more from
Batov Records
We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.
/
  • Streaming + Download

    Pre-order of Tension. You get 3 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.
    Purchasable with gift card
    Download available in 24-bit/44.1kHz.
    releases November 8, 2024

      £6 GBP  or more

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Includes digital pre-order of Tension. You get 3 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.
    Download available in 24-bit/44.1kHz.
    shipping out on or around November 8, 2024
    edition of 500  16 remaining
    Purchasable with gift card

      £22 GBP or more 

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Includes digital pre-order of Tension. You get 3 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.
    Download available in 24-bit/44.1kHz.
    shipping out on or around November 8, 2024
    Purchasable with gift card

      £20 GBP or more 

     

  • Limited Test Press in Brown Cardboard Sleeve (Red Hand-Stamp)
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    **Shipping immediately**

    Includes digital pre-order of Tension. You get 3 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.
    Download available in 24-bit/44.1kHz.

    Sold Out

1.
Tension 04:57
2.
Major 03:53
3.
Hatula
4.
Yashan
5.
Delilah
6.
Dung Gate 04:07

about

Ethio-jazz pioneer Mulatu Astatke joins the Hoodna Orchestra, Tel Aviv’s number one Afro funk collective, melding his enchanting vibraphone playing with their brass heavy force across seven original compositions that play tribute to the classic Mulatu sound while forging fresh paths. Produced by and featuring Dap-King Neal Sugarman, the results are gritty, yet majestic, soulful and uplifting.

Mulatu Astatke requires little introduction at this point. Born in Jimma, Ethiopia, Mulatu went on to live and study in London, Boston and New York. Initially drawn to and trained in jazz and Latin music, he developed the sound he called “Ethio-jazz” over a series of seminal albums combining jazz, Latin, funk and soul, with traditional Ethiopian scales and rhythms.

Long a cornerstone of the Ethiopian recording industry, his albums and even guest appearances were long sought after by record collectors and music enthusiasts around the globe. However the release of an acclaimed ‘Éthiopiques’ compilation dedicated to his instrumental recordings in 1998, followed by the 2005 release of Jim Jarmush’s acclaimed ‘Broken Flowers’ film, which heavily featured Astatke’s irresistible music, introduced him to a much wider international audience. Mulatu would go on to be sampled by the likes of Nas, Kanye West, Cut Chemist and Madlib, whilst touring to large audiences across the globe, and collaborating with London-based psych jazz collective, the Heliocentrics.

Formed in 2012 on the south side of Tel Aviv, the 12 member Hoodna Orchestra is a collective of musicians and composers who initially bonded over a shared love of Afrobeat. They have gone on to incorporate psychedelic rock, hard funk and soul, jazz, and East African music into their sought after releases, winning praise and airplay from the likes of Iggy Pop and Huey Morgan on BBC Radio 6 Music. The collective draws together a huge array of musical talents such as guitarist Ilan Smilan and organist Eitan Drabkin of Sababa 5 fame, Shalosh trio drummer Matan Assayag, and percussionist Rani Birenbaum of The Faithful Brothers, many of whom also contribute compositions to the orchestra, ensuring its collaborative environment.

Over time, members of the orchestra came to find they shared a growing interest in Ethiopian music, particularly the Ethio-jazz of Mulatu Astatke. Since releasing a recording with Ethiopian singer Tesfaye Negatu, Hoodna Orchestra had been looking to find ways to collaborate with Astatke himself and in early 2023 the opportunity arose to invite Astatke to Tel Aviv, record an album and perform it live for their home audience. Stars aligned as Neal Sugarman, multi-instrumentalist member of the Dap-Kings and co-founder of Daptone Records, joined and produced the session with Smilan.

The album commences with title track “Tension”, leading Mulatu’s signature sound in a new, rhythmically intense direction, hence the name, providing fresh creative ground for the collaborators. Astatke’s vibraphone sets the scene, before drummer Matan Assayag attacks the beat and Nadav Bracha’s marching bassline and Rani’s percussion propel the track forward, and Hoodna’s brass section delivers a classic Ethio motif. Mulatu’s enchanting vibraphone solo is followed by a blistering tenor sax solo by Eylon Tushiner. This is Ethio-jazz on turbochargers.

Recorded towards the end of their session, “Major” provides a whole new dimension, joyously and effortlessly swinging out of the speakers after “Tension”. You can sense how comfortable the band feels together at this point. The track features a superb organ solo by Drabkin. The Smilan composed “Hatula” embodies the sound of a cat prowling outside on a hot summer’s night with poise and finesse, before building into a great crescendo that belies the feline creature’s unpredictable behavior and wilder instincts. “Yashan” on the other hand is classic smoke-filled- lounge Ethio-jazz with an undercurrent of tension you can cut with a knife, with the Elad Gellert baritone sax solo lulling you into a false sense of security.

The Latin-jazz tinged grooves of “Delilah” play homage to the early roots of Mulatu’s sound. Leading the song’s key motif, Tushiner’s seductive flute is well balanced by Smilan’s guitar, proceeding beautifully into an enchanting solo by Astatke himself. Tushiner takes an extended turn himself, soloing like Hungarian guitar legend Gábor Szabó, if only he’d moved to Cairo instead of San Francisco. Joined by Sugarman on saxophones, the brass section plays a subtle but important role on his occasion, gently accompanying in the background.

The album closes fittingly with “Dung Gate”. A Birenbaum composition, the track features slow, heavy, melodic motif led by the brass section, counterbalanced by a tidal wave of percussion and hand-clapping. One can imagine the band slowly marching out of the venue through the crowd at the end of their show, the audience clapping in time with the orchestra’s brass and percussion, recalling another legend, the late great Sun Ra.

On one hand, ‘Tension’ is clearly a deeply personal tribute by the Hoodna Orchestra to iconic Mulatu Astatke, but at the same time the recordings emit a remarkable amount of chemistry, and together they have created an essential addition to Mulatu’s rich discography that charts new directions in his Ethio-jazz trajectory and provides the Hoodna Orchestra with their strongest album to date.

credits

releases November 8, 2024

Mulatu Astatke - vibraphone, piano, percussion
Ilan Smilan - Guitar
Eitan Drabkin - Organ
Nadav Bracha - Bass
Eylon Tushiner - Tenor saxophone, Flute
Elad Gellert - Baritone saxophone
Bar Ashkenazi - Trumpet,Flugelhorn
Matan Assayag - Drums
Raz Eytan - Percussion
Shahar Ber - Percussion
Ran Birnbaum - Percussion
Neal Sugarman - tenor sax on #5 Alto sax on #5
Udi Raz - Trombone on # 3

All arrangements by Hoodna Orchestra

Neal Sugarman and Ilan Smilan - producer
Recorded by Uri Vertheim At Anova studios Tel Aviv on March 1st and 2nd 2023
Ran Yeshurun - Sound tech.
Nitai Shem Tov - Sound tech.
Alex Terry - mix
JJ Golden - master
Dekel Hevroni - Cover design

Elie Weiss - producer
Jason Perkins - producer

℗ © Batov Records 2024 | BTR103
www.batovrecords.com
Distributed by !K7 Music

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Mulatu Astatke Jimma, Ethiopia

The pioneer of Ethio jazz, Mulatu Astatke developed his sound through studies in the UK during the ‘50s and a series of seminal recordings for domestic label Amha before travelling to New York to record the ‘Mulatu Of Ethiopia’ album. Since collaborating with The Heliocentrics in 2009 for Strut, he has continued recording and is a major draw on the global touring circuit. ... more

contact / help

Contact Mulatu Astatke

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

Mulatu Astatke recommends:

If you like Tension, you may also like: