Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Heywete - Kidane, Tesfa-Maryam
2. Yekermo Sew - Astatke, Mulatu
3. Yekatit - Astatke, Mulatu
4. Enken Yelelebesh - Beyene, Girma
5. Ewnet Yet Lagegnesh - Bahta Gebre-Heywet
6. Gubelye - Astatke, Mulatu
7. Ere Mela Mela - Ahmed, Mahmoud
8. Metche New - Ahmed, Mahmoud
9. Tchero Adari Negn - Eshete, Alemayehu
10. Telantena Zare - Eshete, Alemayehu
11. Muziqawi Silt - Wallias Band
12. Gedawo - Mesfin, Ayalew & Black Lion Band
13. Tchuheten Betsemu - Gessesse, Tlahoun
14. Tezeta - Wesnatchew, Menelik

Disc 2:

1. Mother's Love - Guebrou, Tesegue-Maryam
2. Sema - Gessesse, Tlahoun
3. Milenu - Redda, Tewelde
4. Embi Lla - Habte, Beyene
5. Tezeta - Astatke, Mulatu
6. Set Alamenem - Beyene, Girma
7. Yemendjar Shega - Mellesse, Muluqen & Dahlak Band
8. Antchi Hoye - Mekurya, Getatchew
9. Kulun Mankwalesh - Gessesse, Tlahoun
10. Shellela - Mekurya, Getatchew
11. Mela Mela - Yohannes, Seyfu
12. Atawurulegn Lela - Ahmed, Mahmoud
13. Fetsum Denq Ledj Nesh - Ahmed, Mahmoud
14. Abatatchen Hoy (Pater Noster) - Aga, Alemu

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #432 in Music
• Released on: 2007-08-13
• Number of discs: 2

Customer Reviews

All hail Ethiopiques! Hot and spicy.
Hey pop pickers! Do you despair at the state of British indie music? Need that itch seriously scratching? Man,this is one wild and groovy ride. Weird and wonderful and very much deserving the attention of any curious and open minded music fan.I ain't no world music fan ,but the currently very stale indie scene forces one to search further afield to satisfy ones needs. If you like this, watch the film: Broken flowers (Bill Murray). Alot of this music soundtracks that film brilliantly. Also try Tinariwen (for seriously cool desert blues)or Kasai allstars.
We have people like Damon Albarn to thank for drawing our attention to such brilliant music. Nice one.Fair play to bands like Vampire weekend and The Good,the bad and the queen for mixing it up with sound results (no pun intended).

Patchy offering
This seems a pretty random collection of tracks. There are a few things that grab my attention, but to be honest they are in the minority. I've read reviews comparing them for impact with the Buena Vista Social club. Maybe this showcases Ethipian music in it's best light and is comparable with the Buena Vista's showcasing of a portion of Cuba's musical heritage to maximum effect; but if that's true then it just emphaises how much more Cuba has to offer, and how much more acceptable and familiar the traditional sounds of Cuban music are to the general listener's (including general world music listener's) ear. To me it's one for the collector to represent Ethiopia perhaps, but I'll only really go back to a few selected tracks.

Haunting and uplifting music that deserves a wide audience.
The 28 tracks on this wonderful double CD are drawn from a series of 23 Ethiopiques albums put together by the inspirational French promoter and champion of Ethiopian music Francis Falceto. This haunting, uplifting music which is an intriguing mixture of jazz, soul, funk & folk was created and recorded in Addis Ababa during the final years of Emperor Haile Selassie's reign(1930-74).
'The Very Best of Ethiopiques' has been described as "doing for Ethiopia what the Buena Vista Social Club did for Cuba" and this marvellous music certainly deserves to reach the widest possible audience.