The Dahlak Band honed their sound as the resident musicians at the Ghion Hotel, a historic building in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa that was first constructed by long-time ruler Emperor Haile Selassie as an intended residence for his son. But at some point—the timeline offered is simply “the late 1970s”—he left behind a full-length vision of the sound he’d been helping to create: Tilaye’s Saxophone with the Dahlak Band, a one-take, one-mic live recording at the same Ghion Hotel where he entertained guests night after night. The jaunty “Ts’igērēda” could almost be a vintage sitcom theme, before a bluesy breakdown enters towards the end of the composition; Yifru’s mean organ play underpins the swaggering lounge exotica of “Ālichalikumi.” The bare-bones recording process gives the music an unvarnished feel; this restoration thankfully retains the lovely raw thump that reflects the cassette tape culture of Ethiopia at the time (it was, in fact, initially released on cassette).
Author: exy
Published at: 2026-03-19 22:40:45
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