Listen to the third song on this CD
Listen to the 9th song on this CD
Get it all here.
I found this Eritrean CD at the Habesha Market & Carryout in Washington, DC, where I also found this mind-searing Ethiopian CD. I'm almost positive the language is Tigrinya, though I have no honest idea if that's really the case. I do love the album, whatever it is. It sounds like a mix between certain African music I might have heard in the 80s and maybe Algerian rai and--I swear--there are moments when it sounds almost Burmese, or at least vaguely south/southeast Asian (to me, anyway; listen, for instance, to that second sample above).
When I pointed to this album, the barista behind the register warned me that "This isn't Ethiopian--different language," and seemed at first as though she wasn't going to let me take a look at it. The happy stupid look on my face must have disarmed her as--as you can hear for yourself--I managed to bring it home with me.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
