Aster Aweke

IIn Ethiopia's poetic tradition called sam-ennawarq (wax and gold), one can sing about a cruel lover as a way of mocking the government. During the '80s though, even veiled expressions carried risks, and for this among other reasons, musicians who could often did flee the Mengistu regime to exile in Sudan or the US.

Born in Begemdr in the late '50s, Aster Aweke began singing professionally in 1977. At the time, female vocalists mostly stood demurely on stage and delivered delicate, breathy tones. But having heard Aretha Franklin, Aweke wanted to belt. She quickly tired of the notoriety she earned by following her wilder instincts at home and so moved to Washington, DC in 1979. Singing in restaurants with other expatriate musicians, she built a reputation and soon became the darling of Ethiopian communities in US cities coast-to-coast.

Aweke's music delivers a strong shot of jazz and pumps out funky dance beats blending horns, keyboards, guitars and drums. Her amazingly agile voice hits with r&b power, but its sweet tone and limber acrobatics suggest a girlish delicacy and vulnerability.

Aweke's 1989 international debut, Aster, awakened a growing world music audience to Ethiopian music. Though she now moves back and forth between the US and Europe, Aster's original and adventurous work has always found a receptive audience back home in Ethiopia. – Banning Eyre, Courtesy www.afropop.org