MULATU ASTATKE - Mulatu Of Ethiopia (Special Edition) [2024 Expanded Reissue] - 2LP - White Vinyl [MAY 17]

2LP - Special Edition Opaque White Vinyl Reissue featuring the original stereo mix of the full album, as well as a special ‘mono-mix’ of each track retrieved from the original 2" tapes. 

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Strut label, they are delighted to unveil a special edition of a landmark album within the realm of African music – Mulatu Astatke's 'Mulatu Of Ethiopia’. Recorded in New York in 1972, this pivotal album marks a juncture in Astatke's musical journey when he adeptly fused various styles to craft the distinctive genre known as Ethio-jazz.

For this special edition, the release features the original stereo mix of the full album, as well as a special ‘mono-mix’ of each track retrieved from the original 2" tapes, pressed on opaque white vinyl 2LP.

“I left the UK for America and studied at Berklee College in Boston. I learnt the technical aspects of jazz and gained a beautiful understanding of many different types of music. That’s where I got my tools. Berklee really shook me up.” Journeying regularly to the Big Apple to play and watch live shows at the Cheetah, the Palladium and the Village Gate, Astatke met producer Gil Snapper on the circuit.

“Gil was a nice and very interesting guy. He produced music and worked with all kinds of musicians.” The meeting would lead to a series of albums on Snapper’s Worthy label. The first, ‘Afro Latin Soul’, documented Astatke’s new-found directions. “Mulatu has created a new sound,” enthused Snapper on the album jacket. “He has taken the ancient five-tone scales of Asia and Africa and woven them into something unique and exciting; a mixture of three cultures, Ethiopian, Puerto Rican and American.”

A second volume of ‘Afro Latin Soul’ followed before Astatke began to hone his sound further, infusing funk and cultural influences into the mix. Returning to a downtown Manhattan studio with Snapper and working with some of the city’s top young jazz and latin session players, Mulatu Of Ethiopia began to take shape. “We rehearsed for 3-4 weeks,” remembers Astatke. “it took them a while to get the right feeling in the music.” The resultant album represented the first fully formed document of Astatke’s trademark Ethio jazz sound. It features Kulunmanqueleshi, Dewel, and Kasalefku-Hulu, tracks that Mulatu would return to regularly on singles and in live shows, the Ethio-Latin workout Chifara and the self-titled groover Mulatu (“I wanted to make a track for... myself!”).  

Tracklist:

A1. Mulatu (Stereo Mix)
A2. Mascaram Setaba (Stereo Mix)
A3. Dewel (Stereo Mix)

B1. Kulunmanqueleshi (Stereo Mix)
B2. Kasalefkut-Hulu (Stereo Mix)
B3. Munaye (Stereo Mix)
B4. Chifara (Stereo Mix)

C1. Mulatu (Mono Mix)
C2. Mascaram Setaba (Mono Mix)
C3. Dewel (Mono Mix)

D1. Kulunmanqueleshi (Mono Mix)
D2. Kasalefkut-Hulu (Mono Mix)
D3. Munaye (Mono Mix)
D4. Chifara (Mono Mix)