{"product_id":"mulatu-astatke-mulatu-of-ethiopia","title":"Mulatu Astatke - Mulatu of Ethiopia","description":"\u003cp\u003eStrut presents the first official reissue of a landmark album in the field of African music,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eMulatu Of Ethiopia\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003efrom 1972. Recorded in New York, the album arrived at a time when\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMulatu Astatke\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ehad begun to master the delicate fusion of styles needed to create Ethio jazz.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“I left the UK for America and studied at Berklee College in Boston. I learnt the technical aspects of jazz and gained a beautiful understanding of many different types of music. That’s where I got my tools. Berklee really shook me up.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJourneying regularly to the Big Apple to play and watch live shows at the Cheetah, the Palladium, and the Village Gate, Astatke met producer Gil Snapper on the circuit. “Gil was a nice and very interesting guy. He produced music and worked with all kinds of musicians.” The meeting would lead to a series of albums on Snapper’s Worthy label.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe first, ‘Afro Latin Soul’, documented Astatke’s new-found directions. “Mulatu has created a new sound,” enthused Snapper on the album jacket. “He has taken the ancient five-tone scales of Asia and Africa and woven them into something unique and exciting; a mixture of three cultures, Ethiopian, Puerto Rican, and American.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA second volume of ‘Afro Latin Soul’ followed before Astatke began to hone his sound further, infusing funk and cultural influences into the mix. Returning to a downtown Manhattan studio with Snapper and working with some of the city’s top young jazz and Latin session players,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eMulatu Of Ethiopia\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ebegan to take shape. “We rehearsed for 3-4 weeks,” remembers Astatke. “It took them a while to get the right feeling in the music.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe resultant album represented the first fully formed document of Astatke’s trademark Ethio jazz sound. It features \"\u003cem\u003eKulunmanqueleshi\u003c\/em\u003e\", \"\u003cem\u003eDewel\u003c\/em\u003e\", and \"\u003cem\u003eKasalefku-Hulu\u003c\/em\u003e\", tracks that Mulatu would return to regularly on singles and in live shows, the Ethio-Latin workout \"\u003cem\u003eChifara\u003c\/em\u003e\" and the self-titled groover \"\u003cem\u003eMulatu\u003c\/em\u003e\" (“I wanted to make a track for... myself!”).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll formats feature a new interview with\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMulatu Astatke\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand rare photos.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Universal","offers":[{"title":"LP - Black Vinyl","offer_id":51121810833720,"sku":null,"price":24.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0764\/5803\/3464\/files\/e691f5d5-0a3e-4cb5-854f-2feceec9c830_thumbnail_4096.webp?v=1757593202","url":"https:\/\/www.deadsearecords.co.uk\/products\/mulatu-astatke-mulatu-of-ethiopia","provider":"Dead Sea Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}