Search: Ayalew Mesfin
Ayalew Mesfin & Debo Band
Quintessential Ethio-groove performer Ayalèw Mesfin has joined forces with the renowned US-based ensemble Debo band for his first European live performance ever, and in truth, few collaboration...
Listen to highlights from Ayalew Mesfin's LGW set + view Photo Series of his EU premiere by Melanie Marsman
Following our video of Ethiopian funk legend Ayalew Mesfin's triumphant show at Le Guess Who? 2019, we can now release some highlights of his performance as audio stream, recorded by Marc Broer, together with a stunning photo series by Melanie Marsman of Mesfin's first ever European performance, after his music has gone unheard for 40 yea...
Watch: Ethiopian funk legend Ayalew Mesfin's first ever EU performance at LGW19, together with the Debo Band
After his music has gone unheard for 40 years, either on stage or on record, quintessential Ethio-groove performer Ayalew Mesfin gave his first ever European performance at Le Guess Who? 2019: a show that featured the Debo Band, who formed in 2006 to keep the spirit and craft of Ethiopia’s golden age of pop alive. A...
Read: Pan African Music interviews Ethiopian funk legend Ayalew Mesfin
Ethio-groove legend Ayalew Mesfin rebelled vigorously against Ethiopia’s dictatorial oppression of the 70s, which led to several months in jail and a prohibition to play music for 13 years. Last year, his compilation album Hasabe (My Worries) was released after his music had gone unheard for 40 years, and now, we celebrate Mesfin wi...
This week on BBC Radio: recordings of Ayalew Mesfin, AEAEA (Patrick Higgins x Nicolas Jaar) + Sofia Jernberg interview
There's lots of Le Guess Who? to hear this week on BBC Radio. First off, on Friday night (November 22 at 23:00 GMT), BBC Radio 3's Late Junction will premiere audio recordings of Ethiopian funk legend Ayalew Mesfin's first ever European live performance at Le Guess Who? 2019, as well as a section of the live premiere of AEAEA at th...
Video: watch Madlib meet his hero, Ethiopian legend Ayaléw Mesfin
As part of Madlib’s Medicine Show, Noisey recorded a video in which the producer, rapper and DJ - known for his work with Talib Kweli, J Dilla and MF Doom - meets one of his heroes he’s spent his career sampling and sourcing inspiration from: legendary Ethiopian funk artist Ayalew Mesfin. Mesfin’s music rebelled vigorou...
Revealing the initial line-up for Le Guess Who? 2019
We're pleased to reveal the initial line-up for Le Guess Who? 2019, dedicated to boundary-crossing music from all over the world. The first 87 acts include very rare performances by Asha Puthli, Ustad Saami, and Ayalew Mesfin & Debo Band, as well as the curated programs by Jenny Hval, Moon Duo, Patrick Higgins and The...
Read The Vinyl Factory's story about how Dur-Dur Band defined Somali funk
Somalia's legendary Dur-Dur Band played a major role in the 1980s nightlife of the capital Mogadishu. After reissues by Awesome Tapes From Africa and Analog Africa, Dur-Dur Band's mix of vibrant funk and traditional Somalian rhythms earned renewed recognition globally. The Vinyl Factory's longread tells the story about how the Somalian C...
Listen to Ami Dang's folkloric & transcendental album 'Parted Plains'
Ami Dang takes her listeners to higher states of mind through meditative sounds. The Baltimore ambient musician fuses sitar, voice, and electronics to create east-meets-west transcendental music. On her latest solo record 'Parted Plains', she draws inspiration from South Asian and Middle Eastern folkloric narratives. Dang c...
Listen to a unique collaboration between Ahmed Ag Kaedy and Marjo Smolander on new single 'Tenere'
Tuareg guitarist Ahmed Ag Kaedy has released a new single called 'Tenere' in collaboration with Finnish musician Marjo Smolander. Marjo plays the Finnish traditional instrument Kantele and together with Kaedy's enchanting guitar playing, the sounds blend together as one. Even if you can't understand the words they're both singin...
Video: Aldous Harding performs 'Designer' and 'The Barrel' live at Le Guess Who? 2019
Following the release of her latest album ‘Designer’ last year, New Zealand songwriter Aldous Harding performed at Le Guess Who? 2019, becoming one of the audience’s highlights of the 13th edition of the festival. The show rendered instrumentation and voice into the most vivid and impressionistic of scenes. Harding&...
Stream: reggae poet Linton Kwesi Johnson's powerful spoken word/poetry performance at Le Guess Who? 2017
Linton Kwesi Johnson's impressive body of work includes stints as reggae poet, political orator, recording artist, and author/journalist. His 1978 reggae album Dread Beat an' Blood is a statement akin to Gil Scott-Heron's The Revolution Will Not Be Televised. A vocal personality who fights oppression against black youth, the Jamaica-born...
Stream 'Offering', Nicole Mitchell & Moor Mother's special live collaboration at LGW18
As part of her curation at Le Guess Who? 2018, Philly-based noise artist, activist and wordsmith Moor Mother invited flutist, composer, poet and educator Nicole Mitchell for a performance at the festival. It ended up not being a solo performance though, but an exclusive and improvised collaboration between herself and Moor Mother. No...
Video: watch Deerhunter perform live at Le Guess Who? 2019
Following the release of their latest album 'Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared?', Atlanta art-punkers Deerhunter performed live at Le Guess Who? 2019. We're very pleased to now share a video of the band performing 3 songs live at the festival: 'Sailing' (from their 2010 album 'Halcyon Digest'), 'Take Care' (from 2015's...
Gyedu-Blay Ambolley announces new album '11th Street, Sekondi', shares first single 'Black Woman'
Ghanaian saxophonist, singer and guitarist Gyedu-Blay Ambolley returns with a brand new album, entitled '11th Street, Sekondi', and now shares the first single 'Black Woman'. On the album, named after the area of West Ghana where he grew up, Ambolley looks back at the area and musical styles that shaped his life. '11th Street, Sekond...
Xylouris White share 'Tree Song' video & new song 'Black Sea' from upcoming album 'The Sisypheans'
Xylouris White is the alliance between Greek singer & lute player George Xylouris and drummer Jim White (Dirty Three). Xylouris White reconciles not only the tandem’s respective roots, but above all, a deep friendship forged in 25 years. Now, the group share 'Tree Song', the first single from their upcoming album...
Watch Ghanaian duo Fokn Bois perform 'Brukutu' from their latest album 'Afrobeats LOL'
FOKN Bois are your quintessential agent provocateurs. Their music speaks truth to power and tackles issues that afflict humanity, including corruption, social inequality, religious exploitation and indiscipline. These are the linchpins of most of their musical or cinematic creations. In February, the Ghanaian duo released thei...
Watch: Angel Bat Dawid shares very first video, for 'Impepho'
Spiritual jazz musician Angel Bat Dawid has shared her very first video, for the track 'Impepho'. It is directed by Chicago artist and filmmaker Amir George, and the track is part of her latest album 'The Oracle': a record where the vibrant, spiritual, free-jazz of black life as it stands today is documented. Angels' sound grows at t...
Watch: Sudan Archives releases 'Confessions' video, from upcoming debut album 'Athena'
Violinist, singer, songwriter and producer Sudan Archives shared the first single from her upcoming debut album, now she follows up with a stunning video for 'Confessions', whose closing section also debuts portions of new song 'Black Vivaldi Sonata'. Both tracks are from her impending debut full length 'Athena', out 1 November via S...
Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca shares video for 'AGGUA' from upcoming album 'YESUN'
The acclaimed Havana-born pianist Roberto Fonseca draws from a wide range of musical traditions and genres, including jazz, elements of classical music and Cuban's rich music traditions. He previously performed in the legendary Buena Vista Social Club and was handpicked by Herbie Hancock himself as his touring mate. Following t...
Le Guess Who? onthult compleet festivalprogramma tijdens line-up party in EKKO
Op donderdag 19 september onthult Le Guess Who? de volledige line-up voor de komende festivaleditie in EKKO, met optredens van Ben Shemie (SUUNS), Conjunto Papa Upa, Lechuga Zafiro en een speciale editie van Stranded FM x The Current. Entree is gratis. Deze line-up aankondiging wordt gevierd met optredens van Ben Shemie, frontman v...
Read: The Quietus' introduction to Idris Ackamoor's spiritual jazz
Idris Ackamoor is saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, tap dancer, actor and artistic director of the Pyramids. As part of their 'The Strange World of...' series, The Quietus has published a long read featuring 10 tracks as "points of entry into his formidable body of work." In the article, Ackamoor himself talks about the late...
Read Bandcamp's feature about Minyo Crusaders' Japanese folk music for the post-modern age
The 10-piece Japanese ensemble Minyo Crusaders breathes new life into traditional Japanese folk songs. The word 'Minyo' refers to these songs, that have mostly disappeared from everyday consciousness in 21st century Japan. On their new album 'Echoes of Japan', they merge the traditional minyo with Latin, African and Caribbean rhythms and...
"Angel Bat Dawid taps into the root of all black music": Chicago Reader discusses spiritual jazz album 'The Oracle'
At the age of 34, Chicago-based Angel Elmore quit her job selling high-end lingerie and pursued her childhood dream to become a musician. Now, as Angel Bat Dawid, she sings, composes, and plays keyboard and clarinet, which led to the release of her spiritual jazz album 'The Oracle' earlier this year. She recorded it over a period of more...
Explore Melissa Laveaux's Haitian roots and native folk spirituals in The Guardian interview
The work of Ottawa-born, Paris-based musician and singer Mélissa Laveaux brims with defiance, cheekiness, and pride, combining lost traditions with modern influences like psych rock, calypso, folk pop, and punk. In an interview with The Guardian, Laveaux talks about her third and most recent album 'Radyo Siw&e...
Read Bandcamp's feature about the "thrilling and fantastical" story of La Bruja de Texcoco
Mexican mystical phenomenon La Bruja de Texcoco (literal translation: 'The Witch of Texcoco') recalibrated her classical teachings to create an astonishing tapestry of traditional Mexican music, baroque and jazz, playing various string instruments, percussion and harp. Having recently released her debut 'De Brujas Peteneras...
"As a witch I believe in the magic that happens on stage": La Bruja de Texcoco interviewed by MusicMap
Octavia Mendoza Anario, aka La Bruja de Texcoco (‘The Witch of Texcoco’), reinvigorates the canon of Mexican folk by deviating from it. La Bruja recalibrated her classical teachings to create an astonishing tapestry of traditional Mexican music, baroque and jazz, playing various string instruments, percussion and harp. L...
"The Master Of The Forty Nine Notes": The Quietus publishes profile on Ustad Saami
Pakistan’s Ustad Saami is the last living khayál master, a precursor of the ancient, Islamic devotional music of qawwali. Even under threat of Islamic fundamentalists, the 75-year old master has spent his life as a dedicated practitioner of a vanishing art--one that has been passed on from generation to generation since the 1...
Listen to Sudan Archives' debut album 'Athena'
Today, violinist and vocalist Sudan Archives (Brittney Parks) releases her debut album 'Athena' via Stones Throw. The album is filled with deeply textured tracks that feel contemporary, groovy and powerful at the same time. Parks started to play violin at a young age, which she learned by playing in her local church choir...
Premiere: Arp Frique reveals new project 'Improvised Suites for Analog Machines', to be presented during LGW19
Last week, we revealed the initial line-up for Le Guess Who? 2019, including Arp Frique presents Improvised Suites For Analog Machines. Arp Frique is the past, present and future scrambled together in one groovy, super contagious cocktail of Afrobeat, disco and funk. After releasing the 'Nos Magia'-EP on Rush Hour Music and hi...
Arp Frique releases two new records: 'Radio Verde' & 'Improvised Suites For Analog Machines'
With a super contagious cocktail of Afrobeat, disco and funk, Dutch producer Arp Frique is the past, present and future scrambled together in one groovy, bright-lit musical skirmish. Today, Arp Frique returns to Rush Hour with no less two new releases: 'Radio Verde', a compilation of rare Cape Verdean dancefloor diamonds compiled to...
Nicole Mitchell & Moor Mother - Offering (live at Le Guess Who? 2018)
As part of her curation at Le Guess Who? 2018, Philly-based noise artist, activist and wordsmith Moor Mother invited flutist, composer, poet and educator Nicole Mitchell for a performance at the festival. It ended up not being a solo performance though, but an exclusive and improvised collaboration between herself and Moor Mother. No...
Linton Kwesi Johnson - Live at Le Guess Who? 2017
Linton Kwesi Johnson's impressive body of work includes stints as reggae poet, political orator, recording artist, and author/journalist. His 1978 reggae album Dread Beat an' Blood is a statement akin to Gil Scott-Heron's The Revolution Will Not Be Televised. A vocal personality who fights oppression against black youth, the Jamaica-born...
Le Guess Who? 2019 Press Archive
“With the able steer of festival curators Jenny Hval, Moon Duo, Fatoumata Diawara, and Iris Van Herpen, this year’s boundary-crossing festival Le Guess Who?? welcomed visitors from over 60 countries and proved that even in times of political divide, music and art can bring us together into a more hopeful future.” - The...
Video 2019
Relive performances from LGW19 We captured some performances by Aldous Harding, Ayalew Mesfin & Debo Band, Efterklang, Girl Band, Makaya McCraven and Minyo Crusaders on video. Watch below: WATCH THE VIDEOS Press Archive Our archive includes news, reports and interviews for LGW19. Relive the edition with...
Le Guess Who? 2020 Press archive
The Netherlands 3voor12: Dit zijn de vijftig belangrijkste festivals van Nederland3voor12: Le Guess Who? slaat 2020 over3voor12: Beverly Glenn-Copeland blijft onverstoorbaar hoopvol3voor12: Le Guess Who? organiseert fysiek en online evenement3voor12: Le Guess Who? maakt volledige line-up LGW OFF bekend3voor12: Alternatie...