Samuel Yirga is an Ethiopian musician and composer signed to

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

Real World Records Real World Records is a British record label specializing in world music. It was founded in 1989 by English musician Peter Gabriel and original members of WOMAD. A majority of the works released on Real World Records feature music recorded at R ...

Overview

At the age of 16, Samuel was accepted into

Yared Saint Yared ( Ge'ez: ቅዱስ ያሬድ; 25 April 505 – 20 May 571) was an Aksumite composer in the 6th century. Often credited with being the forerunner of traditional music of Ethiopia, he developed the music of the Ethiopian Orthodox Ch ...

School of Music 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 ...

. He was later dismissed for his tendency to experiment and his insistence on playing traditional and contemporary Ethiopian music, instead of adhering to the classical curriculum. His music fuses traditional ''

azmari An Azmari (Amharic: አዝማሪ) is an entertainer who sings and plays traditional string instruments of the Ethiopian Highlands. They are comparable to medieval European minstrels, bards or West African griots. ''Azmari'', who may be either ...

'' music, Ethio-jazz, dub,

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, Latin, and classical music. The title of his debut album, ''Guzo'', means "journey". Featured vocalists include the Creole Choir of Cuba, Iraqi-British singer Mel Gara, and Nigerian-British singer Nicolette. Dubulah (Nick Page) produced the album. Instrumentalists on the album hail from

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 ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

. Samuel is also a member of

Dub Colossus The terms dub, dubs, or dubbing commonly refer to: * Dubbing, a post-production process used in filmmaking and video production * Accolade (also known as dubbing), a central act in rite of passage ceremonies conferring knighthood * Dub music, a ...

and Ethiopian funk band Nubian Arc.

Discography

;Albums * ''Guzo'' - 2012 (

) ; ;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 ...

) * Hagere - 2011 (EP, 4 tracks) * The Habesha Sessions - 2011 (6 tracks)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Samuel Yirga Ethiopian musicians Musicians from Addis Ababa Living people Year of birth missing (living people)