Tewolde Redda - Eritrea's Guitar Pioneer (Singles 1970 - 1973) [LP]

Very cool work from this enigmatic Ethiopian guitarist – a musician whose sound is an important part of the same golden years covered by the Ethiopiques series! Tewolde Redda plays both conventional electric guitar, and an electrified version of the more traditional krar (kirar), which is used here with all of these wonderful lines and sounds – really a much more flexible range than a more conventional guitar – or maybe a bit like a conventional guitar in which someone's really working the whammy bar too! The set brings together some of his most important tracks from the early 70s – singles originally issued on Philips and other labels – with titles that include "Wuba", "Ab Tequai Kerebi", "Kab Nab", "Telsemki", "Gamey", "Monona", "Hidri", and "Kirar Mistequane". Comes with a nice booklet of notes, too!