The Case of the Curious Sounds from Ethiopia and Mali

This week I return to a pair of themes with particular local interest:  African rare grooves from Ethiopia and Mali. There are many fans of these musical traditions in Portland, and this week's lineup will include tracks from some of the Ethiopian and Malian albums reissued by locally based label Mississippi Records.

Ethiopia has always been an outlier among sub-Saharan African nations... as the only culture below that desert to have a written language, Ethiopia was able to build empires while most Africans lived tribal existences. They had a unique and thriving music industry from the 60s up until 1975, at which time the death of Emperor Salassie threw the country into such deep and prolonged chaos that the recording industry came to a complete halt for over a decade. 

Ethiopian music style is also unique among African nations. Drawing some influence from across the Indian Ocean, much Ethiopian music is built on the Pentatonic music scale from China and Mongolia, which features 5 notes per octave rather than the Western norm of 7 notes. Encyclopedia Sound also detects a bit of Bollywood flair in the hectic lounge jazz music of Ethiopia.

Malian music also stands out among African cultures; in this case, for its deep roots in ancient song and traditional instrumentation. Under the leadership of a Communist government in the 1970s, Mali joined its neighbor Guinea in mandating traditional music programs for all musicians (who were, after all, being paid by the Communist government). This prompted local musicians to seek out ways to modernize the ancient traditional compositions and integrate modern instruments such as electric base and guitar. The resulting fusion music was particularly successful in Mali, launching a thriving music scene that continues to this day.

This week I play some of the top sounds from these 2 singular cultures... Ethiopia first hour, Mali second hour.