Alèmayèhu Eshèté 'Ethiopian Urban Modern Music Vol. 2'

Amazing 1970s recordings from Ethiopian singer Alemayehu Eshete, one of the greatest stars of the Ethiopiques series next to Mulatu. The style here is often funky, with a strong James Brown influence in some of the rhythms, hitting hard with a heavy groove at the bottom, and topped by some sharp-edged, angular horns that further freshen up the sound. Other tracks are a bit more soul-based, and make great use of Eshete's amazing vocal style — kind of a back of the throat style of singing, and one that's quite a change from other expectations you might have of African funk from the ‘70s.