseTilahun Gessesse was an Ethiopian singer regarded as one of the most popular of his country's "Golden Age" in the 1960s....
- (2004) Ethiopiques Volume 18: Asguèbba! various artists
- (2005) Ethiopiques Volume 19: Alemye, Mahmoud AhmedMahmoud AhmedMahmoud Ahmed is an Ethiopian singer of Gurage ancestry.-Biography:Born in Addis Ababa, Mahmoud shined shoes in that city before becoming a handyman at the Arizona Club, where he first sang professionally in the early 1960s...
- (2005) Ethiopiques Volume 20: Live in Addis, Either/OrchestraEither/OrchestraThe Either/Orchestra is a jazz group formed by Russ Gershon in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, in 1985. E/O is configured as a "small big band", with three saxes, two trumpets and one or two trombones...
with Mulatu AstatkeMulatu AstatkeMulatu Astatke is an Ethiopian musician and arranger best known as the father of Ethio-jazz....
, Getachew Mekurya, Tsedenia G. Markos, Bahta Hewet, Michael Belayneh - (2006) Ethiopiques Volume 21: Ethiopia Song, Emahoy Tsegue-Mariam Gebrou
- (2007) Ethiogroove (DVD): Mahmoud AhmedMahmoud AhmedMahmoud Ahmed is an Ethiopian singer of Gurage ancestry.-Biography:Born in Addis Ababa, Mahmoud shined shoes in that city before becoming a handyman at the Arizona Club, where he first sang professionally in the early 1960s...
& Either/OrchestraEither/OrchestraThe Either/Orchestra is a jazz group formed by Russ Gershon in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, in 1985. E/O is configured as a "small big band", with three saxes, two trumpets and one or two trombones...
, with Tsedenia G. Markos - (2007) Ethiopiques Volume 22: Alèmayèhu Eshèté, featuring Girma BèyèneGirma BèyènèGirma Bèyènè is a popular Ethiopian lyricist, composer, arranger, vocalist and pianist, most active during the golden era of Ethiopian vinyl record . He only recorded four songs as a vocalist, but arranged more than 60 titles and collaborated to at least 25 other tracks.-References:...
- (2007) Ethiopiques Volume 23: Orchestra EthiopiaOrchestra EthiopiaOrchestra Ethiopia was an Ethiopian performing group formed in 1963 by the Egyptian-born American composer and ethnomusicologist Halim El-Dabh...
- (2007) The Very Best of Ethiopiques: Hypnotic Grooves from the Legendary Series
- (2009) Ethiopiques Volume 24: Golden Years of Modern Ethiopian Music 1969–1975
- (2009) Ethiopiques Volume 25: Modern Roots 1971–1975
- (2010) Ethiopiques Volume 26: Mahmoud AhmedMahmoud AhmedMahmoud Ahmed is an Ethiopian singer of Gurage ancestry.-Biography:Born in Addis Ababa, Mahmoud shined shoes in that city before becoming a handyman at the Arizona Club, where he first sang professionally in the early 1960s...
& His Imperial Bodyguard Band 1972-74 - (2010) Ethiopiques Volume 27: Centennial of the First Ethiopian Recordings, Tèssèma Eshèté 1910
External links
- Buda Musique Ethiopiques web site
- The Very Best of Ethiopiques
- Radio interview with Francis Falceto from National Public Radio Weekend Edition Sunday program, July 16, 2006