Aster Aweke: A Glimpse

Aster Aweke: A Glimpse

Sometimes referred to as “Ethiopia’s Aretha Franklin”, Aster Aweke is an Ethiopian singer who lives in the United States. Aweke was born in 1961 in Gondar, Ethiopia and was raised in the capital city of Addis Ababa. Her father was a senior civil servant in the Imperial government.

By the age of 13 she was determined to become a musician, and started her career at Hager Fikir Theatre in Addis Ababa.By her late teens, she was singing in Addis Ababa clubs and hotels with such bands as the Continental Band, Hotel D'Afrique Band, Shebele Band, and the Ibex Band before they became the internationally known as Roha Band.

Aweke's distinct style has been influenced by other Ethiopian singers such as Bizunesh Bekele. Launching a solo career, she was encouraged by musical entrepreneur Ali Tango, who financed and released five cassettes and two singles of her music.

By 1981, she had become disillusioned by Ethiopia's oppressive political climate following the death of iconic leader Emperor Haile Selassie and relocated to the United States. Temporarily settling in the Bay Area of California with plans to pursue an education; within two years, she settled in Washington, D.C.,which hosts one of the largest Ethiopian expatriate communities in the country.Here she became increasingly popular within the Ethiopian community, performing in restaurants and clubs. She also remains popular in Ethiopia; in 1997 she performed in Addis Ababa for a crowd of over 50,000 people.

Discography

Ethiopian Groove - The Golden Seventies, Paris, 1994, Buda Musique (contains three of her very first recordings)
1989 Aster (Triple Earth / Columbia Records)
1991 Kabu (Triple Earth / Columbia Records)
1993 Ebo (Barkhanns)
1997 Live in London (Barkhanns)
1999 Hagere (Kabu Records)
2002 Sugar (Kabu Records)
2004 Asters Ballads (Kabu Records)
2006 Fikir

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Comment: I have never had an opportunity to talk to Aster Aweke, even in the three – years long of a journalistic work when I was Arts editor with the daily Addis Zemen (Amharic national news paper) in the early 1980s. I don’t know why she didn’t come to mind for invitation for interview.Anyhow, when I compiled the life and works of world and Ethiopian great musicians with a colleague 14 years ago, Aster Aweke figured prominently in the collection. This collection of great value is still waiting for publication. Lack of financial resource has become a great obstacle. Any publisher interested in the life and work of great musicians can extend a helping hand.Coming back to Aster’s work, a month ago I watched her well-staged and lively performance at a newly built stage in Addis Ababa during the celebration of the beginning of the third Ethiopian Millennium. I have learned that the majority audiences love her music, while the minority doesn’t. Reason; though she dramatizes her actions on stages and captivates the whole attention of her audience her voice is not so much attractive. However, they appreciate that Aster is a famous artiste who has dramatically changed the Ethiopian music style in a new fashion. In a word, she is a pioneer of Ethiopian modern music.