Nonwrestler Blog

Weekly mp3 #92: Mulatu Astatke & Menelik Wossenatchew - Fikratchin

Get this from The Fader magazine.

Heavier rhythm than the tracks from the Broken Flowers soundtrack, which is surely the most famous Mulatu Astatke stuff outside Ethiopia, and this is a vocal track rather than being led by those huge modal horn lines. Classic jazz rhythm section - drums played with brushes, bass (well, guitar) and piano. There's a pretty solid backbeat there, but there's also enough craziness in the timing on both bass and drums to mess with my head whenever I pay enough attention. Mr. Wossenatchew's got a light tone and the whole thing's pretty restrained.

These guys are both from Ethiopia and this track was recorded sometime between 65 and 75. There have been some interesting interviews with Astatke online, such as on the StinkInc blog and The Quietus.

Labels: music, weekly mp3

Posted at 6:00 PM