TAITU Soul-fuelled Stompers from 1970s Ethiopia

Taitu’ is a collection of soul-fuelled stompers straight from the dancefloors of 1970s Addis Ababa released by the renowned BBE record label in 2018. The 24-track compilation was put together by Lebanese DJ and crate-digger Ernesto Chahoud from original vinyl records dug in Addis Ababa in 2016, and covers the “golden age” of Ethiopian music which saw bands experiment with an armful of influences: gliding through R&B, rock & roll, jazz, funk, soul and boogaloo resulting in distinctly Ethiopian interpretation: pentatonic scales, horn-driven melodies and soul-shattering vocals sung in Amharic. I accompanied Ernesto in Addis Ababa and my photographs, taken during the trip, make up the album artwork, and were additionally used in album promotion campaigns.