What makes Ethiopia so unique from a musical point of view is the use of the pentatonic scale – five notes – with a long pause between some of the notes. This creates mysterious melodies: ‘a feeling akin to missing your foot on the stairs in the dark’ according to French musicologist Francis Falceto, the producer of Ethiopiques, a series of albums of Ethiopian music from the 1960s and ’70s. More important than the scale is the fact that Ethiopia is the only country in Africa to have a 3,000-year history of independence. The Ethiopian spirit is undaunted and its beauty untarnished – and this can be felt in the country’s music.
Ethiopia is one of the most censored countries in the world. Human rights organisations estimate that tens of thousands of opposition politicians, journalists and human rights activists are in prison. Journalists, bloggers, poets and singers who describe the situation in the country or express criticism of the government are gagged. They face a Catch-22 situation: either censor yourself or risk being locked up or exiled.
The best example of this is the music of Teddy Afro – the most well-known pop artist in Ethiopia. He is seen as the people’s ‘messenger’ because he sings what everyone is thinking but no one dares say. His third album, Yasteseryal, contains songs inspired by political and social issues and therefore attracted the attention of the government. Although the album is said to have sold more than a million copies, the government banned certain songs on it. And following the release of his next album, Teddy was arrested in relation to a traffic incident – Teddy himself has always maintained that the motivation for the case against him was political. He was sentenced to six years imprisonment, and released eighteen months later on appeal. Some of his songs are still prohibited. Concerts are cancelled without explanation. But in the meantime, Teddy Afro’s star is rising. His last album broke all sales records in the history of Ethiopia. There is not a street corner in Addis Ababa where you won’t find it for sale.
Mulatu Astatke is an Ethiopian musician and composer. He is seen as the founder of Ethio-jazz. Astatke was born in Addis Ababa, went to music school in London and studied jazz at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he was the first African student. He has shared stages with Ethiopian music hero Mahmoud Ahmed and jazz greats like Gilles Peterson and Duke Ellington. During the past decade, he has gained international renown thanks to the Ethiopiques series of vintage Ethiopian recordings from the 1960s and ’70s. After hearing this music, director Jim Jarmusch invented an Ethiopian neighbour specially for Bill Murray, the main character in his film Broken Flowers, so he could include as much of Astatke’s music in the film as possible. When Astatke is not on tour he lives in Addis Ababa, where he has a jazz club: African Jazz Village.
Ethio-jazz is a genre of jazz in which traditional Ethiopian music is mixed organically with American jazz, Lating and funk. Ethio-jazz sets Ethiopian pentatonic scales to a rhythm that is unmistakeably African and combines this with chords drawn from jazz. Another typical element is the pauses between some notes, which gives this music its dreamy, mysterious feel. At the same time, it uses upbeat, rousing percussion rythms. Other frequently used instruments include the vibraphone, piano and traditional instruments such as the masinko and the krar.
Many contemporary musicians are inspired by the Ethio-jazz of the 1960 and the ’70. The Budos Band from New York, for example, takes inspiration from here and Kayne West has sampled numbers by Mulatu Astatke. In Ethiopia, the Addis Acoustic Group, led by guitarist Girum Mezmur, reproduce Ethio-jazz numbers from the 1960s.
New Orleans is generally seen as the birthplace of jazz, when African slaves created a new kind of music that merged elements from Africa and Western traditions. Then, during the twentieth century, jazz and other newer forms of music with African roots such as soul, funk and Cuban rumba travelled back to Africa. At first only in recordings, later with artists going on tour there. African musicians immediately recognised these roots, adapted the music and in so doing created completely new musical forms, such as Ethio-jazz. Mulatu Astatke, the founding father of Ethio-jazz, put it like this: ‘Jazz was born in Africa and then went somewhere else. So why shouldn’t I take it back there?’
The world knows the colours red, gold and green as the Rasta colours – in Ethiopia, people see these as the colours of the Ethiopian flag. The Rastafarians see Ethiopia as the Promised Land, to which all black people will eventually return. This is what Exodus, Bob Marley’s most famous song, is about. It goes like this: in 1927 Marcus Garvey, the forefather of the Rasta movement, predicted that a combative black king would be crowned in Africa. This king was Ras Tafari Makonnen, who was crowned Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia, in 1930. The Rastafarians saw Selassie as the fulfilment of Garvey’s prediction (as well as several Biblical verses). The movement is named after Ras Tafari, and although Garvey thought he was useless as an emperor, the Rastafarians believe that he is the embodiment of the divine on Earth; the messiah whose coronation would signal the return of the former slaves to Africa.
Haile Selassie donated a plot of land close to the town of Shashemene to the Rastafarians. In 2005, there were rumours that the remains of Bob Marley were going to be dug up in Jamaica and reburied in Shashemene. Marley’s ex-wife Rita Marley described Ethiopia as his spiritual home.
In 2005 and 2015, the 60th and 70th birthdays of Bob Marley were celebrated with a big festival in Addis Ababa. The city still has a vibrant reggae scene featuring singers such as Haile Roots, Zeleke Gessesse and newcomer Sami Dan. Teddy Afro, the most famous pop artist in Ethiopia, also mixes Ethiopian sounds with reggae.
The Azmari are as old as Ethiopia itself. They are itinerant troubadours who respond to current affairs critically through humour and poetry. Azmari are masters of improvisation and ask their audiences for input for their performances. Azmari are seen as artists with words who make good use of the richness of the Ethiopian language, in which many words have a double meaning.
Ethiopia has eighty tribes, each with their own traditions, rhythms, dances and instruments. The major instruments are: the masinko, a single-stringed violin; the krar, a six-stringed harp; and the kobero, traditional drums made from large cans and cowhide. Young musicians in Ethiopia study the roots of this music and then use these instruments to play modern music, often mixed with traditional Ethiopian sounds.