WOMAD

Dub Colossus

From Ethiopia, United Kingdom

Forget the reissues. This is the Ethiopian music of now

"The aim is to constantly surprise." Nick Page (aka Dubulah) has kept this as a mantra throughout a musical career that's seen him co-founding previous WOMAD favourites Transglobal Underground and Temple Of Sound. But it's Dub Colossus, the Ethiopian project he stewards, that have raised the most eyebrows - a heavyweight collective who, by fusing traditional and contemporary Ethiopian styles with vintage Ethio-jazz and rock-solid Jamaican dub, have become one of the most stylistically intriguing outfits around. And for this weekend's performances, the core of the group - Page, singers Sintayehu Zenebe and Teremage Woretaw (who also plays massinko), tenor saxman Feleke Hailu and piano prodigy Samuel Yirga - bulk out to a 13-piece, complete with thrilling horn section. There's also room for singers Mykaell S. Riley (ex-Steel Pulse/Reggae Philharmonic Orchestra) and JP Higgins (ex-Natacha Atlas/Almamegretta) who'll be providing vocals on a couple of reggae classics -Satta Massagana and Uptown Top Ranking respectively. Ethiopian music has too often been celebrated in the past tense, usually through the decades-old recordings of the Ethiopiques series. Here's your chance to be surprised by the here and now.
The latest Dub Colossus record, Addis Through The Looking Glass, is out now on Real World Records

(Biography written by Nige Tassell 2011)
Photo: York Tillyer

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