Ibex Band
Today we’re listening to Ibex Band, an Ethiopian band from Addis Ababa. The group formed in the early ‘70s from an earlier band, whose remaining members brought on bassist Giovanni Rico and guitarist Selam “Selamino” Seyoum Woldemariam as leads.1 Rico and Woldemariam drew from pop music such as The Beatles and Motown as well as traditional Ethiopian folk music. The group recorded hundreds of albums in the ‘70s and ‘80s, but most survive only on limited release cassettes if at all. Recently, a 1976 LP, Stereo Instrumental Music, was reissued by the label Muzikawi. It was recorded over two days at an Addis Ababa hotel, employing a four-track recorder for the first time in the country’s history. The jams are by turns bright and brooding, with tizita scales playing over major and diminished chords.
Stereo Instrumental Music - Ibex Band (61m, no vocals)
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Have a great Thursday.
This one is so good!