djsundog - Network

NVMe Block Storage service has been returned to its normal state according to vultr, so as you were!

NVMe Block Storage service has been returned to its normal state according to vultr, so as you were!

hey clubbers!our hosting provider, vultr, is having issues with their New Jersey block storage service (see https://status.vultr.com/ ) that...

hey clubbers!

our hosting provider, vultr, is having issues with their New Jersey block storage service (see https://status.vultr.com/ ) that may be impacting linernotes.club and its ability to accept uploads/serve media - I will continue to monitor the situation and will post an update once it's been resolved.

thank you for your patience and understanding, and keep on rockin'! 🤘

Toot-lab going down for unscheduled maintenance due to a ddos (power outage)This is not a place of honor etc etcSee ya on the flip side,...

Toot-lab going down for unscheduled maintenance due to a ddos (power outage)

This is not a place of honor etc etc

See ya on the flip side, chooms

Okay!linernotes.club is up to date with the 4.1 branch and we've got our custom theme and character count back - big win!Thanks for your...

Okay!

linernotes.club is up to date with the 4.1 branch and we've got our custom theme and character count back - big win!

Thanks for your patience, and thanks for being here!

okay, the club is updated to v4.1.18 and secure - continue to hold your butts while I get our customizations back in place and thank you for...

okay, the club is updated to v4.1.18 and secure - continue to hold your butts while I get our customizations back in place and thank you for your patience

ok folks, making the database backup before flipping the switches to upgrade the club to 4.1.18 - hold on to your butts

ok folks, making the database backup before flipping the switches to upgrade the club to 4.1.18 - hold on to your butts

hey clubbers!I'm going to be installing the latest updates once they're released, so expect some brief downtime at some point in the...

hey clubbers!

I'm going to be installing the latest updates once they're released, so expect some brief downtime at some point in the next few hours

The power outages have returned to Ellijay

The power outages have returned to Ellijay

Big winds brought down big trees in Sundogistan. Toot-lab and related services will be back online once our ISP is back online.

Big winds brought down big trees in Sundogistan. Toot-lab and related services will be back online once our ISP is back online.

The liner notes for "Tche Belew"From the original liner notes written by Mulatu Astatke, with translation by Dr. Timkehet...

The liner notes for "Tche Belew"

From the original liner notes written by Mulatu Astatke, with translation by Dr. Timkehet Teffera:

Dozens of cherished recordings were made during the legendary "golden age" of Ethiopian music, an era stretching from the early 1960s through the mid-1970s. Less-discussed are the songs made in the aftermath of the 1974 revolution that toppled Emperor Hailu Selassie I. The acclaimed and highly sought-after LP by Hailu Mergia and the Wailas, "Tche Belew", an album of instrumentals released in 1977, is perhaps the most seminal of these recordings. The story of the Walias band is a critical chapter in Ethiopian popular music, taking place during a period of music industry flux and political complexity in the country.

Hailu Mergia, a keyboardist and arranger diligently working the nightclub scene in Addis Ababa, formed the Walias in the early 1970s with a core group of musical colleagues assembled from the remnants of prior working bands attached to the Zula and Venus clubs. One of the first "private" bands, the Walias got a steady gig at the prestigious Hilton Addis Ababa and remained independent from the government-supported bands of the time as well as from the clubs who employed the bands.

While the oppressive and often brutal, Socialsm-inspired Derg government (1974-1987) had a firm grip on Ethiopians following the revolution, Walias organized their own contracts and eschewed government patronage. Unlike the celebrated bands of the run-up to Selassie's removal -- the Police Orchestra, Imperial Bodyguard Band, National Theater Band, Ethiopian Army Band, Hager Fikir Theater Band, City Hall Theatre Folkloric Group and so on -- the Wailas developed fame on their own terms and maintained control of their instruments and performances. They played the blues-, funk- and soul-informed tunes Mergia was writing and arranging, while curring 45rpm recordings released by Kaifa Records with popular vocalists, including Getachew Kassa and Alemayehu Borobor.

After several singles, Mergia decided to do something different: record a full-length album. The band -- which at the time featured Moges Habte (saxophone and flute), Mahmmud Aman (guitar), Yohannes Tekola (trumpet), Melake Gabrie (bass guitar), Girma Beyene (piano), Temare Haregu (drums), Abebe Kassa (alto saxophone), and special guest Mulatu Astatke (vibes) -- entered Radio Voice of the Gospel studios to record their first long-player. The director of the station knew MErgia personally and connected the band with a sound engineer there. (Incidentally, the Lutheran-owned station was taken over shortly thereafter by the Derg government and used for propaganda purposes.)

Influenced in large part by Jimmy Smith, Mergia and the Walias merged the popular international sounds available in Ethiopia at the time with the traditional tunes that formed the foundation of most musicians' repertoires. But for this LP, instead of playing the role of backing band, Mergia wanted four of his bandmates to contribute arrangements, so that the album would capture a spectrum of sounds with the instruments and groove positioned out front.

Recording in one large room, the band spent two days laying down the songs, completing several of them in single takes. It was the most professional technical set-up they had used thus far, with modern studio facilities and quality instruments (Mergia was using Farfisa and Godwin organs at the time). Being that this record was predominantly instrumental -- extremely rare among Ethiopian LPs -- it's notable that "Tche Belew" features a backing chorus,. Interjecting brief phrases on a few songs, the trio of accomplished vocalists Aster Aweke, Getachew Kassa, and Tegest Abate are the only voices heard on the recording. In the aftermath of the LP's release, the public's response was strong and the LP and cassettes sold better than expected.

While the band never traveled outside Addis Ababa, they performed at top hotels and played the presidential palace twice. The Walias' relationship with the Derg regime was complex though, evidenced by the removal of one song from the record by government censors because it included mention of the previous government. The regime's broad policy of violence and censorship -- including a period called the Red Terror that featured genocide-level disappearances of students, activists and villagers and the indiscriminate imprisonment of journalists -- ultimately resulted in half the band staying in the United States following their first tour outside Ethiopia in the early 1980s. Today the musicians remain scattered between Addis Ababa and Washington D.C.

Decades later, Hailu Mergia was surprised to see the album fetching more tha $4,000 at online auctions. The Walias had recorded the most famous and wide-reaching of all Ehiopian tunes from that era, "Musicawi Silt," which was composed by the band's pianist Girma Beyene. Covered by bands from all over the world, "Musicawi Silt" and the rest of this long-awaited reissue have lived on among record collectors and older Ethiopians to this day. Now everyone has the chance to listen again -- or for the first time -- to this timeless pillar of Ethiopian popular music.

"Up until now Hailu Mergia has been well-known as an arranger and performer of instrumental tunes and now he introduces his new music on a full-length LP. In this great album, Hailu Mergia presents new musical elements, different than those created in the past. Hence, the works of musicians and arrangers Mulatu Astatke, Girma Beyene, Yohannes Tekola, and Moges Habte have been incorporated in the pieces."

"This time three musical styles have been integrated into the album to reach a wider range of listeners. These are jazz, or other pieces with Ethiopian touch or new experimental stylistic innovations. So, in general the whole album reflects a well-thought-out artistic work. Any listener may appreciate or dislike the music."

"Nevertheless, to arrange and perform music like Hailu Mergia requires special talent. That is why I value his aptitude. To understand the development of Ethiopian popular music and to be aware of artistic creativity of a musical ensemble, simply listen to Hailu's album."

Copyright (c) 2014 Awesome Tapes From Africa

This was a great cold pick. Do recommend. @connor_dylan is gonna dig it.

This was a great cold pick. Do recommend. @connor_dylan is gonna dig it.

Made my way down to Hemlock Bazaar for #recordStoreDay and picked up this album of instrumentals from Ethiopia in 1977, Hailu Mergia and the...

Made my way down to Hemlock Bazaar for #recordStoreDay and picked up this album of instrumentals from Ethiopia in 1977, Hailu Mergia and the Walias' "Tche Belew"

A few cuts in and it's a fun fusion of rock, funk, and jazz interspersed with rhythmic patterns that give it a decidedly non-Western bent.

Looking forward to digging into its backstory!

sorry about the brief downtime this morning - the issue has been resolved.

sorry about the brief downtime this morning - the issue has been resolved.

Just heard that Wendy and Lisa, of The Revolution, of Prince and The Revolution, are in the studio working on a new album...with Annie...

Just heard that Wendy and Lisa, of The Revolution, of Prince and The Revolution, are in the studio working on a new album...with Annie Lennox.

Hey clubbers!I just realized that, while I set up liberapay recently, I didn't add a link to it to my profile here, so now that's...

Hey clubbers!

I just realized that, while I set up liberapay recently, I didn't add a link to it to my profile here, so now that's rectified.

If you're interested in helping financially support the operation of linernotes.club, now you can make a donation here: https://liberapay.com/sundog/

Thanks, and keep on groovin'!

🎧

hey all!just a quick note to let you know all the latest security upgrades have been installed on linernotes - let me know if anything goes...

hey all!

just a quick note to let you know all the latest security upgrades have been installed on linernotes - let me know if anything goes awry!

and toot length is one again set to 15000!that should take care of this round of "Let's Update Linernotes Club!"let me know if you run into...

and toot length is one again set to 15000!

that should take care of this round of "Let's Update Linernotes Club!"

let me know if you run into any issues!

theme is back!now fixing the toot length back to the expanded space you've come to know and love...

theme is back!

now fixing the toot length back to the expanded space you've come to know and love...

okay, the security update has been installed, but things are back to default UI wise until I apply our theme again - there'll be one...

okay, the security update has been installed, but things are back to default UI wise until I apply our theme again - there'll be one more restart when I've got that taken care of, but the security bit is done. 👍