SAMA'I

TRACKLISTING


1 Azmari - Zegiyitwali
2 Azmari - Cosm ic Masadani
3 Azmari - Kamilari
4 Azmari - Kugler
5 Azmari - Tariq Al S ahara
6 Azmari - Azalai
7 Azmari - Fat Ari
8 Azmari - Kadikoy
9 Azma ri - Doni





INFO


Created in Brussels in 2 015, Azmari is a weaving musical odyssey that expertly fuses ethiogroove, dub, p sychfunk and eastern sounds.

Taking inspiration from artists such as Okay Temiz, Mulatu Astatke, Cymande, Fela Kuti and The Heliocentrics, an Azmari, literally "one who praises" in Amharic, is an Ethiopian singer-musician, compar able to the European bard or the West African griot often accompanied with a mas enqo - one-stringed fiddle or krar - lyre, two traditional ethiopian instruments .

Having released their debut EP 'Ekera' last year, a series of shows across Europe saw the Azmari sound develop and ten days performing in Ist anbul opened the band's ears to the Turkish sounds and rhythms from the 1960s.
Keen to get back in the studio to start work on their debut album, stu diously studying Turkish and Ethiopian scales, along with learning new instrumen ts along the way including the berimbau, the ney and baglama, the Azmari sound t ransformed into a rebellious, unrelenting and mesmerising trip.

The r esulting nine tracks that make up debut album 'Sama'i', released 22nd January vi a Sdban UItra, is a deeply hypnotic experience where mesmerising rhythms and win ding improvisations send the listener in to a higher state of consciousness.

From the magical sax of album opener 'Zegiyitwali', to the dubby templat e of 'Cosmic Masadani' and joyous horns of 'Kugler', Azmari seamlessly blend Afr ican and oriental melodies with effortless precision, providing a fresh take on the ethiojazz sound.

Elsewhere, the heavy, rhythmic sounds of 'Tar iq Al Sahara' and the mystical and cosmological 'Azalai' continue our sacred jou rney full of raging saxes and wig-out percussion, while the free-spirited, tripp y 'Kadikoy' coming in at nine minutes in duration, lends a trance-like quality t o proceedings where psychedelic jazz meets afro-funk.