2009/10/18

Coptic Ethiopia

without knowing much, my ears tell me that this is older music in the service of newer gods... need to read about the ancient ethiopians before the christians arrived, the empire from which egyptian civilization owed much.
and this one... love the sound of those strings. timbre reminds me of prepared piano. anyone know the relationship of ethiopian lyre to the santoor feel free to drop a line. so simple, so rich, so efficient at what it does. (thanks to Rob Mcd for alerting me to these)

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

that is some pretty deep stuff - wish i knew the words though!

Anonymous said...

great, mystical, deep, as you like dj zhao!

chris_c said...

just beautiful! thanks once again. on the experimental side of things, how about another delve into the wonderful world of spectralism? this stuff is really exciting me and will probably be the last nail in the coffin as far as hardcore being my fave music is concerned! Went to a fantastic gig of Les Espaces Acoustique recently in London which moved me immensely.
respect.

zhao said...

first commentor: i have no idea what the words are but i'm scared that they might sound very similar to what you might find in the Watchtower...

Chris: never give up the hardcore bruv!!! (you do mean UK rave?)

Anonymous said...

ancient stories in Ethiopia tell how King Solomon and Queen Sheba liked to test each other, the new god and the old god competing through their most gifted representants.
Once King Solomon was invited by Queen Sheba to her palace, where she led him to a beautifully constructed room, some sort of greenhouse. In this room her artists had worked for years creating artificial flowers which were indiscernible from the real ones: the scent, the delicacy of the petals, the colors. everything was in its right place.
"So, you who are so wise", said the queen, "can you spot the one and only real flower amongst the myriad of false ones?". Solomon was puzzled. He used all his resources, his sensibility, his senses, but could not find the true flower.
sweating, he asked the queen "it is very hot in here, can a window be opened?". she gave the order, and a window was opened.
A moment later, Solomon had spotted the flower.

A bee had flown into the room, and placed itself upon the only real flower.


thanks for spreading such great music!
good luck
Ricardo
Argentina

chris_c said...

while i like a lot of the old ravey davey, i was referring to bad brains, die kreuzen, butch mucus, govt warning, etc... i certainly wouldn't give up on the rave side of things - so many happy, sort of memories of being high in a field dancing like a fiend. this stuff is in me for good!
atb

Anonymous said...

those songs are reeeeally interesting. but anybody knows where to find some cds?? it would be great to have them.

thanks anyway!! :)

Unknown said...

Check Ethiopiques Vol. 11 Alemu Aga "The Harp of King David", I think it's just what you are looking for.