Ethiopiques
Have you ever wondered if Ethiopian music albums are sold in the international market, where foreigners purchase them for a high price? If you are still wondering, this piece of article about the Ethiopiques series is for you.
The Ethiopiques series was started in 1997 by Francis Falceto under the Paris-based music label Buda Musique. At the beginning, it featured Amharic songs that were released during the 1960s and 70s. The first volume was released in 1998 under the title “The Golden Years of Modern Ethiopian Music” which featured various artists. Among the many prominent artists featured in different Ethiopiques volumes, Mahmoud Ahmed (featured 5 times), Mulatu Astatke, Alemayehu Eshete, Asnaketch Worku, Getachew Mekurya and Emahoy Tsegue-Mariam Gebrou are some of them. Eventually, the record started to feature songs besides Amharic ones such as Konso and Oromiffa.
Ethiopiques plays a very remarkable role in introducing Ethiopian music around the world. The record and packaging quality makes it easy to fit in the international market making it easy to be sold in the big record stores mainly in the USA and Europe. The online prices on Amazon and other online record stores range from USD 10 to USD 25. The series has now reached its 28th volume titled “Great Oromo Music” that features the legendary Ali Mohammed Birra.
