A history of Eritrean music, from revolutionary funk to viral pop

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/19/eritrea-music-history-eplf-youtube-viral-pop

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Music has always played a pivotal role in Eritrea. It mobilised people during the 30-year war of independence from Ethiopia, and after peace was finally won in 1991 it formed the soundtrack to a new nation emerging from decades of conflict.

Most of the country’s early songs reflected on the hardship Eritreans had suffered during the war, with many carrying overtly political messages to unite the citizens and recruit the young to fight.

Since independence was declared in 1993, the repertoire has expanded. Now, singers address anything from pride in Eritrea’s successes to songs of protest – as well as love and partying, just like musicians everywhere.

Early sounds

Eritrea has a long, rich history of folk and ritual music. One of the earliest compilations was recorded by ethnomusicologists at America’s Smithsonian Institute. A 1951 Folkways compilation on Ethiopia, but also taking in Sudan and Eritrea, is a great place to start, as is a later compilation dedicated to religious music of the region.

Western pop

Eritrea’s popular music scene is widely regarded as starting in the 1960s. Centred around the famed Asmara Theatre Association, known as MaTA, the music scene boomed with the arrival of Kagnew Station, a US army radio installation in the capital Asmara which broadcast American music to the public.

The sounds of 1960s western pop had a profound effect, and from that time on stars such as the beloved Bereket Mengisteab helped cement Eritrea as a musical force in the region.

Despite being an Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) fighter, Mengisteab was also a one-time member of the Haile Selassie Theatre Orchestra in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. Now in his 70s, he’s considered a legend of Eritrean music.

Recruiting tool

Music also gave the EPLF a tool to inspire and recruit young people in the fight against Ethiopia, and a number of rebel fighters went on to become music stars after independence. Great examples are songs like Anway (Victory), below, sung by popular freedom fighter Tesfai Mehari in 1977, or the video for Hijayit Mindal’s funk track Selam Walden, which shows the singer leaving behind his family to join the militia.

As war dragged on, music never stopped being a potent force in the fight for autonomy, with singers often useing metaphor or allegory to get their point across. Tigre singer Said Abdella’s well known hit Astini Mai Tsemaku (Give Me Water, I’m Thirsty) captures the desire for freedom that defined generations of Eritreans.

Eritrea’s first music star

Tsehaytu Beraki, born in 1939, is arguably the first female pop star in Eritrea. She grew up playing the kirar (Eritrea’s traditional guitar) in Asmara’s drinking halls, and went on to become one of the country’s cherished singers. Though she escaped to The Netherlands in 1988, her song Aminey (My Trust) is still one of Eritrea’s best-known tracks.

Liberation

A leading figure in Eritrean music is the late Abraham Afwerki. The writer of many songs about life after liberation (often with titles as upbeat as Smiling Is My Habit), his music reflects the optimism and hope that followed 1991. In one of his most-loved songs Abela, he describes the feeling of returning home after 30 years of conflict and searching for his lover, wondering if she’s in Europe, the Middle East or America.

In this video, Afwerki performs his song Erena (an affectionate term Eritreans use for their homeland) at a patriotic festival in Asmara in 1997. President Afwerki was also in attendance, and can be seen at the start of the video.

Patriotic pop

Much music produced post-independence is staunchly patriotic. Ruth Abraha, a young musician based in Asmara, is the lead singer of the band Wari. This video, featuring marching soldiers and men working in a quarry, is one of her most-viewed online.

Even more popular is film star and singer Helen Meles, a former EPLF rebel fighter now based in west London.

Related: It's not at war, but up to 3% of its people have fled. What is going on in Eritrea?

But not all contemporary Eritrean music is pro-regime, and the spirit of revolution still runs through the music circulated online today. Yohannes ‘Wedi’ Tikabo, is a singer who, like 3% of his fellow citizens, has fled Eritrea due to the country’s brutal and repressive regime. His 2013 song Hadnetna (Unity) was widely listened to among diaspora communities for its criticisms of Afwerki, accusing him of wasting the post-liberation years, describing generations “perishing” under his rule.

Viral videos

Eritrea also produces music with no overt political messages, in line with pop themes the world over – love, longing, and partying.

In a country where the median age is just 19, the appetite for pop songs and ballads is considerable, and Robel Michael’s Shikor Shikor (Sweet Sweet) was undoubtedly the big hit of 2014 – in Asmara, it seemed to be played everywhere.

Global R&B culture is increasingly a force in Eritrean music, just as American funk was for musicians during the years of war.

The video for Temesghen Yared’s Belexet (The Best), set on a boat, is straight out of the rap visual playbook, right down to his gleaming sportswear. However, this time, the drink of choice is mes, a popular honey wine brewed throughout the country.

While today, only 6% of those living inside Eritrea have access to the internet, for those outside, music remains a source of community and belonging – shared and consumed worldwide. Stars from the 1980s like Elsa Kidane regularly play to crowds around the world while YouTube channels like Horn of Africa-focused Habesha Poetics or Halenga Eritrea rack up millions of views.

Translations by Zara Tewolde-Berhan.

Ismail Einashe is a journalist, researcher and an associate editor at Warscapes, a foreign affairs magazine. He tweets at @IsmailEinashe

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