Songs
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- artist:Ibex Band
- region:Addis Ababa
- release year:2025
- style(s):Afro Jazz
- country:Ethiopia
- formats:Audio File / Digital, LP / Vinyl
- record posted by:Selam Ethiopia / Muzikawi
- label:Muzikawi
- publisher:Muzikawi
Links
There’s a tendency to talk about the seventies as a golden age of Ethiopian music. There are good reasons for that, and just as good reasons against it. However, the notion of a golden past privileges the role of Western explorers and suggests that the pinnacle of Ethiopia’s musical culture is something only a foreigner can appreciate and unearth. It downplays the complexities of Ethiopia’s culture and history, creating an artificial divide between then and now. And it underestimates the constantly evolving sound that has followed.
The legendary musical outfit The Ibex Band, later metamorphosed into The Roha Band, has played a central role in defining the sound of many of the greatest stars on the music scene of Ethiopia from the mid-seventies onwards–but their golden output has never really waned. The story of the origins of the band that provided the musical backbone for greats such as Aster Aweke, Girma Beyene, Tilahun Gessesse, backing the solo career of group member Mahmoud Ahmed as well as backing Mulatu Astatke and many others has yet to be properly told.
Two misconceptions plague the image of Ethiopian music, one is that the music is pure because it is, by some notion, unexploited, the other is that it is all traditional. To begin with, a... more
credits
released April 11, 2025
Musicians - Instruments
Selam Woldemariam - Lead Guitar
Giovanni Rico - Bass
Dereje Mekonen - Keyboards
Tesfaye Mekonen - Drums
Fekadu Amdemeskel - Sax & Flute
Téwodros Meteku - Sax & Flute
Girma Chibsa - Congas
All songs are arranged and produced by Giovanni Rico and Selam Woldemariam.
Recorded in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in July 1976 (Geez Year 1968).
Recording Engineers: Karl-Gustav Lundgren (track 1-8), Ibex Band (track 9-12).