Ethio-jazz singer Meklit to make WOMAD UK debut

The singer told Music In Africa that she was looking forward to taking Ethiopian music to the world together with fellow countrywoman Selamnesh Zemene.

“This will be my fourth performance at Nuits d’Afrique,” she said. “I've had amazing experiences playing there for the past seven years. However, it will be my first time at WOMAD where there will be two performances from Ethiopia. My dear friend Selamnesh Zemene is also going to perform.

"In all my shows, I am honoured to bring music deeply inspired by my Ethiopian heritage, Brooklyn and San Francisco. I represent the life I have lived, which is one of movement, migration and hybridity.”

Meklit said she would perform songs from her When the People Move, the Music Moves Too album, which had been influenced by Ethio-jazz pioneer Mulatu Astatke and released on 23 June 2018.

“The 11 songs from the album were deeply inspired by Mulatu Astatke, the godfather of Ethio-jazz,” she said. “Back in 2011 he came to my show in Ethiopia and said to me: 'Don’t play this music like we played it 50 years ago. Find your contribution to Ethio-jazz and keep on innovating.' It took me years to let that conversation sink in, percolate and really incubate. This album is the result of that conversation.”

Meklit, who is among several popular Ethiopian musicians responsible for popularising the country's music outside the continent, also spoke about the fusion of Ethiopian and Western music.

“Has Ethiopian music in the diaspora been influenced by the sounds abroad? Of course. We are all part of a global conversation. But at the same time, Ethiopians tend to love Ethiopian things, and that is beautiful. There is a balance.”

The singer said Ethio-jazz was not the only music style making waves around the world. “There are wonderful Ethiopian electronic musicians like Edenguena Mulu and Mikael Seifu who are transforming the Ethio-electro sound. They are gaining worldwide popularity as well. Edenguena has a new album coming out very soon, and I predict it’s going to get a lot of buzz,” she said.

Asked whether East African music was well-represented in the diaspora, Meklit said: “At the moment, West African music has much greater representation. People like Fela Kuti opened those doors 40 years ago. I think there is a lot of room for East African music to find a greater voice in the global music sphere. I see it happening more and more, and I anticipate there will be more worldwide awareness of East African music in the 21st century.”

Buy When the People Move, the Music Moves Too on Amazon.