Ethiopia – Land of Cryptic Diversity

To understand anything of the music of Ethiopia it is worthwhile dipping ones toes into the warm water of the great ocean that is Ethiopian history and culture. In this now land-locked nation, thousands of years of history have percolated to bring us a culture deeply-rooted in tradition and ancient ideas. The Very Best of Ethiopiques very much mirrors that sense of depth.

Few of the modern perceptions, ideas and images that Europeans have of Ethiopia are accurate. In fact, most are wide of the mark. The fact that the country’s coat of arms is a pentagram seems to be symbolic of its elusive, cryptic, even perhaps esoteric nature. For those who first encounter Ethiopia, its people and culture, one of the first surprises is how wonderfully different the country is. Take for example, time and the calendar. The year may currently be 2009 in Europe, yet in Ethiopia, the only country in the world to use the Ge’ez Calendar, the year is 2001.

Modern Ethiopia is a state with a long pedigree going by a variety of names across the centuries, including the Aksumite Empire, or more recently Abyssinia. Established sometime before the 10th century BCE, Ethiopia can even be found in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey (written about 200 years later). The ancient Kingdom of Sheba (as in the ‘Queen of Sheba’) mentioned in the Old Testament is said to be situated here. What is more, Ethiopia is one of the oldest Christian states in the world, converting many centuries before all the European nations. The most famous church of Ethiopian Orthodoxy, the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion, is said to contain the Ark of the Covenant (the holy container holding the Ten Commandments).

Ethiopian culture carries this feeling of inspired and grounded tradition, yet also incredible diversity. With over eighty indigenous languages, homogeneity is not something indigenously Ethiopian. The Very Best of Ethiopiques picks up on this variety, and can be described as enchanting, earthy, melancholic, even. In its diversity, TVBE defies description and pigeon-holing, but at the same time there are common threads that run through much of the music we find here.

The common threads that the European ear might find it easier to grasp are the jazz-tinged sounds of Tesfa Maryam Kidané, Mulatu Astatqé, Batha Gèbrè-Heywèt and Tsegué-Maryam Guébrou. Tesfa Maryam Kidané’s “Heywèté” is a wonderful instance of styled saxophone playing and Tsegué-Maryam Guébrou’s “Mother’s Love” is an excellent example of simplistic yet piercing and delicate piano work. As familiar as these instruments may sound, one can hear the different tradition from which the music springs.

On listening for the first time to Alèmayèhu Eshèté, Wallias Band, Ayaléw Mèsfin & Black Lion Band and Sèyfu Yohannès we might be forgiven for thinking that we arelistening to funk. In fact, we are offered a dose of what might be more reliably and readily called high-tempo Ethiopian jazz-funk, with un-funk-like vocals and percussion that is remarkably well-grounded, earthy and solid.

These jazz- and funk-like sounds keeps the listener ‘attached’ to TVBE, but changes in rhythm, vocal style and the fact that TVBE is sung in wholly unfamiliar tongues keeps us forever surprised, mesmerised and suspended in the unknown. Two examples are Beyene Habte’s “Milènu” and Mulatu Astatqé’s “Embi Ila” which, through changes and syncopations, take the listener full circle through the known to the unknown and then back again.

Like Ethiopia itself, much of TVBE sounds unfamiliar and ‘other-worldly’. Take for instance the vocal qualities of Mahmoud Ahmed, Tlahoun Gèssèssè and Menelik Wèsnatchèw which at times sound, for want of a better comparison, Arabic simply because the European ear is unable to find any other point of reference. Alèmu Aga’s “Abatatchen Hoy” falls even further outside any reference point, though. His deep singing and mastery of the begena captures an ancient and alien culture, enchanting, spiritual and deeply hypnotic.

The Very Best of Ethiopiques is unique in that it is an attempt to chart the traditions and ‘feel’ of a culture through the music of a short yet extremely productive and creative period: 1970s Ethiopia. It successfully captures the depth of Ethiopia, the diversity of Ethiopian music and the genuineness of its artists.

Raf Uzar 2009

This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Licence