{"id":42931,"date":"2016-08-19T15:00:32","date_gmt":"2016-08-19T14:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/hailu-mergia-dahlak-band-wede-harer-guzo-awesome-tapes-from-africa\/"},"modified":"2016-08-19T15:00:32","modified_gmt":"2016-08-19T14:00:32","slug":"hailu-mergia-dahlak-band-wede-harer-guzo-awesome-tapes-from-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/hailu-mergia-dahlak-band-wede-harer-guzo-awesome-tapes-from-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Hailu Mergia & Dahlak Band – Wede Harer Guzo [Awesome Tapes From Africa]"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hailu Mergia & Dahlak Band<\/strong>\u2019s Wede Harer Guzo is the third release on Awesome Tapes<\/strong> From Africa<\/strong> for Ethiopian keyboard and accordion maestro. In the years since Shemonmuanaye, Mergia<\/strong> has revamped his touring career, playing festivals and clubs worldwide, including a recent tour supporting Beirut.<\/p>\n

By 1978, Addis Ababa\u2019s nightlife was facing challenges. The ruling Derg regime imposed curfews, banning citizens from the streets after midnight until 6:00 am. But that didn\u2019t stop some people from dancing and partying through the night. Bands would play from evening until daybreak and people would stay at the clubs until curfew was lifted in the morning.<\/p>\n

One key denizen of Addis\u2019 musical golden age, Hailu Mergia<\/strong>, was preparing a follow-up to his seminal Tche Belew LP with the famed Walias Band<\/strong>. It was the band\u2019s only full-length record and it had been a success. But his Hilton house band colleagues were a bit tied up recording cassettes with different vocalists. Still Hailu Mergia<\/strong>, amidst recording and gigs with the Walias, was also eager to make another recording of his instrumental-focused arrangements. So he went to the nearby Ghion Hotel, another upmarket outpost with a popular nightclub. Dahlak Band<\/strong> was the house band at Ghion at the time. Together they made this tape Wede Harer Guzo right there in the club during the band\u2019s afternoon rehearsal meetings, with sessions lasting three days.<\/p>\n

Dahlak Band<\/strong> catered to a slightly more youthful, local audience, while Mergia<\/strong>\u2019s main gig with the Walias at Addis\u2019 swankiest hotel had a mixed audience that included wealthy Ethiopians, foreign diplomats and older folks from abroad. Therefore, their sets featured lighter fare during dinnertime and a less rollicking selection of jazz and r&b. Meanwhile, Dahlak was known more for the mainly soul and Amharic jams they served up for hours two nights a week to a younger crowd.<\/p>\n