This first volume of the Ethiopiques series just begins to show the scope of the golden age of Ethiopian music, loving assembled, remastered, and annotated. What's obvious is the influence of American soul and blues, the former quite apparent in the Memphis groove of Muluquen Mellese's "Wetetie Mare," with its smoking bassline. Mellese himself has a very androgynous voice, unlike Mahmoud Ahmed, one of the major early Ethiopian stars, whose 1975 tracks sound like Arthur Conley singin...   [ read more ]

CD $16.13

You may never have thought of Celtic and African rhythms as complementing one another, but this very interesting effort takes both idioms into new territory with some engaging results. The outcome is a sort of hip-hop jig and reel, like the Chieftains meet the Chemical Brothers. Masamba Diop's masterful talking drum creates an exotic pulse under Myrdhin's fine Celtic harp, and it sounds like a party at some global crossroads. Indeed, the most fascinating aspect of Afro Celt Sound System's...   [ read more ]

CD $14.23