Editorial issue n° 10
DEAR READER,
I'm writing to you from
the jungle of Polynesia,
the isle of Tuvalu. I’m here researching the sound- textural qualities of the Tuli bird and its influence on western post-WWII avant-garde. How and why
I ended up here involved
a wild night in Brussels,
a somewhat scruffy man and a dodgy contract. So... At this very moment, I’m sitting in a bar barely worth the name. The bartender only serves warm beer,
and I’m deeply wrapped-up in the significance of Tuli bird chant.
24 November 2017 |
AG 10
Afework Nigussie
Afework Nigussie is an Ethiopian musician and singer from the Gondar region in North Ethiopia, who grew up in the capital Addis Abeba. He is a master of the masinko, a claret shaped violin with thick snares and goat skin which gives a strong sound that trembles into your belly and bones. He also plays a wide range of traditional Ethiopian string, wind and percussive instruments. His musical background is that of the ancient Azmari tradition, the wandering minstrels who carried the latest news and social criticism in loud songs from village to village, from door to door. Yet in his case, he chooses not to copy the old Azmari lines, but rather recreate his own songs that belong to current times, whether in secular or spiritual folk styles. Nigussie is a contemporary songwriter and composer who prefers to look forward instead of back.
15 November 2017 |
AG 10