Ethiopian Music to My Soul

The choice of Ethiopian music as my subject was an easy one. I have always been a fan of reggae music since my Dad first played Bob Marley’s Legend album for me when I was 5 years old. The roots of Marley’s compositions lie mainly in Rastafarian beliefs. Rastafarian beliefs have roots in Ethiopia, where they claim that former emperor Haile Selassie I was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ.

The two songs that I have chosen are by a female artist named Mekonen. Although she is singing in a foreign language, and I had a tough time finding translations for her lyrics, I believe her sound is a great example of Ethiopian music and how it relates to reggae.

Netsanet Mekonen:

and

Betelihem Mekonen:

One very unique aspect of these two songs is Mekonen’s voice. It has a very syncopated sound that seems to emphasize notes randomly while jumping up and down. To me, reggae music has a few specifics that classify it as such: a very rhythmic base guitar that seems to provide the main melody for the song, a “tic-toc-y” guitar that is strummed through the entire song, and usually some type of woodwind or brass instrument that gives solo performances throughout the song. All of these aspects are very obvious for the two selections that I have chosen.

I would also like to add one more selection to my blog.

This is a video of a live performance I attended (I am the one in bottom right corner in the wide angle shots with both my hands in the air). The artist is Lucky Dube (performing The Way It Is). Dube was a strong civil rights advocate in South Africa. He was gunned down during a carjacking in South Africa and I would just like to recognize his contribution to the music world by sharing this video with everyone.

REST IN PEACE LUCKY DUBE (1964-2007)

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