Mulatu Astatke - Ethiopiques, Vol. 4: Ethio Jazz & Musique Instrumentale

Kaberi recommends (week of March 21):

Mulatu Astatke - Ethiopiques, Vol. 4: Ethio Jazz & Musique Instrumentale

Why I liked it:

I was introduced to Mulatu Astatke's music through the soundtrack of the film Broken Flowers, which I did not like much. But I am glad I watched it because I found the music really interesting and charming with the horns and vibraphone. Even though it is a fusion sound, it really appealed the classical musician in me (I studied Hindustani Classical music for many years). It has a transporting quality and I feel as though I am in a Satyajit Ray Feluda story - a small dusty town, an old Ambassador, a diffident character, lazy police officers, hypotheses over cups of tea, an uncanny twist...

I was hesitant to pick this album as I felt perhaps I liked it largely at a cultural level but I feel a little confident that others may like it because some of the songs were part of an American film. I greatly admire bold and unprecedented musical endeavors that literally create new genres and Astatke has done just that with this collection. I also like that it can serve as non invasive background music (as I have grown older, I tend to get distracted by vocals if I'm trying to concentrate) while getting work done. And most importantly, all tracks have a sense of continuity that it critical for a successful album. They all work towards conveying the same message. For these reasons, I give Ethiopiques a 4 out of 5.

You can download the album from here.

About the artist:

Astatke is heralded as the father of Ethio-jazz and was actually the first African student at Berklee College of Music where he was trained in jazz, the form of music he realised blended so beautifully with traditional Ethiopian music. His other successful album is a collaboration with The Heliocentrics, a London based 'psyche-jazz' collective in an album called Inspiration Information Vol. 3. Wikipedia tells me that he has released a two-disc set to be sold exclusively to passengers of Ethiopian Airlines, with the first disc being a compilation of the different styles from different regions of Ethiopia and the second being studio originals. If anyone gets their hands on the set (I don't see myself visiting Ethiopia in the immediate future), do let me know what it's like.

Favourite tracks:

#1 Yekermo sew used to be my favourite as it was the bridge between watching Broken Flowers and discovering Ethiopique.

#3 Kasalefkut hulu reminds me a jeep ride on a bumpy desert terrain with a peculiar sight in the horizon. No, I won't tell you what it is. Listen to the song and tell me what you see.

But the funkiest is #5 Yegelle tezela and I chanced upon this unbelievable video of Balu the Bear dancing with King Louis and the monkeys in The Jungle Book (my favourite Disney movie of all time so far and all time to come) to the tune of Yegelle tezela and that's when it went straight to No. 1 and it has been there ever since. Don't miss the video; it is sheer genius.

Kaberi's musical background:

It would not inaccurate to describe my musical tastes as vast and at times, unusual. The only uniting theme would be that it is all melodious (noise does not work for me) so I prefer an album like Tonic to The Dropper when it comes to MMW or like Raman, Kind of Blue to Sketches of Spain when it comes to Miles. Don't worry, I like other genres too - I like rock (Gomez, Coldplay), nu jazz and lounge and downtempo (Koop, Thievery Corporation, Portishead), contemporary Bollywood (vibrant songs to which swift costume changing and hip thrusting are mandatory. Why? Because it is better that way!), Hindustani Classical (Rashid Khan, Hari Prasad Chaurasia) or just random stuff (Nomo, Tab Two). Next month I am attending a Viktor Wooten concert and the last artist I listened to today was Susanne Vega on my ipod when I took my dog, Gin for a walk. Isn't she gorgeous?