Influenced by singer Bizunesh Bekele, Aster played in bands such as the Continental Band, Hotel D'Afrique Band, Ibex or Roha Band and the Shebele Band.īy 1981, Aster Awoke would relocate to the United States and continue to perform music in clubs and concerts in Washington DC, which has the largest concentration of Ethiopian Diaspora. She grew up in the capital city of Addis Ababa and by the age of 13 began performing in clubs and hotels. Globally, the music of Ethiopia, be it Amharic or any one of its other languages has been accepted and even awarded in various international competitions.Īlthough, still in its infancy, the music industry of Ethiopia and its numerous talented and bright stars will surely provide worldwide audiences with sounds unparalleled anywhere else.Īster Aweke was born in 1959 in the city of Gondar in the northern part of Ethiopia.
The diversity of Ethiopian music has provided audiences with a variety of intriguing styles and cultures. Today, Ethiopia's Amharic music is accompanied by various other Ethiopian languages, such as Oromiffa, Tigrigna, Gurage, Sidamo, etc. This has given birth to Ethio Rock, Ethio Rap, Ethio Blues and a lot more.
Scroll down for old ethiopian music mp3 free download
popular during the "Golden Ages" have now given way to a wonderful infusion of traditional Ethiopian music with more contemporary styles.
Tizita songs (slow and romantic), Ethio Soul, Ethio Jazz, etc. This soon changed when the revolutionary Derg government took power and forced many of these bright stars to flee the country and migrate to primarily Western countries.Ĭonsidered only to be a slight speed bump in the evolution and growth of Amharic music, the artists continued to produce and perform their music in their adopted countries, to the delight of their eager audiences. It was an era when artists had the freedom to explore their talents and express themselves through their music. Scroll down for new Ethiopian music 2021 download mp3Īmharic music began to take hold during its "Golden Ages" which came during the 1960's and 1970's when a plethora of talented singers and musicians flooded the Ethiopian musical scene. A few are included here, in the hopes that someone goes back and negotiates the release of these lovely songs.Ethiopian Music Old & New Ethiopian Music Ethiopian music has come a long way from its original traditions of being strictly associated with the Tewadeho Orthodox Church. But we're still waiting for someone to compile releases from the small Kaifa label and Phillips' Ethiopian subsidiary. Through Falceto's series, Jim Jarmusch's film Broken Flowers (built around Astatke's Amha recordings) and Astatke's recent live appearances, many Westerners previously unfamiliar with the transfixing beauty of '70s Ethiopian fusion have opened their ears.
Until, that is, Francis Falceto released Ethiopiques 4, a compilation of the two supremely rare albums Astatke released on the Ethiopian Amha label. Those of us entranced by the otherworldly sounds searched in vain for other albums that sounded like this masterpiece. At that time, dealers at the legendary Roosevelt Hotel Record Convention in Manhattan peddled copies of Mulatu of Ethiopia, released on the small Worthy imprint, for princely sums due to its then-unknown drum break, prime meat for sampling. Record collectors of the hip-hop generation first discovered the music of Ethiopia's Mulatu Astatke in the early 1990s.
Through Francois Falcetto's series Ethiopiques, many Westerners have discovered the transfixing beauty of '70s Ethiopian fusion.