Rare singles and unreleased tracks from one of the funkiest artists on the 70s scene in Ethiopia – the amazing Ayalew Mesfin – a fantastic talent with a groove that's dying to be heard! Mesfin's music has maybe even more of James Brown groove than some of his funky contemporaries – really sharp rhythms with the guitars, basslines, and everything else coming down on the groove – peppered with horn parts and eerie organ lines, while Ayalew sings in this style that's soulful, but completely unlike any sort of American singer! Instead, the vocals are all inflected and snakey over the top – almost set free from the rhythms, in a way that makes the funky elements sound even funkier as they really ground the whole proceedings next to the otherworldly quality of the lyrics. Titles include "Teregew Nebere", "Wegene", "Ambassel", "Tizitash Zewetir", "Sew Malet Esunew", "Che Belew", "Yetembelel Loga", "Ho Bilo Hedeo", and "Wubalem". CD

Rare singles and unreleased tracks from one of the funkiest artists on the 70s scene in Ethiopia – the amazing Ayalew Mesfin – a fantastic talent with a groove that's dying to be heard! Mesfin's music has maybe even more of James Brown groove than some of his funky contemporaries – really sharp rhythms with the guitars, basslines, and everything else coming down on the groove – peppered with horn parts and eerie organ lines, while Ayalew sings in this style that's soulful, but completely unlike any sort of American singer! Instead, the vocals are all inflected and snakey over the top – almost set free from the rhythms, in a way that makes the funky elements sound even funkier as they really ground the whole proceedings next to the otherworldly quality of the lyrics. Titles include "Teregew Nebere", "Wegene", "Ambassel", "Tizitash Zewetir", "Sew Malet Esunew", "Che Belew", "Yetembelel Loga", "Ho Bilo Hedeo", and "Wubalem". LP, Vinyl record album

The first-ever full length global collection of material by one of the funkiest cats working the Ethiopian scene in the early 70s – an artist who works here in a mode that's even more hard-hitting and funk based than contemporaries like Mulatu or Mahmoud Ahmed! The band on most tracks is the Black Lion Band, who've clearly learned the best modes of the James Brown Band of the late 60s – with riffing guitars and horn blasts that are right on the rhythms – moving, grooving, doing it to the max – while Ayalew Mesfin sings in these wonderfully-inflected vocals that are pure Ethio soul all the way through, and also provides some great lines on organs and keyboards! The set brings together cuts from a host of rare funky 45s – most lost to the sands of time after Ayalew had to go underground after the Ethiopian governmental change in 1974. Titles include "Hasabe", "Wubeet", "Yewefe Ber Abeba", "Sak Sak Beyelegni", "Gubeleye", "Endet Liyesh", "Tezetash Rekik", and "Ewedish Neber". LP, Vinyl record album

The last album in a crucial cycle of releases that bring together work from one of the most compelling singers on the Ethiopian scene of the 70s – a set whose title translates as "you can't cheat death" – and which has a vibe that's also echoed a bit in the music as well! The songs are maybe a bit less funky and a bit more moody – more long and drawn out, with the mix of jazzy instrumentation and complicated grooves that you'd find in early 70s Ethio recordings from Mulatu – although Ayalew Mesfin's bold, highly-inflected vocals always keep the singer at center stage – alongside unusual keyboard lines, strange horn tunings, and some very cool rhythms. Titles include "Yedilu Shema", "Erikew Sihedu", "Turi Turi Nafa", "Weyolachew", and "Megen Anchi Hoye". LP, Vinyl record album

Mindblowing work from a revolutionary artist – one of the coolest cats on the Ethiopian scene of the 70s – and a singer who could effortlessly blend together American funk with East African elements! The music here definitely echoes some of the Ethio modes of some of Ayalew Mesfin's contemporaries – and his own vocal style has plenty of the rich inflections that make the language so unique, and so rhythmic, but in a very unusual way – qualities you might have discovered in the music of Mulatu or Mahmoud Ahmed! The rhythms are often bold – sometimes heavier funk, sometimes more fluid – and as with other volumes in this excellent series, this is the first time that Mesfin's music is getting the exposure it deserves on the wider global scene. Titles include "Shuferu", "Anchi Yefikir", "Ayish Ayishina", "Gora Weshebaye", "Libe Dil Temeta", and "Tewedije Limit". LP, Vinyl record album

Amazing music from the golden years of Ethiopian Music – a set of tracks that will take you beyond the music of Mulatu, into a wealth of other talents from the scene at the same time! The sound here is incredible – a mix of heavy funk, spacey jazz, and other exotic touches all coming together – a unique sort of sound that's beyond referent, and which is easily some of the freshest music on the planet back in the 70s! The vinyl-only collection pulls tracks from different volumes of the Ethiopiques CD titles – and offers up a strong focus on the funkiest and grooviest numbers from that legendary series. Tracks include "Muziqawi Silt" by Wallias Band, "Hasabe" by Ayalew Mesfin, "Antchin Yagegnulet" by Tamrat Ferendji, "Amlak Abet Abet" by Asselfetch Ashine & Getenesh Kebret, "Temeles" by Alemayehu Eshete & Hirut Bequele, and "Aynotchesh Yerefu" by Samuel Belay. LP, Vinyl record album

The definitely got the title right on this one – because the set is filled with some of the most heavenly tracks from the legendary Ethiopiques series – that legendary run of compilations that was the first introduction for most of us to the amazing music of Ethiopia! This package really zeros in on all the best bits – and has a special focus on the early 70s, with some other bits from the 60s as well – all the wonderful vintage material that captures that special time in Ethiopian music when the artists were really taking some new chances with their sound – and creating an otherworldly blend of jazz and funk with more local elements as well. The range of artists is great – a really compelling blend of singers and instrumentalists, not just a handful of tracks by Mulatu – and titles include "Presentiment" by Tsegue Maryam Guebrou, "Ene Negn Bay Manesh" by Girma Beyene, "Hedetch Alu" by Muluquen Mellesse, "Lantchi Biye" by Tlahoun Gessesse, "Tchereqa" by Menelik Wesnatchew, "Ashasha Beyew" by Abbebe Tessemma, "Ati Fettun Isani Infedhani" by Ali Birra, "Mela Mela" by Seyfou Yohannes, "Teredjew Neber" by Ayalew Mesfin, and "Hametegnaw" by Seyoum Gebreyes. LP, Vinyl record album