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Dutch din and the
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Attempts to fuse the traditional sounds of African music with Western styles has more often than not failed miserably, the fusing of two cultures seeming to subtract more than it contributes. Ethiopian music’s forceful traditional melodies, looping time signatures and joyful spirit deserve better, and when Dutch band the Ex—who boast a rich, quarter-century history of anarcho post-punk, world music, improv, free jazz and noise—joined forces with Ethiopia’s “king of the saxophone,” Getatchew Mekuria, on the 2006 release Moa Anbessa, the collaboration paid off in spades. This was clearly Mekuria’s show, and the track listing was gleaned exclusively from the traditional Ethiopian songbook. The Ex, meanwhile, were able to sustain their identity while still contributing to Mekuria’s celebratory spirit. “When I went to Ethiopia about 13 years ago, I found a cassette of his and was just really blown away by how original he sounded,” says Ex guitarist Terrie Hessels over a transatlantic phone line. “We had to track him down to see if he would be interested in playing at our 25th- anniversary show in Amsterdam, and he agreed immediately. “It’s actually quite mysterious how our two different styles work so well together. It’s really amazing for the both of us.” The clash of these two different cultures, the Ex’s punk rock rumble and Mekuria’s traditional Ethiopian form, isn’t nearly as lofty as you would think. Mekuria’s sax style is full of the energy that can be found at the roots of punk, his joyful squeals most at home with high-energy, up-tempo beats, while the Ex’s longtime love of Ethiopian music shines through in their stoked and angular time signatures. “The guy is just unbelievable,” says Hessels of Mekuria. “I have never met a person with as much energy as him. He’s 74 years old but many times, it’s like he’s 15. He only speaks about 20 words of English and we only know about 20 words of Ethiopian, but it’s still really easy to communicate with him. There really is a connection between us and him that we can’t really explain, and playing with him every night is just amazing.” AT LA SALA ROSSA ON MONDAY, |
