Azmari

Sama I Azmari

Created in Brussels in 2015, Azmari is a weaving musical odyssey that expertly fuses ethiogroove, dub, psychfunk 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, comparable to the European bard or

the West African griot often accompanied with a masenqo - 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 Istanbul 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, studiously studying Turkish and Ethiopian scales,

along with learning new instruments along the way including the berimbau, the ney and baglama, the Azmari

sound transformed into a rebellious, unrelenting and mesmerising trip.

The resulting nine tracks that make up debut album 'Sama'i', released 22nd January via Sdban UItra, is a deeply

hypnotic experience where mesmerising rhythms and winding improvisations send the listener in to a higher state of

consciousness. From the magical sax of album opener 'Zegiyitwali', to the dubby template of 'Cosmic Masadani'

and joyous horns of 'Kugler', Azmari seamlessly blend African and oriental melodies with effortless precision,

providing a fresh take on the ethiojazz sound. Elsewhere, the heavy, rhythmic sounds of 'Tariq Al Sahara' and the

mystical and cosmological 'Azalai' continue our sacred journey full of raging saxes and wig-out percussion, while

the free-spirited, trippy 'Kadiköy' coming in at nine minutes in duration, lends a trance-like quality to proceedings

where psychedelic jazz meets afro-funk.