Live Review: Krar Collective at RichMix

By Julia Morris

Kicking off their Making Tracks tour in a whirlwind of Ethiopian song, krar grooves and fantastical dance moves, Krar Collective swept us up into an Addis-soaked night far removed from the streets of East London’s Rich Mix. Led by krar wizard Temesgen Taraken, former star pupil of Ethio-jazz legend Mulatu Astatke, this special album launch show saw the normal trio of krar, vocals and percussion expanded into a lineup that also featured saxophone, bass krar, dancers and guest vocalist.

After a haunting opening ballad from singer Genet Assefa, the band embarked on a rocking set, madly exchanging intricate rhythms and melodies to the deep beats of the kebero drums. Amharic popular songs were sounded in counterpoint to Ethio-jazz numbers from Addis’ 1960s/70s ‘Golden Years’ to weave a truly unique mesh of Ethiopian styles. This was all augmented by Temesgen’s electrifying performance on the krar, the ancient six-stringed Ethiopian lyre, fully showcasing his skills as he strummed driving riffs that would rival any rock guitarist.

Krar Collective open the new season

London-based Ethiopian trio Krar Collective are ready for the first Making Tracks tour this season, starting next week.

Making Tracks has a shiny new website!

Our new website has just gone live - we are proud and thrilled!
We hope you will find it easy to navigate and enticing to explore tour dates, artist information, links & videos. We have also added a new blog section to feature your reviews! And of course, you can also find us on Facebook and Twitter. 
The website was all done here at the KAPA office - thanks go to the fantastic website tools over at Moonfruit. We have been debating for ages what the best way forward for a new website would be... there is something very satisfying about doing it yourself. The best thing about it that you can really do whatever you like with any template - total control over everything on every page.  
Let us know what you think - leave a comment below.
See you around on these pages!

WMN to release Krar Colletive debut album

World Music Network is to release the  Krar Collective debut album, 'Ethiopia Super Krar'. The release date has been set for Sept 10, to coincide with the trio's Making Tracks tour in the UK in Sept/Oct 2012. Check out the label page here.