Ethiopiques vol 7 - Mahmoud Ahmed - Erè Mèla Mèla

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A bunch of brass instruments repeating an overpowering melody, supported by jerky and rippling rhythms. It’s already irresistible, but when Mahmoud Ahmed’s sensual singing starts, ascending and descending this mountain of groove without ever losing breath, the listener approaches an ecstasy that continues throughout the following tracks. It was through this disc, which gathers recordings from 1975, that the Western World discovered Ethio-jazz and its emblematic crooner. Distributed for the first time in 1986 by the Belgian label Crammed Records, this collection of treasures, gathered by producer Francis Falceto, stirred up the enthusiasm of the press and of the lovers of the nascent phenomenon of World Music. But this success was stifled in Ethiopia, until 1991 and the end of the dictatorial regime, which took a dim view on this disheveled national representation. It took another ten years and the initiative from the Buda label to accompany Falceto in his ambition to re-release, through the collection Ethiopiques, the entirety of the masterpieces produced in Addis Ababa during the golden age of this music, at the start of the 1970s. The success of the unique blend of local music, rhythm ‘n’ blues and jazz has been growing steadily since. It has revitalized the career of its most valid actors and generated vocations among young musicians. © BM/Qobuz