Admas’ obscure 1984 Ethiopian fusion album ‘Sons of Ethiopia’ reissued

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Admas’ obscure 1984 Ethiopian fusion album ‘Sons of Ethiopia’ reissued

New York based Frederiksberg Records has reissued, for the first time, the highly obscure and adventurously eclectic 1984 instrumental album from Ethiopian-rooted group Admas, titled Sons of Ethiopia.

Emerging from the community of Ethiopian exiles in the Washington, DC area that fled their native country to escape the violence of the decade-long Derg regime, the core members of Admas included Tewodros ‘Teddy’ Aklilu, Henock Temesgen, and Abegasu Shiota. Inspired by a wide array of different global sounds and influences that they were being exposed to in the DC area, this group flips Ethiopian pop music upside down on this brilliant seven-track album. Way ahead of it’s time, the recording blends together a unique mix of lo-fi electronic beats and synths, samba and Latin style rhythms, reggae grooves, African highlife influenced melodies, and cosmic atmospheric tones. Often performing this music live to other fellow exiled Ethiopians, the groups sound channels a range of emotion, including loss, longing and hope.

This well-crafted reissue also includes interviews with Admas, as well as previously unpublished photographs.

Kudos to Frederiksberg Records for making this almost impossible-to-find recording and essential chapter in Ethiopian-rooted music more readily available for new audiences to discover and enjoy.