Another day, another great loss to music. The legendary Alèmayèhu Eshèté, known lovingly as the “Ethiopian Elvis,” passed away yesterday at the age of around 80. I came across his work on this particular album, Éthiopiques 10: Tezeta – Ethiopian Blues & Ballads, and though I didn’t hear much Elvis (despite some physical similarities), I was floored by how beautifully Ethiopian music, rock and blues could blend into each other.
Fiddling around on the Youtube stream today as I have the house to myself, I came across a video of this album, and within the first second or so, I got hooked into a mix of Malian blues, funk, Cuban rhythms and a general Afrobeat vibe. Muito Kaballa are a nine-piece band based in Cologne, Germany, and the label releasing this charmer is Rebel Up Records, a fine imprint out of Belgium.
I have to say that this is a pleasantly weird EP by Mitchell Manburg, reminding me in parts of King Crimson’s early 80s era or other progressive rock bands of the time period. It doesn’t have the incredible guitar work of Fripp and Belew, but lyrically, it feels completely in pace with albums like Discipline or Beat in some odd, familiar way. If you want to check out this album go here.
Xerxes is not a name one comes across regularly in English, so when I saw James Xerxes Fusssell’s name pop up on my dashboard, I thought I’d give his music a listen. I’m glad I did. This is a one-track release of blues-tinged music sung in a peculiar manner that I found to be enjoyable.