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"The aim", says Nick Page, the musician and producer best-known as Dubulah, also founding member of Transglobal Underground and Syriana, "is to constantly surprise." The new Dub Colossus album, Addis Through The Looking Glass, does just that. It's a new departure in the band's remarkable history. Dubulah first travelled to Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa in 2006 to collaborate with musicians and explore traditional Azmari styles, 60s Ethiopian pop, Ethiojazz and 70s Jamaican Dub Reggae. There he came across some amazingly talented artists - female vocalists Tsedenia Gebremarkos, a fine, soulful performer and highly successful African pop star, and Sintayehu 'Mimi' Zenebe who runs a nightclub in Addis and has been described as 'Ethiopia's Edith Piaf', extraordinary young pianist Samuel Yirga, veteran saxophonist and jazz exponent Feleke Hailu and Teremage Woretaw, a traditional folk singer, an azmari, an exponent of the one-stringed messenqo violin - Dub Colossus was born. When their first set, A Town Called Addis, was released back in 2008 it was hailed as one of the most inventive fusion albums of the year, with its blend of contemporary and traditional Ethiopian styles, jazz and dub reggae. Now comes a lengthy, even more varied and sophisticated album that moves the experiment on - with the Ethiopian contingent playing a greater role in the proceedings. It's still an experimental fusion set, not a straightforward recording of Ethiopian songs, but the successes of the past two years have led to growing trust and confidence in the band.

"This time they were saying to me "we'd like to show you our take on it, rather than you interpreting us", explains Dubulah. "It was a good exchange. They would come up with the subject matter, and ideas for the next phase of the group. And I'd transport some of their ideas into another world". As with the first album, recording took place mostly in Addis Ababa, where a local musician Abiyou Solomon, who plays bass on t.......
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"The aim", says Nick Page, the musician and producer best-known as Dubulah, also founding member of Transglobal Underground and Syriana, "is to constantly surprise." The new Dub Colossus album, Addis Through The Looking Glass, does just that. It's a new departure in the band's remarkable history. Dubulah first travelled to Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa in 2006 to collaborate with musicians and explore traditional Azmari styles, 60s Ethiopian pop, Ethiojazz and 70s Jamaican Dub Reggae. There he came across some amazingly talented artists - female vocalists Tsedenia Gebremarkos, a fine, soulful performer and highly successful African pop star, and Sintayehu 'Mimi' Zenebe who runs a nightclub in Addis and has been described as 'Ethiopia's Edith Piaf', extraordinary young pianist Samuel Yirga, veteran saxophonist and jazz exponent Feleke Hailu and Teremage Woretaw, a traditional folk singer, an azmari, an exponent of the one-stringed messenqo violin - Dub Colossus was born. When their first set, A Town Called Addis, was released back in 2008 it was hailed as one of the most inventive fusion albums of the year, with its blend of contemporary and traditional Ethiopian styles, jazz and dub reggae. Now comes a lengthy, even more varied and sophisticated album that moves the experiment on - with the Ethiopian contingent playing a greater role in the proceedings. It's still an experimental fusion set, not a straightforward recording of Ethiopian songs, but the successes of the past two years have led to growing trust and confidence in the band.

"This time they were saying to me "we'd like to show you our take on it, rather than you interpreting us", explains Dubulah. "It was a good exchange. They would come up with the subject matter, and ideas for the next phase of the group. And I'd transport some of their ideas into another world". As with the first album, recording took place mostly in Addis Ababa, where a local musician Abiyou Solomon, who plays bass on t.......
more