{"product_id":"v-a-ethiopian-musics-1971-recorded-by-ragnar-johnson-and-ralph-harrisson-2lp","title":"V.A. - Ethiopian Musics 1971 - Recorded by Ragnar Johnson and Ralph Harrisson (2LP)","description":"\u003cp\u003eAnyone smote by DINTE’s ‘Begena Songs…’ will be properly enchanted by this more expansive - yet still intimate - suite of snapshots from Ethiopia, ’71, spanning the unique, twanging harp sound thru to Amharic poetry, Afar chants, and spellbinding flutes dances\n\nOne that catches the breath with seldom felt sensations, ‘Ethiopian Musics 1971’ patently owes as much to the incredible performers as their faithful representation in Ragnar Johnson \u0026 Ralph Harrisson’s recordings. All secreted to tape on a Uher Report L stereo reel-to-reel recorder, they epitomise an era of ethnomusicological preservation, when the likes of labels such as Lyrichord and  Folkways were already decades deep “in the field”, documenting long-held traditions practically untouched by an encroaching, western modernity. And perhaps most crucially, the recordings beautifully render the acoustic settings and vivid vibes with an immersive quality in stark opposition to the era of dry, so-called audiophile studio recordings of ethnic musics to come - all the better for immersing in this wonderfully unfamiliar world.\n\nThe abundance of singular tones and strong, rare feels they produce is quite staggering to our northern english ears, and we reckon also for anyone else, for that matter. Opening to a joyful couplet of a bluesy ’Song about the beauty of women’, and the almost shanty-like swing and hard rhythm of ’Tej Beit Song’, the set reels to distinctive pieces of Ethiopian Christian song set to begena, or ‘Harp of David’, buzz, and a landscape-scale, 13 minute ‘Love Song (Mary Armede)’. A gripping ‘Drum Song (Jigsaw)’ will be mana to rhythm fiends, and a number of standout flute pieces reprise the frisson of our first encounter with this discipline on Sublime Freq’s ‘Staring into the Sun - Ethiopian Tribal Music’ set of 2012, most potently on the pluming twin pipes of the ‘Fila Flute Dance’ parts, whilst the pentatonic craar (6-stringed lyre) parts surely strike nerves for lovers of the rawest blues, and hail the liberated legacy of Mary Armede, a folk singer-fashion designer of Azmari heritage who surely warrants further investigation. \n\nNo doubt this is one of the most striking archival discoveries of 2026, acutely advised to anyone enchanted with music from this corner of the world from Éthiopiques to begena harp, thru to Ragnar Johnson’s other arenas of research for Ideologic Organ in Yemen or Papua New Guinea. Dive in without delay.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ciframe style=\"border: 0; width: 350px; height: 472px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=427578803\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=333333\/artwork=none\/transparent=true\/\" seamless\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/subrosalabel.bandcamp.com\/album\/ethiopian-musics-1971\"\u003eEthiopian Musics 1971 Ethiopian Musicians recorded by Ragnar Johnson and Ralph Harrisson\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e","brand":"SUB ROSA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49279721111811,"sku":"SRV584","price":5132.0,"currency_code":"JPY","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0285\/1694\/1956\/files\/a1952230326_10.jpg?v=1784260797","url":"https:\/\/meditations.jp\/en\/products\/v-a-ethiopian-musics-1971-recorded-by-ragnar-johnson-and-ralph-harrisson-2lp","provider":"Meditations","version":"1.0","type":"link"}