Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Mahmoud Ahmed


Mahmoud Ahmed has found a certain popularity thanks to the resounding success of the Ethiopiques compilations and the use of many of these tracks in the Jim Jarmusch film, Broken Flowers. Defined by simple repetitive melodic motifs and hypnotic beats, Ethiopian Jazz in general and Mahmoud's music in particular is perfect for a variety of moods. You're equally as likely to belly dance as slip into an transcendent stupor listening to this track from his 1986 retrospective release Ere Mela Mela (rereleased as Ethiopiques Vol. 7):

Mahmoud Ahmed - Embwa Belew

Afropop Worldwide offers up an excellent biography on Mahmoud in the context of the developing Ethiopian political crisis and famine over the last half of the 20th century.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Dude Ahmend is my favorite. "Tezeta" by him is one of my all-time favorite sad songs. So amazing.