No Hats No Hoods, Ethiopia Records, Tilet Media together with Kenyan AfroBeats artists, Grime producers and MC’s Blakie and Scrufizzer, together with Ethiopiyawi Electronic producer Endeguena Mulu are collaborating to produce a fusion of Ethiopiyawi and Grime.
Ethiopiyawi; Ethiopia’s emerging Electronic scene combines traditional Ethiopian folk sounds with more modern styles such as Hip Hop, Reggae, Afrobeat, and Grime. Similar to Grime it has evolved from producers using affordable music software in home studios and has the same youthful urgency. This collaboration, along with traditional Ethiopian instrumental musicians, will culminate in a 5000 person concert and an EP release with accompanying music videos.
This Collaboration is a first of its kind and hopes to spread each of the sounds and artists to new audiences. They will also write and record approximately 10 tracks to form an EP, produce 3 high-quality music videos featuring traditional and modern references from each country, and produce a show for 1000 people in Addis Ababa which will be streamed by Boiler Room with a behind the scenes documentary directed by Peter Todd
By using live traditional Ethiopian instruments on tracks it will give the music a unique sound which will make it more palatable to an Ethiopian audience who may not be able to understand the lyrics.
The British Council has awarded the Ethiopiyawi Meets Grime music collaboration the new Art new Audiences grant
Ethiopiyawi, Grime and Afrobeats all have similar musical DNA which enables the participants of the project to connect on a musical level. Additionally, all three genres sample extensively but rarely use live musicians. Ethiopia has one of the most diverse and interesting traditional instruments, which are often overlooked in the modern music produced there. By collaborating we hope to spread each of the sounds and artists to new audiences by using an artist each audience will know to show the musical similarities and to introduce them to ones they will not be aware of.
Are you an East African Artist or Cultural practitioner? Learn more about the new Art new Audiences.
new Art new Audiences (nAnA) is an annual open call for 18 to 35-year-old artists, arts organisations, and art collectives from cities within England; Ethiopia; Kenya; Northern Ireland; Rwanda; Scotland; South Sudan; Sudan; Tanzania; Uganda; and Wales. nAnA gives an opportunity for artists from these cities to create new art together, and to showcase this art to audiences across these countries.