ASELEFECH ASHINE & GETENESH KEBRET “Beauties” (044)

For many years, this has been on the Domino Sound re-issue wish list, and finally the wish has been granted. A re-issue in cahoots with Mississippi Records of a 1976 gem of a record from Ethiopia. Aselefech Ashine and Getenesh Kebret met in Addis Ababa at the Hager Fikir Theater, a music and dance icon of Africa. They released one 45rpm single, and this album under the musical direction of Tishome Sisay. Ten beautiful songs, each of them sung as closely intertwined duets between the two “beauties”, backed by the tip top sounds of the Army Band. The LP comes in a Stoughton “Tip-On” sleeve with lyrical translations and a short interview with Aselefech Ashine. Ecstatic to have more copies for the world to enjoy. Dig in!

S.E. ROGIE -“Further Sounds of S.E. Rogie” (043)

Ten more brilliant tracks from 1960’s Sierra Leone by the wildly popular S.E. Rogie!

S.E. Rogie went from running a tailor shop in Sierra Leone to being one of West Africa’s most popular artists. He toured around the country with his guitar, singing his palm wine music in multiple local languages, created his own record label, and was known as the most handsome man in Sierra Leone. He formed the highlife band The Morningstars in 1965. In 1973, he came to the Bay Area to live and expand his base, performing everywhere from local high schools and convalescent homes to festivals and large stages. In his later life he hit the road again and toured the world, eventually passing away while on stage in Russia in 1994.

These tracks were originally released on 7″ 45rpm on his own Rogie label in the 1960s and include solo, ensemble, and Morningstars songs, most of which have never been reissued until now. Sweet as a slice of rhubarb pie as the children drift off to sleep. A co-release with Mississippi Records. In stock now!!!

Salum Abdallah and Cuban Marimba Band – Ngoma Tanzania (042)

Sweet and joyful sounds from the first half of 1960’s Tanzania. Salum Abdallah and Cuban Marimba Band were at the forefront of “muziki wa dansi”, the emerging dance music scene influenced by Cuban 78’s, dance music crazes like the twist and cha cha cha, and the local sounds of their home country. Hailing from the smaller town of Morogoro, they rose to be stars across the country. Out of over 100 sides recorded for local labels, mostly Mzuri Records of Kenya, these twelve songs are the cream of the crop. Only a few of these have ever been re-released in any form, and that hasn’t happened for several years. Lots of toe tappers, smile enhancers, and downright dancers, with a few slower and simpler songs to round it out. Taken from 1961-65, these twelve songs shine a brighter light on an already bright light that was Salum Abdallah, taken away from this earth all too early at the age of 37. The 12 song LP comes in an old style tip-on sleeve with lyrics in Swahili with English translations on the inner sleeve.

Tewolde Redda-Eritrea’s Guitar Pioneer -1970-73 (041)

From Asmara, Eritrea(formerly Ethiopia) Tewolde Redda revolutionized the sounds of traditional Eritrean music by amplifying his kirar, playing his Eko electric guitar, and recording six singles in the first part of the 1970’s. Including the first Eritrean songs to use a horn section, traditional songs reworked into his new sound, and originals influenced by radio broadcasts from the United States military base in Asmara, Kagnew Station, these ten songs originally released on the Philips, Amha, and Yared labels show off his talents with stringed instruments, a talented back up band, and often the hand clapped beat shifting into double time near the song’s end. Tewolde’s thick, deep voice sings songs of love over somber and joyous tunes. Comes in a “tip-on” sleeve with extensive liner notes, lyrical translations, and unpublished photos. A co-release with Mitmitta Musika of Addis Abeba, Ethiopia.

S.E. Rogie – The Sounds Of S.E. Rogie Vol. 1 (038)

From the West African country of Sierra Leone, S.E. Rogie was a palm wine guitarist extraordinaire. With his guitar and smooth baritone voice, an early monophonic tape recorder, and a few pick up musicians, he produced a string of hit records which sold through Africa and Europe. Backing Rogie at the recording sessions was an ever changing band of followers playing combinations of maracas, claves, congas, and an empty box which was struck like a bass drum. These recordings from 1960-69 are the sounds of the soul in an era when Africans were breaking the chains of colonialism. They are the sounds of palm wine guitar music as it left the bars and burst forth on radio and record. They are lost sounds that have been found again and the world of music is the better for it. A co-release with Mississippi Records of Portland, OR.

Wedding Songs (037)

 With a mix of modern and traditional instruments these fourteen songs go through the progression of an Ethiopian Amhara wedding sung in Amharic. With the trio of singers, Lemma G. Hiwot, Zenebech Tesfaye, and Selamawit G. Selassie, alternating turns at the microphone, and sharing call and response duties, a relentless frenzy of hand clapping incites dancing and smiles. The consumption of tedj (honeywine) and the swirling love of a wedding was captured in the studio with euphoric energy to take away to play over and over again when the festivities are over. With hand screened covers and an insert of wedding photos accompanying the liner notes, this is the next best thing to an invitation to the real thing. Originally released on Philips Ethiopia in 1973. A co release with Mitmitta Musika of Addis Abeba, Ethiopia.

Ali Birra – Ammalele (SOLD OUT)(036)

With the western world’s recent access to the Ethiopian music of the 1970’s, the focus has been almost solely on the Amhara music of Addis Ababa. The Oromo people, the largest ethnic group, hasn’t been equally represented. Ali Birra, the biggest Oromo star and a hero to his people was so beloved that he did break into the Amhara dominated record market. Learning how to play the guitar using the tuning for an oud, the sound is as much Arabic as Ethiopian. After two years singing in the Imperial Body Guard Band alongside Mahmoud Ahmed and Tilahun Gessesse, and a brief hiatus from music, he made these recordings backed up by the Aduu Birra Band. With a prevalent joy and catchy sing along style, Ali sings songs of love, misery, and beating the oppressor in these tracks from 1976. Comes with liner notes and translations of the lyrics from Oromo to English, housed in a tip on sleeve. Sound quality is not the best, but the music shines through nonetheless. A co-release with Little Axe Records of Portland, OR.
This album is SOLD OUT

Various Artists-“Remolino De Oro:Coastal Cumbias From Colombia’s Discos Fuentes 1961-1973″(035)

A follow up to A Orillas del Magdalena, twelve more cumbias from Colombia’s most prolific label, Discos Fuentes. Hailing, by all accounts, from the Northern coast of Colombia, Cumbia is the offspring of the musical melding of three cultures–the Indigenous, Spanish and African. Shaped by bright cymbals, an insistent bass line, eclectic percussion and brilliant accordion playing, these Discos Fuentes recordings remain raw, loose and unpolished. From dance floor hit to nostalgic ode–they come straight from the heart.

Fred McDowell – The Alan Lomax Recordings (032)

Alan Lomax heard tale of a blues guitarist when he was snooping around the area and thought “Ah, I heard it all before. Another blues guitarist. Probably a wasted night”. But… he arrived at Fred McDowell’s house with recording device in tow and documented the first recordings of something truly special. Lomax agreed. Here we have Fred and his wife, with a few other local players at his home-raw, refreshing, real. A co-release with Mississippi Records of Portland, Oregon. Liner notes written by Adam Machado and Nathan Salsburg.

Why Are We Building Such a Big Ship – Of Resolutions and Resolve (SOLD OUT)(030)

An unwieldy, shifting assemblage of layered horns, strings, accordion, percussion, and voices, one minute graced with wistful melancholy, tempered with cautious optimism the next.  Housed in a hand-stamped chipboard sleeve incorporating old postage stamps, with an insert containing the lyrics, these seven songs are saturated with tribulation, but reminding one that there is always, at the root, hope.

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The Ex With Getatchew Mekuria – Moa Anbessa(SOLD OUT)(029)

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The Ex With Tom Cora – Scrabbling At The Lock (SOLD OUT)(028)

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Uke Of Phillips – Peppermint Birdhouse Tea Shanty Shack (SOLD OUT)(027)

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Krewe Of Eris – The Feasts Of The Appetites Of Eris(SOLD OUT)(026)

“Each year, on the Sunday prior to Mardi Gras, a rag tag group of musicians assembles to provide the soundtrack for the progression of the parade of the Krewe of Eris. During the February 22, 2009 parade, a food based banquet, the sounds of this 62 piece band were captured on cassette and two microphones towering overhead. Brass and percussion working through seven originals and a cover through the streets of New Orleans, with accompaniment of paraders, bottles, sirens, and food. Field recording that sounds just like it sounded. And then they ate cake…”

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De Kift – Krankenhaus (SOLD OUT)(025)

“De Kift’s second album, Krankenhaus, originally a 1993 compact disc, is released for the first time ever on vinyl. The music on the album is difficult to describe, there simply aren’t the reference points to make it easily classifiable. Thematically, Krankenhaus is a guided tour through the terror and tedium of war and its effects. Musically, it does have guitar, bass, and drums, but there is also a brass section, scrappy and heartfelt, making plenty of appearances throughout, and some woodwinds, an accordion, piano, violin, and hand clapping show up here and there. Imagine a scene from a Berlin cabaret of the ’30s as written by the New Deal’s Federal Theater Project. But, in, well, Dutch. And using World War authors and poets as lyricists, but seen through the lens of the Dutch squatters movement that De Kift and The Ex came up through. If Hanns Eisler had been a collaborator with The Ex, you’d be close, but still not quite there. De Kift sets their music to the stories and poems of authors Jan Arends, Erich M. Remarque and Wolfgang Borchert and comes up with an album that brings a new beauty to the words and a remarkably original amalgamation. This release comes in a tip-on sleeve with original artwork and is accompanied by a 16-page booklet with lyrics in Dutch, English and German.”

(THIS ALBUM IS SOLD OUT)

Various Artists “A Orillas Del Magdalena:Coastal Cumbias From Colombia’s Discos Fuentes”(024)

Coastal Cumbias from Colombia’s Discos Fuentes. Call and response wailing, percussionists that play a measure then disappear, backwards accordions and a persistent, loping bassline comprise some of the elements that make up the Cumbia. Born on the banks of the Magdalena River in coastal Colombia, this infectious music represents a marriage of African, Spanish, and Indigenous influences. Antonio Fuentes began recording Colombia’s music in 1934, founding his country’s first record label, Discos Fuentes. These 12 gems — released between the mid 1950s and the mid ’70s — are lovingly selected from the Discos Fuentes catalogue. Includes tracks by Andres Landero, Los Corraleros de Majagual, Los Guacharacos, and Nafer Duran amongst others.

Why Are We Building Such A Big Ship? – No Blood No Blooms (SOLD OUT)(022)

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