Name: Yene Mircha
Brand: Hailu Mergia

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

ATFA037CD

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Colour

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

With Bonus Track Dibik Fikir.

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Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2020-03-27

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

Cargo

Tax rate GB

Standard:20

UPC / Barcode

0843563125229

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Total Cap

1 / CD / Extended format: No / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No

ATFA037LP

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Black

0843563125205

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1 / Extended format: No / LP / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No / black

Artist

Hailu Mergia

Genre GB

African

Label GB

Awesome Tapes From Africa

Awesome Tapes From Africa is a record label that was founded by [a3963487], who developed a deep love for the cassette culture of West Africa while on a Fulbright scholarship in Ghana. Inspired by the diverse genres and unique sounds found in recordings from this region, Shimkovitz started a blog and record label to share his passion for this music with the world. Much of the music released by Awesome Tapes From Africa remains undiscovered outside of West Africa, making it an invaluable resource for exploring and appreciating the rich musical heritage of this vibrant part of the world.

It's been a long, winding road to Hailu Mergia's sixth decade of musical activity. From a young musician in the 60's starting out in Addis Ababa to the 70's golden age of dance bands to the new hope as an emigre in America to the drier period of the 90s and 2000s when he mainly played keyboard in his taxi while waiting in the airport queue or at home with friends. More recently, with reissue of his classic works and a re-assessment of his role in Ethiopian music history, Mergia has played to audiences big and small in some of the most cherished venues around the world. With 2018's critical breakthrough Lala Belu Mergia championed himself and consolidated his legacy, producing the album on his own and connecting with listeners through the sheer creative power of his version of modern Ethiopian music. His subsequent performances revealed an artist who is in no way stuck in the nostalgia for the “golden age” sound.

Mergia's new album Yene Mircha ("My Choice" in Amharic) encapsulates many of the things that make the keyboardist, accordionist and composer-arranger remarkable—elements that have persisted to maintain his vitality all these years, through the ebb and flow of his career. The rock solid trio with whom he has toured the world most recently, DC-based Alemseged Kebede (bass) and Ken Joseph (drums), forms the nucleus around which an expanded band makes a potent response to the contemporary jazz future Lala Belu promised. Yene Mircha calcifies Mergia's prolific stream of creativity and his philosophy that there is a multitude of Ethiopian musical approaches, not just one sound. Enlisting the help of master mesenqo (traditional stringed instrument) player Setegn Atenaw, celebrated vocalist Tsehay Kassa and legendary saxophone player Moges Habte from his 70's outfit Walias Band, Mergia enhances his bright, electric band on this recording with an expanded line up on some songs. Mergia produced the album which features several of his original compositions along with songs by Asnakesh Worku and Teddy Afro. An artist still reinventing his sound every night on stage during his marathon live sets, this 74 year-old icon refuses to make the same album twice. The album feels as urgent and risky as his concerts can be, pushing the band to the outer limits of group improvisation and back with chord extensions during his exploratory solos. Yene Mircha captures this live experience and fosters an expansive view of what else could be in store for this tireless practitioner of Ethiopian music.

Yene Mircha

Music GB