Research Rundown: Ethiopian Music, Part 1

It occurs to me that while I would love to get more in-depth book reviews done, I am already up to my neck in all of the busyness happening around here right now. Nevertheless, even if I don't have time for daily book reviews, I am constantly researching one thing or another. (Need to know how to install slate flooring? How to research your creepy neighbor's criminal history? What to do with leftover blueberry bagels? You name it; I've googled it!) 

As you might expect, the majority of my queries lately have been adoption-related. And because some of these research topics might actually be useful to other people, I figured I'd share. Sometimes it may be just a couple interesting links; other times it could be a whole mess of information. Either way, I hope it helps!

Today's research topic: Ethiopian music.

Ten bucks says that by now you've now guessed where we're adopting from. That's right...Colombia! No, seriously, it's as obvious as it seems: Ethiopia. And because my husband and I love music and it's always played a big part in our lives, I wanted to educate myself (however cursorily) about Ethiopian music. I figure it's a win-win endeavor: we'll learn more about Ethiopian culture and hopefully run across some cool songs in the process. Plus, anything that might help ease our kids' transition is a good thing, even if it's only background music.

With all this in mind, I set out to explore the wide world of Ethiopian music. And the biggest, most obvious entrance point is French music label Buda Musique's Ethiopiques collection, the mother lode of Ethiopian music available in the Western world. This 23-volume series compiles the highlights of Ethiopian music, primarily from the 1960s and 1970s, with each volume presenting a different artist or sub-genre of music. 

Thus, from what I gather, the Ethiopiques collection tends more toward being a historical document than CDs of popular tunes you'd hear on the radio. Perhaps an American equivalent might be a CD box set of popular music through the decades, from early rock and roll to Motown to disco, etc. While most Americans would recognize songs by Elvis or The Supremes or the Bee Gees, they're not necessarily constant radio fare anymore. 

Nevertheless, a number of the artists featured in the Ethiopiques series still play today and remain very popular. For example, Alèmayèhu Eshèté, Mahmoud Ahmed, and Gétatchèw Mèkurya played in New York City just a few days ago, in what looks like an incredible show! (Here's a picture of Eshèté and Ahmed that night from BrooklynVegan.)

So Ethiopiques is a great starting point for Ethiopian music...but with 23 volumes, where do you start? Thankfully, there's a 2-disc compilation, The Very Best of Ethiopiques, which gives a taste of each volume. From that, you can hopefully get a feel for the general vibe of each volume before you decide what other volumes to buy. Also, you can listen to song samples at Emusic.com. 
(And as a side note, let me suggest that if you decide to purchase any of the Ethiopiques series, buy it from Emusic. As long as you don't mind buying mp3s instead of actual, physical compact discs, Emusic offers a much better deal than anywhere else I've seen.) 

A little warning, though--unless you are already a fan of jazz and African world music, the music in the Ethiopiques series will probably strike you as very unusual. I know it wasn't at all what I expected. Part smoky jazz lounge, part early James Bond movie soundtrack, with a blaring emphasis on the horn section, the golden era of Ethiopian music is truly a creature unto itself! The melody structures are often complex and rarely "resolve" to the Western ear (which, of course, is not a bad thing--just different). Also, the general vibe sounds quite distinct, a kind of building, repetitious groove that at times becomes downright hypnotic. (Just today, I found myself totally zoning out to it as I was stuffing pasta shells for dinner!)

So if I sound like I'm having trouble describing this music, well, I am! The more modern, popular music of today's Ethiopia will probably strike American listeners as much more familiar-sounding, but the golden age of Ethiopian music is refreshingly unlike anything else. Which makes it that much more important to listen to it, as it symbolizes a truly unique cultural offering on the world stage--one to be proud of and to teach our children to be proud of.

As for the aforementioned Ethiopian popular music of today, well, I had planned to continue with that, but I've already written so much that I'm going to take a break for now! Let's just consider this Part 1, then! Part 2 to come soon.

And in the meantime, if you're still feeling clueless about where to start with Ethiopian music, check out Ethio-Borsaye, a "site for Ethiopians and friends" that features a music player on the upper-right hand corner of its page. There you can listen to a good mix of classic Ethiopian songs and present-day hits. 

So listen for yourself and let me know what you think!

Saturday, August 23, 2008 | Labels: , , |

 

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