Aster’s latest album “Chewa” or roughly ‘decent’ has burst into the musical scene just as expected and hoped by her fans for quite a while. This album is intended to be her New Year gift for the 2012 Ethiopian Year and it is a gift for her millions of devoted fans and followers, both here and abroad. It is entitled rightly “Chewa”-, the title song of the new piece in which she sings about how decent and honest the lover she found is. She talks about integrity and truthfulness of her lover.
I know I’m not the most authoritative person to talk about Aster Awoke as a veteran artist (vocalist-composer-performer) in the Ethiopian musical scene. There are friends of mine who are devoted followers of all her artistic paths and glories, beginning from her very first album up to the current one.
They say, she is the Ethiopian artist who released the largest number of albums, excelling even more seasoned artists such as Mahmoud Ahmed and the late Tilahun Gessesse. In fact, this is the 26th album of her career! I am not in a position to confirm or refute such assertion. But I’m sure that these artists must have sung more songs in their decades of illustrious career than Aster did.
But what makes Aster’s successes shine brighter than many other Ethiopian artists, (in the almost four decades that she sat in comfort deep in the heart of Ethiopians), is that she does not rely on only her voice and performance, for her artistic expression, but also on her sublime composition of tunes that she herself takes care of and, the love-inspired lyrics she adorns them with.
There have been suggestions from certain critics that Aster’s songs become very strong and full of significance if she leaves the writing of lyrics to professionals such as Sossina Taddesse, Alemtsehay Wedajo or Yilma Gebreab. She could inspire these artists or co-author with them so that some of the lyrics that she used on some albums would have been stronger in their message than otherwise.
Artists must not be fully engaged in so many directions and if specialisation is encouraged the final products could have better quality. There is clearly no match between what Yilma Gebreab writes with many others. If it is a matter of decreasing the cost of the production then that would be another matter but many people would agree that professional writers of lyrics do deliver very well and at times raises the quality of the tune.
Aster’s old songs with those strong messages have always enjoyed immortality. Inevitably, mediocre lyrics risk downgrading the quality of the final product. It is hard to dismiss such observations. This of course excludes those lyrics which inspire and determine the melody. In many instances we have heard that it is the lyrics that guide the melody.
If in the past almost all of Aster’s melodious tunes have been composed by herself, made to suit her own voice, tastes, style, inclinations, her latest album “Chewa” is even more so. All songs have been authored by her. Only two of the song’s lyrics are written by the veteran Yilma Gebreab. This time around Aster has even taken part in the arrangement and mixing of the tunes, may be inheriting a lot from her usual collaborator Abegazu Kibrework. Such versatility is almost unheard of in our musical scene. Outstanding!
Composed of eleven tracks Aster’s latest album is mainly composed of cool and melodious songs that show her maturity. It witnesses that she has distanced a bit from the usual high speed beats she used to make one of her trademarks. Of course there is a ‘Gondarine’ beat which by its very nature is fast and shaking, but most of the tunes are smooth and remind the old Aster Awoke, very inspirational and melodious voice.
We have seen in many night clubs performers trying to imitate Aster and few could keep the flavour Aster has especially when she suddenly applies a new gear to change pace and tone! Aster’s style remains unique and probably impossible to duplicate. But she has remained an inspiration to the new generation and a model for the upcoming vocalists.
I believe no female singer, composer, performer or artist of any sort in Ethiopia can at present match, the fame, glory, magnetism and charm among the Ethiopian public, especially among the youth, that of Aster’s. Ever since the day her new album was released, it has become a best seller in many quarters. I have seen even youths who normally peddle newspapers or chewing gums by the streets, suddenly becoming vendors of Aster’s CDs.
As is usual with our FM radio stations and programs Aster’s latest album is extensively advertised even though her name is a guaranteed trade mark. Many shows are sponsored by her album and the songs from the album seem to be the choice number one of the technicians and DJs around the country. It was on Wednesday 24th July that the CD beat the roads of Addis, but it is expected that it will be a hot sale for weeks, if not months.
This is almost a miracle in a country where copyright restrictions are very lax and one observes that people still do not have enough consciousness that it is their insistence to buy original CDs that sustains the industry rather than engage in illegal and pirated copies.
There has been recently various types of concerts mainly used to advance public causes and messages and we would like to see also Aster engage in these functions and contribute her part to the cause of the poor and disadvantaged.
Picking up on one of her usual style, Aster has written a song on the nationality issue celebrating Ethiopia. The song ‘Ethiopia’ is one that hails our citizenship as a matter of identity for all irrespective of our regional or marginal differences in language, culture and creed. In fact, one of Aster’s typical characteristics of her long career has been the inclusion of at least one track that deals with the love for the country. When she was abroad she used to talk about nostalgia and homesickness but now that she is stationed permanently here, she talks about her motherland all the same but urging for unity and harmony.
It appears that it is a tune that needs to be considered seriously because the recently blowing wind of hatred and suspicion among various corners does not augur well for the prospects of the country. This tendency must be fought back and issues of identity must be settled in a legal framework and considered in the context of a united and strong Ethiopia that can compete at the international level with sustained development and growth. The talk of narrow nationalism and hate speech risks driving the country into an abyss of disruption which can only be a zero sum game!
Artists such as Aster do have an obligation to sustain the idea of one nation and promote these ideas through their loved tunes. The recently released Album by the popular Teddy Afro has had a good impact on the audience and Aster has followed suit and other artists as well should sustain this enormous responsibility of uniting the country and dismissing the talks of fragmentation as futile and damning.
We must realize that this country does not belong to politicians only. In a recent session of discussions with artists Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has underlined the role of artists in nation building and discouraging suspicion among nationalities. It is good to see that songs as the one Aster has included in her latest album features the issue of unity and the glory of our nation.
The years may pass but Aster’s tone and style are always a trademark; and her creativity is never in difficulty. Now that she has also got on the bandwagon of arrangers and mixers, she has once again confirmed her full versatility. And just as a good wine, she gets better and more precious along the years. Her fans say: Aster welcome back! We have been missing you. The tenacity of Aster is really admirable because she is such a hardworking artist. Are there others who match her position? I really doubt it.
The Ethiopian Herald Sunday Edition 11 August 2019
BY FITSUM GETACHEW
