I'm A Party

In search of the perfect party soundtrack? Look no further, my amigos da musica. Ernesto Chahoud, Lebanese digger and dj supreme, has just compiled it for you, and inna Ethiopian stylee at that. It's Taitu time!

Tèshomè Meteku - Hasabe

Radio Ethiopia

Muziqa muziqa... This swinging six pack from Addis and beyond goes out to a certain someone who'll be working in a remote part of Ethiopia for the next month or so. Happy trails, babe.

Samuel Belay - Aynotchesh Yerèfu
Mahmoud Ahmed - Antchiyé
Seyoum Gèbrèyes - Muziqa Muziqa
Alèmayèhu Eshèté - Shèegitu Maré
Tamrat Fèrèndji - Anchin Yagegnulet
Tèshomé Meteku - Yèzèmèd Yèbaed

Wild Weekend Vol. 49

Sunday already? High time for Wild Weekend #49. Let´s see, what do we have here... Well, Tomatito salutes his uncle in Andalusian style, while Tom Russell spends some precious time in the last bar on earth. Meanwhile in the female vocals department, we´ve got a Helen, a Tracyanne and even a Bezunesh. Cool, no? In any case, be sure to have a wild one, y´all.

First we move to sunny Spain to meet up with Tomatito, the virtuoso longhaired gitano who succeeded Paco de Lucía as the principal guitar sidekick of legendary singer Camarón. The little tomato´s Barrio Negro (´91) was a nuevo flamenco album that received high praise almost everywhere, but when I bought it recently it proved just a little too light for my personal taste alas. However, this ode to his uncle Miguel is a timeless gem. Back in the States, let´s zoom in on Chicago, where we encounter a fairly young combo called Disappears. Their brand new longplayer Guider fuses the feedback and fuzz of the Mary Chain with the angst of early Joy Division, adding a whiff of kraut- and postrock à la fellow windy city dwellers Tortoise into the mix to speed things up a bit. Dark stuff this.

Tomatito - A Mi Tio "El Nino Miguel" MP3

Disappears - Halo MP3

Ethiopia´s on our radar once again now, with a groovy song from volume 13 in the truly amazing Ethiopiques series. Presenting Bezunesh Bekele, a lady with a very special voice indeed. And all that shiny brass in the background isn´t too shabby, either. There´s more excellent - and rare - Bezunesh stuff available on the interwebs of course: do pay a visit to the interesting Freedomblues blog for instance. Happy hunting. More female vocals up next, with the charming Helen Love from Wales and her cool tribute to ole Joey Ramone. "All you got to do is call me, there´s a girl who loves you on the other side of the world..." Pop bliss, dearies.

Bezunesh Bekele - Atrakegn MP3

Helen Love - Joey Ramoney MP3

Was playing the iPod in the car the other day when an old Tom Russell song came up. Had almost forgotten just how fine Out In California actually is, kinda like a Carver short story set to music. "I´m sitting here drinking in the last bar on earth..." When you´ve got a first line like that, nothing can go wrong I guess. And we´ll leave you for now with a ramshackle but fun tune from last year a pal of mine just brought to my attention. Gospel Music is a side project of Owen Holmes of the Black Kids, giving him the chance to sing duettes with all kinds of pretty-voiced dudettes. And in the case of Automobile, which gets plenty bonus points just for the use of a melodica, the lucky lady in question just happens to be Camera Obscura´s Tracyanne Campbell. "Take me to the forest, to the mountains, to the bay..."

Tom Russell - Out In California MP3

Gospel Music - Automobile MP3

Nostalgia

Ready for some nostalgia, Ethiopean style? Tezeta means just that in Amharic, which is the national language of ´dear mother Ethiopia´. And it´s a feeling that definitely shines through in the four exotic jewels below.

Mulatu Astatqé - Tezeta MP3
Gètatchèw Kassa - Tezeta (slow) MP3
Gètatchèw Kassa - Tezeta (fast) MP3
Mahmoud Ahmed - Tezeta MP3

Wild Weekend Vol. 16

I´m reading Juliet, Naked at the moment, which is quite hard to put down. Really should get busy to bring you edition 16 of Wild Weekend now... Ok, ok, here goes. The iPod´s on shuffle once again, and a surprise six pack in the works. No songs from Nick Hornby´s rockstar hero Tucker Crowe alas, but a whole lot of other goodies nonetheless.

Such as Fallin´ In Love by American Spring, a Brian Wilson produced pop gem from ´73. Penned by Beach Boys brother and drummer Dennis, you can find it on a heartily recommended compilation called Pet Projects. Want some heavier stuff from the same year? Featuring Iggy doing his trademark caged animal impersonation perhaps? Then try on this terrific live version of Open Up & Bleed, recorded live at Richards in Atlanta, Georgia.

American Spring - Fallin´ In Love MP3

Iggy & The Stooges - Open Up & Bleed (live ´73) MP3

Time for some Ethiopean soul now. I´m a huge fan of the Éthiopiques series, and can listen to a singer like Alèmayèhu Eshèté all day and all of the night. My Amharic is kinda rusty, but I´d wager that Addis Abèba Bété translates as ´I love Addis Abeba´. Before Built To Spill, Doug Martsch played in a grungy Seattle band called Treepeople. Nirvana they were not, but a song like Liquid Boy sure hinted at things to come.

Alèmayèhu Eshèté - Addis Abèba Bété MP3

Treepeople - Liquid Boy MP3

Moving to New Orleans now, where we´ll look up Roy Byrd aka Professor Longhair and his pumping piano. "Tell me pretty baby, is everything alright?" You bet. Worth it for that honking sax alone. And we´ll call it a day so I can finally go back to mr. Hornby with a beautiful song by Copey´s Teardrop Explodes about... books. "I´ve seen it in your eyes and I´ve read it in books, who wants love without the looks?" Not me, Julian, not me.

Professor Longhair - Who´s Been Fooling You MP3

The Teardrop Explodes - Books MP3

Treasure chest anyone?

It's not often that you discover a CD that resembles a treasure from some long forgotten cave. I stumbled upon one recently though, and it's called The Very Best Of Ethiopiques. A double album on the Mateca label, it contains many a gem from the heyday of Ethiopian music. Now I for one never knew that this poor African country even had a flourishing music scene in the sixties and seventies, let alone that it produced such exciting sounds.

In the years between the end days of emperor Haile Selassie's reign and the emergence of a brutal new regime in the mid seventies, some great stuff was being recorded in the Addis Ababa scene. The diversity of musical styles is striking: some tracks sound more or less as one would expect of 'world music', but you also get funky instrumentals with horns a la The Bar Kays or Junior Walker & The All Stars, soul singers just as inspired as James Brown or Wilson Pickett, and plenty of jazzy stuff to boot... The singing is all in the main Ethiopian language Amharic, so you won't understand a word of it, but that all adds to the mystique. Open Sesame...

Tlahoun Gèssèssè - Tchuhetén Betsèmu MP3
Mulatu Astatqé - Yèkatit MP3
Alèmayèhu Eshèté - Tchero Adari Nègn MP3