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Hailu Mergia: Yene Mircha
ByMergia relocated from Addis Ababa to Washington DC in the 1980s, but this did not immediately increase his overseas profile. Instead of seeking access to the US music scene he worked for many years as a cab driver, self-producing solo cassettes for the expatriate Ethiopian community and performing only at family gatherings. Lala Belu (Awesome Tapes, 2018) was his first studio album in 15 years. By the time it was recorded, Mergia had inevitably been exposed to a raft of American jazz and the albuman exquisitely beautiful affair on which he was accompanied by drummer Tony Buck, a founder member of The Necks, and double bassist Mike Majkowskireflected those relatively recent influences.
Yene Mircha has stronger infusions of rock, reggae and funk than Lala Belu and its back-up band is workmanlike rather than striking. Mergia would appear to be reaching out to a crossover audience, and good luck to him, but the mostly laid-back album does not transmit quite so much magic. If Lala Belu was the aural equivalent of dropping acid, Yene Mircha better resembles kicking back with a couple of Mandrax. Whatever turns you on.
Track Listing
Semen Ena Debub; Yene Mircha; Bayne Lay Yihedal; Abichu Nega Nega; Yene Abeba; Shemendefer.
Personnel
Hailu Mergia: keyboards, accordion, melodica, vocals; Alemseged Kebede: bass guitar; Kenneth Joseph: drums; Setegn Atenaw: mesenqo (1); Abraham Rezene Habte: guitar (1); Moges Habte: saxophone (2); Ben Hall: trombone (2); Mike Ault: guitar (2, 6); Tsehay Kassa: vocals (4, 6).
Album information
Title: Yene Mircha | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Awesome Tapes From Africa