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.
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Discografia
19 álbum(ns) • Ordenado por Mais vendidos
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Pioneer Works Swing (Live) (Standard)
Jazz - Lançado por Awesome Tapes From Africa em 3 de nov. de 2023
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lala Belu
World - Lançado por Awesome Tapes From Africa em 23 de fev. de 2018
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Yene Mircha
World - Lançado por Awesome Tapes From Africa em 27 de mar. de 2020
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tezeta
Soul - Lançado por Awesome Tapes From Africa em 12 de jun. de 2021
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hailu Mergia & His Classical Instrument: Shemonmuanaye
World - Lançado por Awesome Tapes From Africa em 1 de jan. de 1985
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hailu / Yegle Nesh
Africa - Lançado por Philophon em 8 de jun. de 2015
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gum Gum
World - Lançado por Awesome Tapes From Africa em 21 de nov. de 2017
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bayne Lay Yihedal
World - Lançado por Awesome Tapes From Africa em 16 de mar. de 2020
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hailu Mergia Remixes
Electronic - Lançado por Awesome Tapes From Africa em 1 de out. de 2013
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nefas New Zemedie
Soul - Lançado por Awesome Tapes From Africa em 24 de mar. de 2021
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gumegum
Soul - Lançado por Awesome Tapes From Africa em 10 de mai. de 2021
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Anchihoye Lene (Live)
Jazz - Lançado por Awesome Tapes From Africa em 24 de out. de 2023
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Yene Mircha
World - Lançado por Awesome Tapes From Africa em 6 de mar. de 2020
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Abichu Nega Nega
World - Lançado por Awesome Tapes From Africa em 27 de jan. de 2020
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Yegle Nesh (Live)
Jazz - Lançado por Awesome Tapes From Africa em 28 de set. de 2023
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dibik Fikir
World - Lançado por Awesome Tapes From Africa em 15 de mai. de 2020
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Belew Beduby (Live)
Jazz - Lançado por Awesome Tapes From Africa em 6 de set. de 2023
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ou-Ou-Ta
Soul - Lançado por Awesome Tapes From Africa em 31 de mai. de 2021
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mestirawi Debdabe
Soul - Lançado por Awesome Tapes From Africa em 15 de abr. de 2021
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo