Various Artists - Rare Sounds of Addis Abeba

Quite often our western idea of African music is influenced by cliché and colored by a romanticism not at least inspired by Hollywood movies. Only very few of us have most likely been lucky enough to listen to the original folk music of that continent, so enviably rich in its cultural multitude. Pit Budde had never found these facts to be too satisfying. So, for four years, he worked very hard to get in touch with musicians from the Ethiopian capital Addis Abeba, persuading them to take part in this project. On “Rare Sounds” we have the chance to estimate Budde’s effort: Sixty thrilling minutes of music allow us to at least get a glimpse of the immense richness of the Ethiopian folk music and their fabulous musicians, so extraordinarily gifted for improvisation. In our modern times, when only a simple oom-pah Eurobeat is needed to turn whole musical cultures into “world beat” “Rare Sounds from Addis Abeba” is a rare, preserving gem.