Eritrea's Got Soul

Eritrea has become Africa's forgotten country – certainly when it comes to music. Bordered on one side by the Red Sea, and on the other by Ethiopia, which annexed Eritrea back in the 1960s, it has remained largely cut off from the outside world ever since it finally achieved independence back in 1993, after a brutal 32-year civil war. Now it seems change could be on the way. This entertainingly fresh and varied set provides a fascinating insight into the musical styles that have developed in the country, at a time when so much Western attention has been focused on the artists of Ethiopia's golden age in the 60s and early 70s, thanks to the brilliant series of Ethiopiques albums. Unsurprisingly, there are echoes of Ethiopian soul and jazz styles here; after all, one of the Ethiopiques stars, Tewelde Redda, was an Eritrean who played an important part in the Addis music scene before he went off to join the Eritrean resistance.

This new set was recorded in Asmara, the Eritrean capital, by the French producer Bruno Blum, and features no less than 11 lead singers working with a house band that includes the inspired saxophonist Aron Berhe (a love of sax is something else that is common to both Eritrean and Ethiopian musicians). The best-known singer here is Faytinga, famed for her own role as a fighter in the war; the album starts with her distinctive, high and driving vocals on a new reggae re-working of ‘Amajo’, a song that appeared on her solo album Eritrea seven years ago (reviewed in #23). Next up there's the gloriously soulful Temasgen Yared, whose soulful, brooding vocals are backed by keyboards, electric guitar and (of course) saxophone, providing a further reminder of the Éthiopiques era. Then comes a driving, funk-jazz dance piece from Mahmoud Ahmed Omer, backed by some English-language rap from Temasgen Hip Hop. And so it continues, with more rap, balladry and the hypnotic, drifting gwaila style of Dawit Zeragabir, before a final brassy jazzy workout. One of the unexpected discoveries of the year.