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All of the books here are related to Ethiopia,
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00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:17,680
as well as downstairs.
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00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:25,440
Look at this -
this is the kind of cover.
4
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That's super-rare stuff.
5
00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:31,480
Again, by Amha Ashete.
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00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:37,039
They're all my favourites.
For me, they are part of my eyes and memories.
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00:01:37,160 --> 00:01:42,000
I cherish them, I take incredible care of them.
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00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:47,759
I would never play them anymore.
They're all digitised and I don't touch them.
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00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:04,160
The love of music has been in me
since childhood.
10
00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:13,040
Usually people buy clothing, shoes,
you know -
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00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:14,000
things like that.
12
00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:18,800
The first thing I bought was a record player
13
00:04:19,279 --> 00:04:22,800
from an American guy
who was leaving Ethiopia.
14
00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:21,880
Yeah, that was Cole Porter,
way back, though.
15
00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:27,760
And that's how it all started.
16
00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:47,480
Addis was a very flourishing city,
just like a modern city.
17
00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:55,960
It was very open.
18
00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:59,960
We were able to buy Newsweek,
and all kind of international papers.
19
00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:04,520
We were able to know about musicians
in others countries of the world,
20
00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:09,640
who are the great musicians in Africa,
in Europe and in America, as well.
21
00:06:14,280 --> 00:06:17,200
You know when they play -
wow - what kind of music is that?!
22
00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:19,280
Then I try to catch up,
23
00:06:19,280 --> 00:06:23,240
and anywhere I can find the drums
I try to catch up with the rhythm they play.
24
00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:33,000
The night-life was great.
25
00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:36,720
People were going out,
basically, 7 nights a week.
26
00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:56,760
I had a part-time job at the
American Mapping Mission
27
00:06:56,800 --> 00:07:00,400
which gave me a chance
to go to Kagnew Station.
28
00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:14,760
In Kagnew Station they had an f.m. radio station.
29
00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:27,120
They had the latest music,
James Brown, Elvis Presley -
30
00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:29,520
I was totally fascinated.
31
00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:37,120
And I said to myself,
if these things are released in the US
32
00:07:37,200 --> 00:07:39,560
why aren't they available in Ethiopia?
33
00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:45,320
I said, I have to do something,
34
00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:47,560
I have to give something to these people.
35
00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:36,120
My first order of LPs and 45s
from the USA arrived.
36
00:08:38,520 --> 00:08:40,240
Some people thought it was crazy.
37
00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:48,240
But that very night
I had the records coming,
38
00:08:49,480 --> 00:08:53,840
maybe at around 4 o'clock in the afternoon,
half the shelves were empty.
39
00:08:57,400 --> 00:09:00,080
After a week the whole shelves
was completely empty -
40
00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:01,560
it was an empty store.
41
00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:24,080
I was the first person who had a music shop -
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00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:25,600
there was no one else.
43
00:09:25,960 --> 00:09:29,560
When the new music comes,
you stand there,
44
00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:31,800
you listen to all the new songs.
45
00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:36,640
If you can't afford to buy,
you stand there all day, you listen.
46
00:09:36,760 --> 00:09:40,800
It was a lot of rock 'n' roll -
basically, it was Elvis time.
47
00:09:40,960 --> 00:09:44,120
He was so fast, he had a lot of collections,
48
00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:46,480
he knows what the people wants.
49
00:09:56,680 --> 00:10:02,840
In life, one thing always leads you
to something else.
50
00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:06,600
What I started asking myself was,
51
00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:10,840
something that I'd never thought about before -
52
00:10:11,280 --> 00:10:16,960
I'm selling Sudanese records, Italian records,
American, of course, Indian -
53
00:10:18,040 --> 00:10:19,760
but there is no Ethiopian music.
54
00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:21,960
I said, what is going on here?
55
00:10:36,160 --> 00:10:38,280
The Emperor was a very powerful person.
56
00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:39,640
He was respected.
57
00:10:39,680 --> 00:10:42,000
The security force was tough.
58
00:10:42,280 --> 00:10:48,040
You could be put in jail
and then be forgotten.
59
00:10:51,240 --> 00:10:57,920
I found out that the Emperor had put a decree
giving the right of publishing any record
60
00:10:58,160 --> 00:10:59,920
to a patriotic association.
61
00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:05,000
With that decree on hand,
62
00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:08,120
most people were not willing
to go along with me -
63
00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:09,160
they were afraid.
64
00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:14,760
All the musicians used to work
for the government.
65
00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:20,880
We were paid a small salary every month
to compose music.
66
00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:24,280
When they told you to perform,
you had to perform.
67
00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:28,880
We were treated like average workers,
not like real artists.
68
00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:35,000
Amha told me about an idea
to make the first recording,
69
00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:37,720
and he wanted me to play the music.
70
00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:40,200
How come, how come I do it?
71
00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:45,640
And Alemayehu said, you have to do it -
this is our music -
72
00:11:46,160 --> 00:11:48,120
and I know you can do it.
73
00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:49,840
And he convinced me,
74
00:11:50,360 --> 00:11:51,360
and, then...
75
00:11:56,160 --> 00:11:57,840
I said, I will take a chance.
76
00:11:57,920 --> 00:12:00,200
If this is my destiny, to go to jail -
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00:12:00,560 --> 00:12:01,240
let it be.
78
00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:18,520
Amazingly, there were people interested
in having a record.
79
00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:22,360
And unofficially, they let us have a studio
at the Ministry of Information.
80
00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:25,520
Everyone pushing each other -
81
00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:29,880
saxophone, trumpet, organ, drums, vocalist -
82
00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:31,000
but, we made it.
83
00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:39,720
I sent the tape to the company,
a reel tape, a master-tape.
84
00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:56,760
Then, another problem, another obstacle -
85
00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:00,280
these things would come through customs,
through the airport.
86
00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:03,000
These are Ethiopian records
written in Ethiopian,
87
00:13:03,160 --> 00:13:06,880
and all those people know that
you can't record Ethiopian music.
88
00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:24,320
That was the final cut-off point
where they could say,
89
00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:28,200
oh, this is illegal,
you can't bring Ethiopian music.
90
00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:50,640
But amazingly, the only thing
they asked me is,
91
00:13:50,680 --> 00:13:52,200
if I can give them a copy.
92
00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:53,840
They could've stopped everything,
93
00:13:53,840 --> 00:13:56,360
they could've just burnt the whole thing
and put us to jail.
94
00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:19,560
The whole place, the Piazza,
was jammed with people!
95
00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:32,280
And people were dancing on the street,
and the street was basically blocked.
96
00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:37,240
This is a miracle!
97
00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:45,600
It was -
98
00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:48,360
it was a hit.
99
00:15:56,240 --> 00:15:59,360
It was the first modern Ethiopian record.
100
00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:00,480
It was rejoiced.
101
00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:13,040
People were saying, these people
are having the time of their life.
102
00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:15,440
Alemayehu is more popular than ever,
103
00:16:15,480 --> 00:16:20,400
Girma is doing well - he's wearing nice shirts,
he's driving a nice car.
104
00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:23,160
For about one year I was rich, though.
105
00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:26,120
I was rich, though.
106
00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:31,960
Amha started to work non-stop
107
00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:34,880
and to produce other musicians.
108
00:16:42,480 --> 00:16:51,400
From 1969 to 1975 I was able to produce
about 102 singles
109
00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:56,440
and about 12 or 14 LPs.
110
00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:36,280
Life was great -
that is how I remember it.
111
00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:02,600
The Emperor was getting old.
112
00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:05,680
There was tension and fear -
unhappiness.
113
00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:23,200
I was happy that there was
going to be change.
114
00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:25,880
I never thought, or I never knew
115
00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:28,960
what kind of change
there was going to come.
116
00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:55,360
We never thought
there would be total civil war.
117
00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:36,480
When they said,
the land goes to the farmer - was fine.
118
00:19:36,760 --> 00:19:40,800
When they had the property,
and stuff like that was taken -
119
00:19:40,920 --> 00:19:41,640
- that was fine.
120
00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:44,240
When they imprisoned the Prime Minister,
and stuff -
121
00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:45,240
it was okay.
122
00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:50,280
The minute they killed
the 60 government officials
123
00:19:50,520 --> 00:19:52,760
and buried them in one big hole -
124
00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:57,640
- that was when I said,
this is not going to be a good change.
125
00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:22,440
We could only sing about the Revolution.
126
00:21:03,400 --> 00:21:07,200
That totally ruined the night-life.
127
00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:14,240
The final years of my record-pressing
was done in Athens.
128
00:21:15,080 --> 00:21:17,320
They gave me an exit visa,
I went to Athens.
129
00:21:17,800 --> 00:21:21,680
Then, my family sent me
a telegram saying,
130
00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:23,080
don't come back.
131
00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:25,680
My father was put in jail,
132
00:21:25,840 --> 00:21:28,080
the vocalist was put in jail.
133
00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:33,560
The worst thing, they put the guy
who was behind the mixer -
134
00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:37,480
he was just trying to adjust the sound -
he was also put in jail.
135
00:21:42,360 --> 00:21:45,160
It was a week.
It was 2 weeks. 3 weeks.
136
00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:51,360
Than finally I said, I can't stay here,
because I was not determined to stay -
137
00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:54,240
I had only a limited amount of money.
138
00:21:55,280 --> 00:21:58,280
So, I went to London -
my sister was there.
139
00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:03,040
I stayed there another month.
Nothing happened, it was getting worse.
140
00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:07,320
Then, eventually, I went to the States.
141
00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:17,920
The government took all the shops that I had
and sold them out.
142
00:22:18,120 --> 00:22:19,640
I lost everything.
143
00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:32,880
So, that is the end of my era
in the Ethiopian music business.
144
00:22:56,040 --> 00:23:00,600
I was part of a non-profit organisation
in the mid-80s -
145
00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:01,960
in Poitiers, France -
146
00:23:02,040 --> 00:23:04,160
a pretty small city,
like 100,000 people.
147
00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:12,240
There was more fun in Poitiers
than in Paris.
148
00:23:12,360 --> 00:23:15,640
We were partying all the time,
listening to great music,
149
00:23:15,640 --> 00:23:17,440
meeting great musicians.
150
00:23:17,840 --> 00:23:18,640
What else?
151
00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:25,920
And we were in love, Francis and I.
152
00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:31,240
We were very much into experimental stuff -
153
00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:33,640
noise, rock from New York.
154
00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:45,840
We wouldn't mind inviting
artists who are famous -
155
00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:47,080
money-making, or not.
156
00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:49,560
We would just invite artists we loved.
157
00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:54,000
They invited Sonic Youth for the first time
in France.
158
00:24:01,480 --> 00:24:03,000
And we were crazy about that -
159
00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:04,640
that we liked that enormously.
160
00:24:13,520 --> 00:24:16,400
One day we had a party among us,
161
00:24:16,880 --> 00:24:19,600
and a friend of us brought an LP.
162
00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:23,880
We sort of thought that we
were music experts, a little bit.
163
00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:27,160
We'd been listening to a lot of stuff -
all kinds of things, really -
164
00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:29,440
and that was absolutely different.
165
00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:33,840
I think this, yes, this is the very first.
166
00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:36,480
By the start it's great.
167
00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:40,000
Whoa! This is fantastic!
168
00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:42,040
The groove is terrible -
169
00:24:42,760 --> 00:24:44,920
terrible, in the sense - gorgeous.
170
00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:48,320
Okay - we never heard that before.
171
00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:17,120
We made cassettes out of this LP,
which we sent to friends of ours -
172
00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:19,480
journalists, music reviewers.
173
00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:23,240
And by the following days
all of them had called us back saying,
174
00:25:23,320 --> 00:25:25,240
what's that, where did you get that from?
175
00:25:25,320 --> 00:25:28,360
For the first time in the story of this radio,
176
00:25:28,360 --> 00:25:32,600
the audience started to telephone just to ask,
177
00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:37,560
what was this title we listened 2 minutes ago,
or, 10 minutes ago?
178
00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:40,520
From then we had confirmation
that it was unknown.
179
00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:43,560
Immediately, we decided to bring
Mahmoud Ahmed in.
180
00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:18,960
This is an old recording
and they put synthesizer, blah-blah, on it -
181
00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:20,600
it's crap, I'm sorry.
182
00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:22,400
The originals are great, but...
183
00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:35,080
I had never been to Africa.
184
00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:39,080
I knew a lot about various African music,
185
00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:40,920
but nothing about Ethiopian music.
186
00:26:41,520 --> 00:26:43,800
And then I landed in Addis Ababa.
187
00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:49,040
Ethiopians, they don't like strangers that much.
188
00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:52,160
What is it this white guy wants from us?
189
00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:55,960
A big lesson started for me.
190
00:27:06,360 --> 00:27:08,000
Body checks, everywhere you go.
191
00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:09,840
You go to the post office - body check,
192
00:27:09,960 --> 00:27:11,200
to a hotel - body check.
193
00:27:11,280 --> 00:27:14,640
You could not take a walk
with a photo-camera,
194
00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:16,840
with a walkman, or a recorder -
195
00:27:16,920 --> 00:27:20,520
you'd be suspected immediately -
big problem.
196
00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:24,040
The best place to talk to people
was in a car,
197
00:27:24,200 --> 00:27:26,120
and just driving in the city.
198
00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:30,800
We were sure no police ear
would be after us,
199
00:27:30,880 --> 00:27:33,200
and listen to what we are doing.
200
00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:39,320
I felt I was in a Stalin paradise.
201
00:27:56,040 --> 00:27:58,520
During this week I've been tracing
Mahmoud Ahmed.
202
00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:10,600
Francis heard my music and decided
to come to Ethiopia.
203
00:28:10,960 --> 00:28:14,520
I told him, look I'm French,
I'm coming from France
204
00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:16,000
especially to invite you.
205
00:28:16,080 --> 00:28:18,640
I would be very pleased to invite you
to perform in France -
206
00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:22,080
which was something
absolutely unexpected for him.
207
00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:25,120
I was very happy because, as you know,
208
00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:30,320
there were a lot of good Ethiopian singers,
209
00:28:30,360 --> 00:28:32,320
and I was very proud that Francis came
210
00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:34,280
and asked for me personally.
211
00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:41,240
He knew much better than me
that it would be hell
212
00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:44,280
for the administrative-political process.
213
00:28:44,400 --> 00:28:46,760
They had a national sport then which was
214
00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:49,200
how to leave this country.
215
00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:54,920
There was a lot of ups and downs -
216
00:28:54,920 --> 00:28:58,560
one day yes, the next day no.
217
00:29:05,600 --> 00:29:08,560
We went in every official offices,
the Ministry of Culture.
218
00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:14,240
We went even into the barracks to meet
the Head of Culture of the Communist Party.
219
00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:18,080
If it was up to me -
220
00:29:18,520 --> 00:29:21,560
of course I wanted to go.
221
00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:26,880
When I left Ethiopia, I thought
maybe it would happen, maybe not.
222
00:29:27,680 --> 00:29:29,960
And, as a matter of fact,
very quickly, I understood,
223
00:29:30,080 --> 00:29:34,880
when I am back in France
that this would not happen.
224
00:29:54,120 --> 00:29:57,720
Of course, the recording is rotten
- it's too bad, but...
225
00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:02,080
for me it's proto-punk.
226
00:30:04,360 --> 00:30:06,080
This is '70 or '69,
227
00:30:06,240 --> 00:30:10,960
because this song was published
in December '69, I think, or '70
228
00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:13,840
by Led Zep.
229
00:30:17,440 --> 00:30:21,240
You can write a paper about
Mozart or Elvis Presley.
230
00:30:21,560 --> 00:30:23,760
Everybody understands what you are talking about
231
00:30:23,840 --> 00:30:25,600
because they can refer -
232
00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:29,560
they know about Elvis, or Bach,
or Mozart, or whatever.
233
00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:33,960
But, if you write about Ethiopian music,
how can you describe it?
234
00:30:34,800 --> 00:30:36,120
So, for me it was obvious -
235
00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:39,520
you had to make the music itself available.
236
00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:47,480
He was obsessed with Ethiopia
and Ethiopian stuff.
237
00:30:50,560 --> 00:30:53,800
We, sort of, separated,
238
00:30:55,360 --> 00:30:57,880
probably we were tired of each other,
239
00:30:57,960 --> 00:31:01,160
and I was certainly tired
of the Ethiopian obsession.
240
00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:18,800
Fortunately, I came back
with a lot of documentation
241
00:31:18,880 --> 00:31:21,080
- the posters, the programmes.
242
00:31:21,240 --> 00:31:24,400
I didn't know if this one was big
that one was small.
243
00:31:24,480 --> 00:31:27,640
I bought each and every vinyl I could buy.
244
00:31:28,640 --> 00:31:31,760
Suddenly, I had a lot of recordings
that nobody had.
245
00:31:39,400 --> 00:31:42,640
Through this I understood
they had one label
246
00:31:42,680 --> 00:31:46,000
releasing modern music on vinyl -
247
00:31:46,120 --> 00:31:47,600
it was Amha Records.
248
00:31:47,720 --> 00:31:50,480
And the owner of this label, Amha Eshete,
249
00:31:50,880 --> 00:31:53,360
I understood was in exile in America.
250
00:31:55,960 --> 00:31:58,960
By '86 I flew to Washington D.C.
251
00:32:05,360 --> 00:32:08,520
We met at Washington D.C. Airport.
252
00:32:15,320 --> 00:32:19,000
When I think about that later on,
it was a strange place to meet.
253
00:32:33,400 --> 00:32:39,600
He asked me about the music I had made
when I was in Ethiopia,
254
00:32:39,880 --> 00:32:43,000
and he said he would like to re-release them.
255
00:32:43,400 --> 00:32:47,920
He was half amazed,
half I-can't-believe-what's-going-on -
256
00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:49,320
it was a big surprise.
257
00:32:49,520 --> 00:32:52,240
I said, I'm in exile, I'm here -
258
00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:57,920
most of the artists I recorded
are back in Ethiopia.
259
00:32:58,960 --> 00:33:04,120
And, I said if I rerelease this music,
and I am here,
260
00:33:04,680 --> 00:33:07,360
these people would have
a bad name for me.
261
00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:09,640
I don't know where some of them are.
262
00:33:09,960 --> 00:33:13,120
I don't know whether they are alive,
or, whatever.
263
00:33:13,240 --> 00:33:18,600
So, I said, if God's willing,
if I ever go back to Ethiopia,
264
00:33:19,000 --> 00:33:20,880
we will then talk about it.
265
00:33:24,600 --> 00:33:27,760
I understood that I could do nothing
until the fall of this regime.
266
00:33:52,560 --> 00:33:54,720
I was not far from the music, as such.
267
00:33:54,840 --> 00:33:59,440
I had the first, full-scale Ethiopian restaurant.
268
00:33:59,680 --> 00:34:03,760
He had 2 or 3 different night-clubs,
as far as I understood.
269
00:34:04,080 --> 00:34:10,920
The last one he had was huge,
on 3 or 4 floors.
270
00:34:11,600 --> 00:34:12,880
I told you he was successful.
271
00:34:16,159 --> 00:34:23,000
I was the first person who broke the barrier
272
00:34:23,120 --> 00:34:26,679
of a full band cross the Atlantic,
273
00:34:27,120 --> 00:34:30,600
from a socialist country like Ethiopia
274
00:34:31,199 --> 00:34:32,800
to the United States.
275
00:34:32,920 --> 00:34:37,080
How can you expect
to bring to America, from Ethiopia,
276
00:34:37,080 --> 00:34:38,280
under the Derg regime,
277
00:34:38,920 --> 00:34:40,600
a 10-piece band?
278
00:34:41,120 --> 00:34:42,239
This is crazy.
279
00:35:07,960 --> 00:35:09,640
Amha sent me the contract,
280
00:35:09,880 --> 00:35:11,160
and then the Derg said, no -
281
00:35:11,760 --> 00:35:12,920
you cannot go to America.
282
00:35:13,800 --> 00:35:14,720
I said, why -
283
00:35:15,600 --> 00:35:17,880
this is not a political group,
these are musicians.
284
00:35:24,600 --> 00:35:28,880
The Derg were adamant that a band
from a socialist country
285
00:35:29,120 --> 00:35:34,320
will not go to an imperialist state
like the United States.
286
00:35:41,040 --> 00:35:46,560
It took me, literally,
2 years to work it out.
287
00:35:46,920 --> 00:35:47,880
And then they said, yes.
288
00:35:48,080 --> 00:35:51,320
When the Derg said, yes,
nobody should hear about it.
289
00:35:52,200 --> 00:35:54,640
You have to go secretly,
and nobody should hear,
290
00:35:54,840 --> 00:35:57,080
and nobody should
accompany to the airport.
291
00:35:57,240 --> 00:35:58,080
We just go...
292
00:35:58,400 --> 00:35:59,240
okay.
293
00:36:10,400 --> 00:36:11,880
Than we went straight to the airport.
294
00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:14,560
We were scared, even on the plane,
295
00:36:14,640 --> 00:36:16,520
until it passes the Ethiopian border.
296
00:36:18,040 --> 00:36:23,480
Then, once we passed the border
we said, oh, now we are free.
297
00:36:40,440 --> 00:36:42,200
I was so thrilled, though.
298
00:36:43,040 --> 00:36:47,040
Oh, yeah, that was a great time.
299
00:36:47,080 --> 00:36:49,400
This is a place where we can do
what we want to do.
300
00:37:00,080 --> 00:37:03,800
I like the newspapers - I like everything.
301
00:37:17,400 --> 00:37:18,720
It finally happened.
302
00:37:19,760 --> 00:37:23,880
This is something
I am really proud of myself.
303
00:37:30,840 --> 00:37:35,120
Our first show was in Warner Theatre.
304
00:37:35,840 --> 00:37:40,960
It's one of the most popular music halls
in the United States.
305
00:38:00,720 --> 00:38:03,360
It was not successful.
306
00:38:09,440 --> 00:38:12,800
I told the band,
don't worry about the small audience -
307
00:38:13,160 --> 00:38:16,680
let's just imagine
that one person is a hundred -
308
00:38:16,960 --> 00:38:18,680
and the hundreds are like thousands.
309
00:38:19,600 --> 00:38:21,200
Let's give all we've got today.
310
00:38:21,360 --> 00:38:25,520
The audience will spread the word,
311
00:38:26,040 --> 00:38:29,120
and the next show will be packed.
312
00:39:39,160 --> 00:39:41,880
People literally, literally cried,
313
00:39:42,600 --> 00:39:47,440
because there was no live Ethiopian music at all -
314
00:39:48,120 --> 00:39:51,120
completely at all. Nothing.
315
00:40:01,240 --> 00:40:06,600
Some of them were crying, some of them were
laughing, some couldn't believe their eyes.
316
00:40:07,040 --> 00:40:08,880
They wanted to touch us, to feel us.
317
00:40:09,640 --> 00:40:11,160
And then a week later,
318
00:40:11,400 --> 00:40:14,640
many of those people
couldn't get into the next concert -
319
00:40:15,040 --> 00:40:16,960
it was sold out.
320
00:40:27,800 --> 00:40:30,040
For one year we travelled the United States.
321
00:40:30,560 --> 00:40:32,920
We went from state to state.
322
00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:47,640
That time no flight, we were driving.
323
00:40:48,040 --> 00:40:50,840
That was a big mistake for the band.
324
00:40:51,280 --> 00:40:53,440
We were not doing good economically.
325
00:40:54,840 --> 00:40:58,240
Amha was very tied up, he had a restaurant,
and things like that.
326
00:40:58,480 --> 00:41:05,200
I was inexperienced about a band
working in different places.
327
00:41:05,440 --> 00:41:07,320
There was political connotations,
328
00:41:07,440 --> 00:41:11,640
they thought,
how can Amha be able to bring this band
329
00:41:11,760 --> 00:41:15,240
unless he had some backing from the government.
330
00:41:15,320 --> 00:41:19,480
Some people said, these are pro-Derg,
don't go to their shows.
331
00:41:20,080 --> 00:41:22,520
We're not pro-Derg, we're not Derg,
we are just private.
332
00:41:22,760 --> 00:41:27,400
Everybody just got mad,
because there is no money.
333
00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:40,120
Some of us wanted to go,
some of us wanted to stay there.
334
00:41:40,360 --> 00:41:44,680
It was not a group thing,
it was individual, I can say.
335
00:41:45,960 --> 00:41:47,560
The main reason I wanted to go back
336
00:41:48,000 --> 00:41:51,880
was my family, my kids -
337
00:41:52,080 --> 00:41:54,640
that's why I wanted to go back.
338
00:41:55,280 --> 00:41:57,360
We gave them everything that we owned.
339
00:41:57,840 --> 00:42:00,600
We didn't come for this,
we had that at home -
340
00:42:01,120 --> 00:42:02,600
we came for a different thing.
341
00:42:03,280 --> 00:42:05,600
So, Girma's idea,
I don't want to take anything,
342
00:42:05,720 --> 00:42:06,960
no instruments, no money.
343
00:42:07,400 --> 00:42:09,560
Okay, we said.
Me and Girma, we stayed.
344
00:42:10,640 --> 00:42:12,200
That's how the Walias ended -
345
00:42:12,800 --> 00:42:14,040
it ended in America.
346
00:43:19,600 --> 00:43:24,400
When it comes to America,
it's really hard to play music - very hard.
347
00:43:24,640 --> 00:43:30,480
To be a professional musician
is really, really hard.
348
00:43:31,360 --> 00:43:37,600
You have to play part-time
and do some other jobs.
349
00:43:40,560 --> 00:43:46,080
Some became taxi drivers,
some worked in parking places.
350
00:43:48,480 --> 00:43:50,800
They got to do what they got to do
to live their lives.
351
00:44:40,960 --> 00:44:45,440
Girma Beyene played in the clubs
for a few years,
352
00:44:45,560 --> 00:44:47,240
but then he just stopped.
353
00:44:48,440 --> 00:44:50,120
And I still don't know why.
354
00:44:51,400 --> 00:44:57,520
Your eyes are fascinating,
your hips, your legs.
355
00:44:57,760 --> 00:45:04,000
Wow! Your heels are lemons
and your cheeks are oranges.
356
00:45:04,320 --> 00:45:09,880
Your hair is that of Absalom.
Your breasts are like mandarins.
357
00:45:10,520 --> 00:45:14,760
People who see you, fall down dead.
358
00:45:20,680 --> 00:45:21,880
She was a beautiful lady.
359
00:45:22,120 --> 00:45:24,480
He loved her and we heard
his songs about her,
360
00:45:25,840 --> 00:45:28,200
so that's why he got hurt
when she got sick.
361
00:45:28,600 --> 00:45:34,000
In 1984 my girl died.
362
00:45:36,120 --> 00:45:40,760
I lost my soul-mate, my girlfriend.
363
00:45:42,240 --> 00:45:44,840
I don't know what to say, but...
364
00:45:44,960 --> 00:45:48,520
then things completely changed.
365
00:45:49,240 --> 00:45:51,240
That's the reason I quit, though.
366
00:45:56,520 --> 00:45:59,280
From fantasy to reality.
367
00:46:38,920 --> 00:46:42,680
The first time I saw him, I met him -
368
00:46:43,920 --> 00:46:45,760
I had asked around,
369
00:46:46,240 --> 00:46:48,480
and people said,
370
00:46:48,640 --> 00:46:51,040
yeah, he's here somewhere.
371
00:46:51,360 --> 00:46:52,840
But, nobody would tell me where.
372
00:46:53,560 --> 00:46:56,160
And then one friend of mine,
he said, you know what,
373
00:46:56,600 --> 00:46:58,840
he works at this gas station
374
00:46:59,080 --> 00:47:02,240
on this street, crossing this street,
375
00:47:02,720 --> 00:47:04,040
- you'll find him there.
376
00:47:04,520 --> 00:47:07,800
I was refuelling my car,
and went to pay,
377
00:47:07,880 --> 00:47:09,240
and there was Girma Beyene -
378
00:47:09,320 --> 00:47:13,960
I just couldn't believe my eyes -
It was like, wow!
379
00:47:57,760 --> 00:47:59,200
There was a change of government,
380
00:47:59,240 --> 00:48:01,040
I came back to Ethiopia.
381
00:48:24,400 --> 00:48:26,120
The main reason why I came back
382
00:48:26,680 --> 00:48:29,520
from the United States after 19 years
383
00:48:29,960 --> 00:48:32,000
was that memory was with me.
384
00:48:32,320 --> 00:48:36,520
The friendship we had,
the love we had with friends.
385
00:48:36,760 --> 00:48:39,640
But when I came back
it was a different story.
386
00:48:39,760 --> 00:48:43,400
The socialism had changed
the way people lived.
387
00:48:54,480 --> 00:48:59,880
I had forgotten completely
about my initial work with music -
388
00:49:00,000 --> 00:49:01,920
it was my past life.
389
00:49:13,360 --> 00:49:16,000
And when Francis came to Ethiopia
I was surprised.
390
00:49:18,120 --> 00:49:23,320
After a couple of meetings, we sort of agreed
that now I'm here -
391
00:49:23,760 --> 00:49:25,160
I'll keep my word,
392
00:49:25,520 --> 00:49:27,040
and we can do it.
393
00:49:27,120 --> 00:49:34,880
By '96 or '97 when we retrieved
most of the masters of Amha Records,
394
00:49:35,080 --> 00:49:38,080
I was empowered to pick up the masters.
395
00:49:41,520 --> 00:49:42,800
My goodness...
396
00:49:49,760 --> 00:49:51,000
Nicest day in my life.
397
00:50:22,240 --> 00:50:23,640
We started from there.
398
00:50:24,520 --> 00:50:30,280
By October '97, I released
the very first Ethiopiques CD.
399
00:50:30,600 --> 00:50:32,880
He's been working on that,
for like, 20 years.
400
00:50:34,840 --> 00:50:38,120
It's been a lot of work, really.
And a lot of...
401
00:50:38,880 --> 00:50:39,880
obstination.
402
00:50:45,440 --> 00:50:48,000
I had no idea at all
403
00:50:48,040 --> 00:50:52,720
how it would be received
by the audience on one hand,
404
00:50:52,840 --> 00:50:55,440
and music critics on the other hand.
405
00:50:58,640 --> 00:51:00,880
I was in an Ethiopian restaurant
406
00:51:01,280 --> 00:51:02,800
and they were playing this incredible music,
407
00:51:02,840 --> 00:51:05,920
and I asked the owner who it was?
408
00:51:06,240 --> 00:51:10,760
It was in a cab, a taxi in Washington
409
00:51:11,200 --> 00:51:14,200
and I said, what is this, what is this?
410
00:51:14,720 --> 00:51:19,520
There was James Brown in there,
there was like this heavy, driving funk beats.
411
00:51:19,720 --> 00:51:24,800
I was just blown away
by how beautiful the music was.
412
00:51:25,040 --> 00:51:27,200
And it just turned me on completely.
413
00:51:36,360 --> 00:51:40,280
It was praised as one of
the best releases of '97 / '98.
414
00:52:32,440 --> 00:52:34,560
I told a friend of mine about them yesterday,
415
00:52:34,720 --> 00:52:36,960
who didn't know about them - just yesterday -
416
00:52:37,360 --> 00:52:42,200
and I said, you're gonna thank me
when you hear these records,
417
00:52:42,400 --> 00:52:43,800
and then you're gonna curse me -
418
00:52:44,040 --> 00:52:46,200
'cos, you're gonna want all 32 volumes,
419
00:52:46,280 --> 00:52:48,040
'cos every one is a different story.
420
00:52:48,360 --> 00:52:50,000
This music was completely lost.
421
00:52:50,720 --> 00:52:55,680
If Ethiopiques was not started by Francis -
forget it -
422
00:52:55,960 --> 00:52:58,280
Ethiopian music would have been doomed.
423
00:53:08,720 --> 00:53:14,360
We became very famous in Europe,
in Italy, in France.
424
00:53:14,480 --> 00:53:16,760
We've been all over the world.
425
00:53:20,720 --> 00:53:25,720
Francis introduced us to Europe,
426
00:53:26,960 --> 00:53:30,280
gave us popularity and fame.
427
00:53:30,520 --> 00:53:34,360
He's like a father, he's a brother,
he is a friend.
428
00:53:37,920 --> 00:53:42,040
I don't think anybody has done
as much as Francis has done
429
00:53:42,400 --> 00:53:44,800
to promote Ethiopian music.
430
00:53:45,280 --> 00:53:46,960
That's the way.
431
00:54:36,040 --> 00:54:39,200
I just brought the light
to the top of the iceberg.
432
00:54:39,400 --> 00:54:41,000
It's a musical goldmine.
433
00:54:46,280 --> 00:54:51,560
Ethiopian music is a kind of missing link
in the history of all the musics from Africa.
434
00:54:52,000 --> 00:54:55,200
I'm glad that missing link
is not missing any more.
435
00:55:24,880 --> 00:55:29,720
Girma is the kind of person -
you have to manage him -
436
00:55:30,760 --> 00:55:32,000
like a baby.
437
00:55:33,440 --> 00:55:35,320
He's not a hustler.
438
00:55:36,400 --> 00:55:41,440
Other musicians, they hassle, they call,
guys, let's get together -
439
00:55:41,600 --> 00:55:42,600
Girma is not like that.
440
00:55:43,360 --> 00:55:45,440
Girma has a very unique character.
441
00:55:45,960 --> 00:55:48,120
I don't know how he got into music.
442
00:56:05,720 --> 00:56:08,680
Do you see, sir? This is him.
443
00:56:25,920 --> 00:56:29,680
Imagine you have been
super-famous in your country,
444
00:56:30,480 --> 00:56:35,520
but after it was an endless fall.
445
00:56:47,640 --> 00:56:50,640
I am trying to, you know,
446
00:56:51,200 --> 00:56:53,880
to make a come-back -
447
00:56:54,640 --> 00:56:58,120
it's not that easy, but I'll do my best.
448
00:56:59,640 --> 00:57:04,600
I'm the one who's nagging him every time,
please Girma, come back.
449
00:57:04,760 --> 00:57:08,280
He tells me, I have to go back to music -
450
00:57:08,480 --> 00:57:09,840
please, please, he was telling me.
451
00:57:11,200 --> 00:57:12,960
I can play better now.
452
00:57:16,640 --> 00:57:18,880
But nobody believes you, though -
453
00:57:19,320 --> 00:57:20,640
that is the problem, though.
454
00:58:01,000 --> 00:58:03,760
No, I'm not really comfortable.
455
00:58:27,880 --> 00:58:30,040
I think he has it in him now.
456
00:58:30,200 --> 00:58:33,560
I think he has so much in his body - stuffed -
457
00:58:33,760 --> 00:58:37,800
music that he wants to put out to the world.
458
00:59:05,040 --> 00:59:07,320
Francis wrote me a letter.
459
00:59:08,960 --> 00:59:12,240
He was talking about Ethiopian music.
460
00:59:12,680 --> 00:59:19,560
And the letter was about the music revival,
the Ethiopian music.
461
00:59:19,840 --> 00:59:23,080
I read the thing and then I said,
462
00:59:23,560 --> 00:59:25,280
what is he talking about?
463
00:59:27,800 --> 00:59:30,080
How you doing?
464
00:59:34,040 --> 00:59:36,920
- Ça va?
- Ça va bien.
465
00:59:54,960 --> 00:59:56,720
How you doing?
466
00:59:57,520 --> 01:00:00,120
It's completely different,
a different arrangement, though.
467
01:00:00,720 --> 01:00:03,040
- I don't even know what it is.
- Yeah, brand new.
468
01:00:04,880 --> 01:00:06,280
I didn't know what it is.
469
01:00:06,560 --> 01:00:07,600
Yebeqagnal.
470
01:00:07,720 --> 01:00:09,440
- For real?
- Yes, it's your song.
471
01:00:09,920 --> 01:00:12,160
But different, though.
472
01:00:19,520 --> 01:00:23,600
So, we're going record, right?
473
01:00:23,760 --> 01:00:26,760
We'll rehearse a bit and then record.
474
01:00:40,840 --> 01:00:43,440
-That's 'D', right?
-Yes.
475
01:03:03,640 --> 01:03:06,600
Love is a many splendored thing.
476
01:03:08,880 --> 01:03:10,880
Love makes you brave.
477
01:03:11,800 --> 01:03:14,400
I'm kind of scared,
but, when it comes to her -
478
01:03:14,680 --> 01:03:16,200
I have to obey.
479
01:03:16,840 --> 01:03:17,840
No problem, though.
480
01:03:18,600 --> 01:03:20,480
But no-one would touch her, though -
481
01:03:21,520 --> 01:03:23,440
I swear, no-one.
482
01:03:24,080 --> 01:03:25,600
I'll go first.
483
01:03:27,560 --> 01:03:28,920
And, we did it.
484
01:03:29,680 --> 01:03:30,680
We survived.
36917
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