Hailu Mergia
As a major star of the Ethiopian music scene in the 1970s, organ player Hailu Mergia and his Walias Band created a groundbreaking mix of traditional melodies and psychedelic funk and soul grooves, although international recognition eluded him until he was finally re-discovered by a young American audience in the 2000s.
Born in the ancient city of Debre Birhan in the central Shewa Province, he was raised on tribal songs from the Oromo, Amhara and Tigrinya cultures before learning the accordion as a 14-year-old while serving in the Ethiopian army, later discovering the electronic organ in the 1960s. He plied his trade playing long sessions in Addis Ababa hotels and clubs for tourists and the upper classes, but a cultural revolution and the influx of Motown, soul and jazz records brought in by US Peace Corps led to a golden age of experimental Ethiopian pop music with Mergia and Walias at the forefront.
The hypnotic, funky synth sound was best captured on the popular hit 'Musicawi Silt' and Mergia's landmark album 'Tche Belew' in 1977, but amid civil war, famine and a Marxist dictatorship, Mergia and Walias headed to America on tour in 1981. A lukewarm response in the US caused the band to split after two years, but Mergia went on to release the solo album 'Hailu Mergia and his Classical Instrument: Shemonmuanaye' in 1985, before settling in Washington DC and working as a taxi driver. Between shuttling people to and from the airport he continued to play for his own pleasure on an old Moog synthesiser, until obscure music obsessive Brian Shimkovitz stumbled upon his recordings and offered to reissue them through his Awesome Tapes from Africa label in 2013. Despite his humble, shy nature, his old albums became popular with young, Brooklyn hipsters and nerdy record collectors alike and he put together a trio to play gigs across the US and Europe and tour with the indie band Beirut. He finally released a brand new album 'Lala Belu' in 2018 and its mesmerising, free-form grooves and vibrant, intoxicating energy cemented his reputation as a groundbreaking maestro of Ethio-jazz.
©Copyright Music Story 2023
Discographie
19 album(s) • Trié par Meilleures ventes
-
Pioneer Works Swing (Live) (Standard)
Jazz - Paru chez Awesome Tapes From Africa le 3 nov. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lala Belu
Musiques du monde - Paru chez Awesome Tapes From Africa le 23 févr. 2018
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Yene Mircha
Musiques du monde - Paru chez Awesome Tapes From Africa le 27 mars 2020
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tezeta
Soul - Paru chez Awesome Tapes From Africa le 12 juin 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hailu Mergia & His Classical Instrument: Shemonmuanaye
Musiques du monde - Paru chez Awesome Tapes From Africa le 1 janv. 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Gum Gum
Musiques du monde - Paru chez Awesome Tapes From Africa le 21 nov. 2017
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bayne Lay Yihedal
Musiques du monde - Paru chez Awesome Tapes From Africa le 16 mars 2020
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hailu Mergia Remixes
Électronique - Paru chez Awesome Tapes From Africa le 1 oct. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nefas New Zemedie
Soul - Paru chez Awesome Tapes From Africa le 24 mars 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gumegum
Soul - Paru chez Awesome Tapes From Africa le 10 mai 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Anchihoye Lene (Live)
Jazz - Paru chez Awesome Tapes From Africa le 24 oct. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Yene Mircha
Musiques du monde - Paru chez Awesome Tapes From Africa le 6 mars 2020
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Abichu Nega Nega
Musiques du monde - Paru chez Awesome Tapes From Africa le 27 janv. 2020
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Yegle Nesh (Live)
Jazz - Paru chez Awesome Tapes From Africa le 28 sept. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dibik Fikir
Musiques du monde - Paru chez Awesome Tapes From Africa le 15 mai 2020
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Belew Beduby (Live)
Jazz - Paru chez Awesome Tapes From Africa le 6 sept. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ou-Ou-Ta
Soul - Paru chez Awesome Tapes From Africa le 31 mai 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mestirawi Debdabe
Soul - Paru chez Awesome Tapes From Africa le 15 avr. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo