Eritrea's Got Soul

Wednesday, 13 October 2010 14:14

Written by EritreaCompass

ERITREA'S GOT SOUL

Globalisation’s been the buzzword of the last decade, and one consequence of the phenomenon has been the flattening out the world for all to see, an effect felt even in the music business, for better or worse.

And yet, against the grain, Eritrea’s music scene has defiantly flourished in isolation from the world’s pop trends. The 30-year war and its aftermath have meant next to no commercial investment, and while no one would say that’s just great, it hasn’t been altogether a bad thing.

Asmara All Stars is the brainchild of French DJ/producer/songwriter Bruno, and it makes known to us some of the best musicians and vocalists from Eritrea, playing in a style reminiscent of the late 70s – the golden age of the big band sound, charged with Eri-Jazz, soul and roots reggae. The album "Eritrea's Got Soul" shows what role Eritrean musicians played in the creation of the now famous Ethio-Jazz (If you’ve been grooving to Ethiopiques then you know what this is).

Sample a rebirth of urban Eritrean music from the depths of the country's rich history with this track Adunia, featuring Mahmoud Ahmed Omer, Doc Reggae and Temasgen Hip Hop, a young rapper who’s rapidly building a reputation among Asmara’s youth.

Below is a piece written by Tim on the Subject

The Ethiopian music in recent years in catching up, but from Eritrea sounded just deafening silence. Asmara All Stars it must now change. For this project fell producer Bruno Blum (well known to lovers of reggae including his remixes of the work of Serge Gainsbourg The War AlbumWhich he received the original voice recordings Haile Selassie mixed with the song War Bob Marley) at the invitation of the Alliance Française in Asmara off to Eritrea, since for some of the best (krarspeler Hassan Suleman) and famous (Faytinga) Eritrean gathering the musicians for this project.

It has received also the willing cooperation of the People's Front for Democracy and Justice, Political party of Eritrea without whose consent nothing as good as possible in the country. Since Blum took due account of the mosaic of different communities (Afar, Bilen, Hedareb, Kunama, Nara, Rashaida, Saho, Tigre and Tigrinya)

That Eritrea is Eritrea's Got Soul as also become a showcase of the cultural diversity of the country. With a mix of Eritro jazz, gwaila (very popular Eritrean music form which makes use of drum machines and electric krar) and reggae (a genre that everywhere in Africa seems to thrive) puts this album Eritrea equal to the musical world map and is an achievement in itself. Absolutely recommended!

Asmara All Stars: Eritrea’s Got Soul, CD review by Telegraph.co.uk (Mark Hudson)

Asmara All Stars' 'Eritrea’s Got Soul' has an appealing freshness and sincerity

There’s an appealing freshness and sincerity to this overview of the largely unknown music of Eritrea. If the bittersweet flavour of the music is not utterly dissimilar to that of neighbouring Ethiopia, that’s because many of the musicians on the classic Ethiopian records were in fact Eritrean.

The Asmara All Stars: Haki

Comments

0 #2 2010-11-11 10:30

Simon Broughton (London Evening Standard)

Ethiopian music has enjoyed cult success in recent years but this release is pretty much the first opportunity to hear what's going
on next door in Eritrea. It shares a lot of the modal characteristics , the deep, juicy saxophone lines and funky electric organs — and there are some spectacular voices. The lithe and ethereal sound of Faytinga on the opening Amaje, the mellow Adam Hamid on Inedir and the young Sara Teklesenbet in Fhemsela, one of several songs on this album that seem to have a reggae twist. The recordings were completed in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, and with their simmering undertow they make gorgeous listening.

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0 #1 2010-10-20 14:57

Eritrea is back. After thirty years of war with Ethiopia and a decade of seclusion, the Asmara All Stars now introduce some of the best musicians and vocalists from Eritrea on the forthcoming Out Here Records release “Eritrea’s Got Soul”.

Eritrea has been almost cut off from most outside influences since the early 70s. Recording an album is not an easy task in a country where many aspects of life are dominated by political concerns, and where every working musician gets a salary from the state.

The Asmara All Star project is all about leaving politics behind and focusing on making exciting music. At first, French producer Bruno Blum had a hard time getting the ball rolling, but eventually more and more musicians got excited by his unusual approach and talent began flocking to the studio. In the end ideas were flowing freely in Asmara. A process with several obstacles along the way. The fruits of this long but ultimately rewarding process are now released on this very special album.

In a way Eritrea has vanished from the world’s radar. Music lovers around the world have been showing a huge interest in Ethiopian reissues from the 70s. A closer look reveals that many of the musicians on vintage Ethiopian music were really Eritrean. Today The Asmara All Stars continue to play in a style reminiscent of the golden age of the big band sound, charged with Eri-jazz, soul and roots reggae. The decades of isolation have somehow kept this music alive.
The album was recorded in Asmara, Eritrea’s capital city, in 2008 with a heavy, analog live band sound featuring electric krar, a full horn section, a funky organ and haunting vocals by some of the country’s most famous singers. Young singer Temasgen Yared came up with the soulful “Ykre Belni”, seemingly straight out of the heyday of Abyssinian soul jazz. Another highlight is Faytinga’s “Amajo” which fuses Kunama rhythms with a roots reggae beat, and Mahmoud Ahmed Omer delivering the uptempo dancefloor smash “Adunia” featuring a rare sample of local hip-hop.
'Eritrea’s Got Soul' explores the vast variety of this country’s genuine music: Tigré legends Ibrahim Goret and Brkti Weldeslassie stand alongside the raw “blues” “Inedir” by Adam Hamid and the beautiful talent of young Sara Teklesenbet. The album brings together different musical styles and rarely heard languages by eight ethnic groups, including Kunama, Nara, Bilen, Afar, Saho, Hedaareb, Tigré and Tigrigna. A rebirth of urban Eritrean music from the depths of the country’s rich history.

The album was produced by Bruno Blum from Paris. A guitarist, songwriter, producer and free spirit, he is known for his Serge Gainsbourg dub and DJ remixes and the now classic version of Bob Marley’s “War” (featuring Haile Selassie’s original speech and the Wailers).

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