Soul Strut 100: # 51 - Mulatu Astatke - Mulatu of Ethiopia

[RAJ]

I will slowly be unveiling the Top 100 Soul Strut Related Records as Voted by the Strutters Themselves.

# 51 - Mulatu Astatke - Mulatu of Ethiopia

Related Threads

Mulatu

Mulatu Astatqe (Astatke?)

Mulatu Astatke music in Jim Jarmusch movie

Media

 

[indy]

YES !


this is


great live talent, too ! you really see what genius he is by the way he lets his talented band members shine.





definitely one of the artists who got resurrected by our digging scene !





what more can i say ?








edit: be sure to check out mahmoud ahmed, too.





if Mulatu is the James Brown, Mahmoud is the Marvin Gay of this ish.

 

[RAJ]

Never seen this album out and about and probably never will.





I first heard about it on the TT Lab Record Check:

I bought this record about 10 years ago and had to pay $20.00 for a sealed copy. I remember that I thought that was a ton of dough for a record. Now I wish I would have bought all the sealed copies this cat had. Oh well, live and learn. A gorgeous record that mixes the Ethiopian 5 tone scale with Afro-funk and Soul -Jazz. Of course it also has tons of sick samples - both drums and loops. This Vibes player was even sponsored by Ethiopian Airlines! How fresh is that?

 

[RAJ]

Oh and??????

 

[mannybolone]

RAJ said:Oh and??????

 

[DOR]

I do love this album.

 

[edpowers]

The Holy Grail of Elevator music.

 

[The-gaffler]

This dude is popular with the cabdrivers here in DC.

 

[Delay]

relinqished my copy to Asprin as a wedding gift. Havent found an affordable one since

 

[NateBizzo]

mannybolone said:RAJ said:Oh and??????

That is my dead dog Sadie. She had fantastic taste. Shot in my old Vermont bedroom circa 2003. Hard to believe that photo is 10 years old.

 

[hugh_lucero]

Not the sort of thing that turns up in Australia really (duh!), but great to have seen his popularity surge down here and repeat visits in recent years





Giving Mulatu a high five as he left the venue after one of his shows was a personal highlight of 2010

 

[Lamont]

What a resurrection: the real diggers & producers, the Bizzo avatar, Jarmusch, the Soundway 10", Ethiopiques comps, return to the touring scene, Nas/Marley sample and it's a wrap, 20somethingers in the crowd to this day

 

[granjero]

Thank heavens for the reissue.


Never heard of Mulatu til Karen P put him on in London in 2008. What a show. The place was rammed, the front rows full of a high-spirited portion of the Ethiopian community of London (which I never knew existed). From the first song the band (Malcolm Catto & various young London Jazzers) were on fire, and It kept getting better They'd only rehearsed the set once that afternoon. Shame his vibes were pretty much inaudible (though, he hits them pretty light anyway).

 

[Spacecho]

 

[Yemsky]

The-gaffler said:This dude is popular with the cabdrivers here in DC.

I was doing an internship in DC in1994. My office was on Pennsylvania and 7th and parking was steep. One day I pulled into the underground car park, windows down with a tape of this album blasting. The Ethiopian parking attendant was completely shocked to see a young German play this. He asked for a dub. Never had to pay for parking with him anymore.