Mulatu Astatké & The Heliocentrics, 2009

🇪🇹 🎷 🔥 🌍 🎶 In 2009, the father of Ethio-jazz, Mulatu Astatke, collaborated with London’s eclectic collective The Heliocentrics on the Strut label’s Inspiration Information series—a project built around unlikely musical encounters. The first volume had featured the late Amp Fiddler teaming up with Jamaica’s Sly & Robbie. Here, Ethio-jazz is steeped in a heady blend of funk, afrobeat, and hip-hop, delivering pure groove. Gilles Peterson didn’t miss the mark, awarding it his annual Worldwide Winner Album Award. The basslines are weighty, the brass almost overpowering, while Astatke’s piano floats over a sonic tapestry, evoking the Ethiopian highlands and echoing Karl Hector & the Malcouns’ Sahara Swing, released the previous year. The fusion works brilliantly, and this double album is a mesmerising journey through imaginary landscapes that come alive in the listener’s mind. Outstanding.