Ethiopiques 7 Mahmoud Ahmed CD

Throw Ethiopiques on your sound system, and you will know you are in uncharted waters. One minute you'll swear you're hearing James Brown speaking in tongues, the next you'll think you've hit on the hottest new samples for a hip hop band from outer space. But this is music from Ethiopia's golden years--with a budding following not that different from the ska rebirth fifteen years ago.
These raw sounds of Ethiopia were originally put out by Amha Records--a label founded in 1969 by 24-year-old Amha Eshèté in defiance of the Imperial decree requiring all music production and import to be overseen by the government-sanctioned national theater.

Now available are volumes 6 and 7! For many years everything we knew about Ethiopian music came through Mahmoud Ahmed. His brassy, electric urban pop, swinging and hypnotic, heart-rending and funky, was completely different from anything else coming out of the African continent. His first album, Almaz (V.6) bears witness to the talent of one of the greatest Ethiopian artists of the past 35 years.

These recordings from the golden age of Ethiopian funk continue to have a lasting impact on American audiences. Just read what the critics have said about Ethiopiques Volumes 1 through 5 and you will get an idea of what to expect:

"I can't recommend these records highly enough; they're incredible documents of a musical mo(ve)ment forever gone." - The San Francisco Bay Guardian

"They're like discovering a lost Family Stone album with its vocal tracks backwards." - The Village Voice

"A remarkable five-CD series that documents a pivotal era in African music" - Rhythm Magazine

"The United DJs of America should petition for vinyl." - Spin

"Ethiopiques is a stunning collection from a musical history that is virtually unparalleled in its compactness of time and the (small) volume of music recorded..." - The Beat magazine

Tracks:
1. Ere Mela Mela
2. Metche New
3. Bemen Sebeb Letlash
4. Abbay Mado
5. Embwa Belew
6. Atawurulegn Lela
7. Ohoho Gedama
8. Sedetegnash Negn
9. Sameraye
10. Endenesh Gedawo
11. Fetsum Denq Ledj Nesh
12. Ebakesh Tareqign
13. Asheweyna
14. Belomi Benna
15. Tezeta