Hailu Mergia and The Walias – Tche Belew (1977, Ethiopia)
Our next spotlight is on number 10 on The List, submitted by umrk. This was the first album added to The List that really got me jazzed up (pun intended)! I think any music fanatic will enjoy giving this fantastic instrumental Ethiopian jazz album a spin without knowing anything about it, but I have a hunch that knowing the political context it came out of might deepen one’s appreciation of the music.
Want to read more? See the full spotlight: https://1001otheralbums.com/2025/04/17/hailu-mergia-and-the-walias-tche-belew-1977-ethiopia/
Want to skip straight to the music? Here's the Bandcamp: https://hailumergia.bandcamp.com/album/tche-belew
Happy listening!
#HailuMergia #jazz #Ethiopia #EthiopianMusic #JazzEthiopiques #instrumental #soul #1970s #music #1001OtherAlbums
April 17, 1972 and Don't Miss Stratusfaction at Vintage Edmonton:
Robin Trower - Bridge of Sighs
Robin Trower is an English rock guitarist who achieved success with Procol Harum throughout 1967–1971 and then again as the bandleader of his own power trio known as the Robin Trower Band.
The song Bridge of Sighs explores themes of longing and emotional struggle, often interpreted as a reflection on life's challenges.
Hailu Mergia and The Walias – Tche Belew (1977, Ethiopia)
Our next spotlight is on number 10 on The List, submitted by umrk.
This was the first album added to The List that really got me jazzed up (pun intended)! I think any music fanatic will enjoy giving this fantastic instrumental Ethiopian jazz album a spin without knowing anything about it, but I have a hunch that knowing the political context it came out of might deepen one’s appreciation of the music. As such, below I quote extensively from the Bandcamp description:
Dozens of cherished recordings were made during the legendary “golden age” of Ethiopian music, an era stretching from the early 1960’s through the mid-1970’s. Less-discussed are the songs made in the aftermath of the 1974 revolution that toppled Emperor Hailu Selassie I. The acclaimed and highly sought-after LP by Hailu Mergia and the Walias, Tche Belew, an album of instrumentals released in 1977, is perhaps the most seminal of these recordings. The story of the Walias band is a critical chapter in Ethiopian popular music, taking place during a period of music industry flux and political complexity in the country.
Hailu Mergia, a keyboardist and arranger diligently working the nightclub scene in Addis Ababa, formed the Walias in the early 1970’s with a core group of musical colleagues assembled from the remnants of prior working bands attached to the Zula and Venus clubs. One of the first “private” bands, the Walias got a steady gig at the prestigious Hilton Addis Ababa and remained independent from the government-supported bands of the time as well as from the clubs who employed bands.
While the oppressive and often brutal, Socialism-inspired Derg government (1974-1987) had a firm grip on Ethiopians following the revolution, Walias organized their own contracts and eschewed government patronage. Unlike the celebrated bands of the run-up to Selassie’s removal—the Police Orchestra, Imperial Bodyguard Band, National Theater Band, Ethiopian Army Band, Hager Fikir Theater Band, City Hall Theatre Folkloric Group and so on—the Wailas developed fame on their own terms and maintained control of their instruments and performances. They played the blues-, funk- and soul-informed tunes Mergia was writing and arranging, while cutting 45rpm recordings released by Kaifa Records with popular vocalists, including Getachew Kassa and Alemayehu Borobor.
After several singles, Mergia decided to do something different: record a full-length album. The band—which at the time featured Moges Habte (saxophone and flute), Mahmmud Aman (guitar), Yohannes Tekola (trumpet), Melake Gabrie (bass guitar), Girma Beyene (piano), Temare Haregu (drums), Abebe Kassa (alto saxophone) and special guest Mulatu Astatke (vibes)—entered Radio Voice of the Gospel studios to record their first long-player…
Influenced in large part by Jimmy Smith, Mergia and the Walias merged the popular international sounds available in Ethiopia at the time with the traditional tunes that formed the foundation of most musicians’ repertoires…
While the band never travelled outside Addis Ababa, they performed at top hotels and played the presidential palace twice. The Walias’ relationship with the Derg regime was complex though, evidenced by the removal of one song from the record by government censors because it included mention of the previous government. The regime’s broad policy of violence and censorship—including a period called the Red Terror that featured genocide-level disappearances of students, activists and villagers and the indiscriminate imprisonment of journalists—ultimately resulted in half the band staying in the United States following their first tour outside Ethiopia in the early 1980s. Today the musicians remain scattered between Addis Ababa and Washington D.C.
Happy listening!
#1970s #Ethiopia #EthiopianMusic #folkMusic #HailuMergia #instrumental #jazz #keyboard #organ #soul
🐛💙 Biologist Auke-Florian Hiemstra made a surprising finding while examining museum specimens: caddisfly larvae from the early #1970s were already incorporating microplastics into their protective casings.
These #underwater #insects normally build tubes from pebbles, sand, and plant matter. Finding plastic in 50-year-old specimens from non-urban streams shows how long these pollutants have affected even relatively pristine ecosystems.
👉 Learn more: https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/microplastic-pollution-found-in-a-caddisfly-casing-from-1971
#animals #biology #history #pollution #science #Netherlands #tksst #video
The Midnight Special
1001 Other Albums
Vintage Edmonton
OldTallSkinny
1001 Other Albums
Rasta
BrownSquirrel
Elwood
The Kid Should See This 🌈🪐✨