Mahmoud Ahmed

Erè Mèla Mèla (also on Éthiopiques 7) You say: “Great mix of hypnotic African scales and vocal tones but with hints of American jazz and R&B… and some rockin’ fuzz guitar.” Jo Kendall, via Twitter

A decade into his singing career, Ahmed hit his stride around 1972, releasing a string of singles that would be collected on three LPs, (the first pair now most easily tracked down as

Éthiopiques 6 and 19). The third, 1975’s Erè Mèla Mèla, is the crowning glory of Swinging Addis, mesmeric, snaking rhythms (courtesy of the Ibex Band) backing a formidable vibrato that has grit and smoothness, pain and yearning in equal measure. Notably, it had a life post-Live Aid, when it became the first modern Ethiopian album to be released in Europe (on Crammed Discs). As a postscript to the golden age, Mahmoud’s next LP, 1978’s Jeguol Naw Betwa, would be the last piece of vinyl released in Ethiopia as the regime clamped down.