Bole2Harlem was a musical collaboration that fused elements of Ethiopian music with

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

. Bole2Harlem released one album, ''Bole2Harlem, Volume 1'', in 2006. David "Duke Mushroom" Schommer, a producer,

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

, and

percussionist A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

, founded the group with

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

n singers

Tigist Shibabaw Tigist Shibabaw (1980 – January 2008) was an Ethiopian singer and one of the original members of the Harlem-based hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the Afri ...

(the late sister of singer Gigi) and Maki Siraj.Press release
on Rock Paper Scissors, (accessed November 23, 2014). The project's name refers to Bole, a neighborhood in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

(and the site of

Bole International Airport Addis Ababa Bole International Airport is an international airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is in the Bole Medhanealem, Bole Districts of Ethiopia, district, southeast of the city centre and north of Bishoftu. The airport was formerly k ...

), and

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where Schommer and Siraj were residents.

History

The project has its roots in L'Orange Bleue, a New York cafe popular with African expatriates and where Schommer, Siraj, and Shibabaw would congregate. Schommer had grown up immersed in Ethiopian culture: his father had helped establish a university in Ethiopia, and consequently the family home was filled with Ethiopian art and stories. Shibabaw and Siraj had made a recording after they met in 2005. Schommer, Shibabaw, and Siraj discussed an " Abesha MC" concept, with Shibabaw representing traditional Ethiopian styles (see '' Ethiopiques''), and Siraj representing new musical trends. Additional collaborators joined after hearing about the project through Schommer's other production activities. Schommer and Siraj also trace the concept to the transit culture of Addis Ababa, where

weyala A weyala () is a conductor who receives fares on minibus share taxis in Ethiopia. He also has the duty of informing potential passenger A passenger is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks ...

s rapidly call out the destinations of

share taxi A share taxi, shared taxi, taxibus, or jitney or dollar van in the US, or marshrutka in former Soviet countries, is a mode of transport which falls between a taxicab and a bus. Share taxis are a form of paratransit. They are vehicles for hire and ...

s (for example, "Bole, Bole, Bole, Bole..."). Schommer describes the idea of taking a New York taxicab and suddenly placing it and its passengers in Addis Ababa (thus, "Harlem, Harlem, Harlem, Harlem..."). The album cover art features a

minibus A minibus, microbus, or minicoach is a passenger-carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, the word "minibus" is us ...

similar to the vehicles used as share taxis. Tigist Shibabaw died in early 2008 in

Bahar Dar Bahir Dar () is the capital city of Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Bahir Dar is one of the leading tourist destinations in Ethiopia, with a variety of attractions in the nearby Lake Tana and Blue Nile river. The city is known for its wide avenues li ...

Discography

''Bole2Harlem, Volume 1''

Sounds of the Mushroom released ''Bole2Harlem, Volume 1'' in June 2006. White Swan Records reissued the album in June 2011. According to Schommer, the track "Hoya Hoye" exemplifies the crossing of Ethiopian and American cultures. He explains how the title is derived from a

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

-like celebration, in which children chant "Hoya, hoye, HO, hoya hoye, HO" while clapping and pounding sticks (see

Buhe Buhe ( Ge'ez: ቡሄ ''Buhē'') is a feast day observed by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church on 19 August (13 Nahase in the Ethiopian calendar). On this date, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church celebrates the ...

). After hearing this chant sung in Addis Ababa, Schommer was further inspired by the beat of a hip-hop track he heard while walking through Harlem. During this same walk, he also heard a Gospel choir singing as he passed a church, and decided to add the

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeated in poetry or in music">poetry.html" ;"title="Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeat ...

("Feeling all right!") to the song. The

blues scale The term blues scale refers to several different scales with differing numbers of pitches and related characteristics. A blues scale is often formed by the addition of an out-of-key " blue note" to an existing scale, notably the flat fifth additio ...

heard on the song is actually an abbreviated Ethiopian scale. The track "Bole 2 Harlem" appears on the

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

''Un Automne 2007''. ;Track listing # "Bole 2 Harlem" - 4:12 # "Hoya Hoye" - 4:08 # "Enseralen" Gojo - 5:27 # "Ametballe" - 4:56 # "Hi Loga" - 4:19 # "Endegena" - 4:47 # "Home" - 5:55 # "Ya Selam" - 3:54 # "Aya Bellew" - 4:41 # "Harlem 2 Bole" - 2:28 # "Quralew" - 1:47 # "Ensaralen Gojo (Remix)" - 8:58 # "Africaye!" - 2:28 All Songs Written by: * D. Schommer: Music * M.Siraj, T.Shibabaw, D.Schommer: Lyrics Except: * #4, 11: D. Schommer: Music, M.Siraj: Lyric * #3, 12:D. Schommer: Music, J.Bashir, M.Siraj: Lyric * #6: D. Schommer: Music, M.Siraj, D.Vieira: Lyric ;Personnel * David "Duke Mushroom" Schommer - Vocals, drums, percussion, beats, bass, keyboards *

- vocals * Maki Siraj - vocals * Fray - vocals, track 4 * Davi Vieira - vocals, percussion, track 5 *

Dave Eggar Dave Eggar is an American cellist, pianist and composer. Early life Eggar was a musical prodigy as a child, beginning to play the cello and piano at age three and performing as a singer and actor on Broadway and at the Metropolitan Opera at ...

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

, #3 * Henok Temesgen -

electric bass The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an electric but with a longer neck and scale leng ...

, tracks 4-5 *

Robert Aaron Robert Aaron (born Robert Arron Vineberg; November 13, 1955) is a Canadian jazz musician. According to John Leland of the New York Times "Mr. Aaron played flute, saxophone, clarinet and piano, then taught himself guitar, trumpet, bassoon, Fren ...

- horns, tracks 2, 4, 6, 7, 13 * Joewarn Martin - keyboards, tracks 2-7 * Balla Tounkara - kora, vocals, track 10 * Sam "Carpete" Effron -

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

, tracks 1-3 * Gregg Fine - guitar, track 7 * Khalid M'Zouz - hand clapping, tracks 1-2, 7-10

Contributing artist

* '' The Rough Guide to the Music of Ethiopia'' (2012,

World Music Network World Music Network is a UK-based record label specializing in world music. The World Music Network website features news, reviews, live music listings, and guide sections on world music. It also features an online "Battle of the Bands" competi ...

)

References

External links

* (As cached by the Wayback Machine) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bole2Harlem Music of Ethiopia Musical groups established in 2005 Musical groups disestablished in 2006 American hip-hop groups