Gili Yalo

Gili Yalo's love of singing came about through hardship. As a five-year-old, he escaped the Ethiopian famine on foot. Music made the journey more bearable. Eventually settling in Tel Aviv, Yalo surrounded himself with funk, soul and dub. On this debut album, all those sounds come together with a large helping of Ethiopian groove.
The cover art says it all: this is one cool album. The whole thing has a strut to its step. With Yalo singing in both Amharic and English, his band cook up a whole range of retro flavours, from golden-age Ethiopian horns and old-school synths to the classic R&B rhythm-section sound. It doesn't turn into a heard-it-all-before fusion either. At some points the Ethio-jazz vibe is strong (the instrumental ‘Tadese’ would be at home on a Mulatu Astatké album); while elsewhere it feels like straight-up Afrobeat. When all the elements coalesce, it becomes really special. Look no further than the track ‘Coffee’ – Yalo's blues-bar-in-Addis vocals run the show, while krar (lyre) duels with Ali Farka Touré-style guitar over piping-hot soul funk. It's a fantastic album; play it loud and you will feel like the coolest person alive. After Gili Yalo, of course.