Ejigayehu Shibabaw

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Ejigayehu "Gigi" Shibabaw (born October 21, 1974 in Chagni, Ethiopia ) is an Ethiopian singer. She is married to bassist and producer Bill Laswell .

Career

Gigi's origins lie in Chagni, in the north-west of Ethiopia, where she was born and raised as the fifth of eight children. Her love for Aster Aweke 's music prompted her early desire to become a singer herself. When she wanted to concentrate fully on music in 1991, she had a fight with her family and fled to Kenya . After concerts with her own band in Nairobi , she temporarily returned to her family in Addis Ababa in 1996, before moving to California in 1998 after first recordings and concerts in France, like her role model Aster Aweke .

After two more traditional albums, she made her breakthrough in 2001 with Gigi . The album was produced by Chris Blackwell , the founder of Island Records and her future husband Bill Laswell. With Gigi the traditional roots of the singer with the jazz sound of the studio guests as managed in an impressive way, Herbie Hancock , Wayne Shorter , David Gilmore and Pharoah Sanders to merge, but this triggered a controversy in her home. Another reason for criticism was the song Adwa , a lament for the fallen soldiers of the Eritrea-Ethiopia war . Traditionally, such songs are only sung by men in Ethiopia.

In 2003 he was Laswells Dub - Remix Album called Illuminated Audio . In the same year, Zion Roots appeared under the band name Abyssinia Infinite with family members Gigis and Bill Laswell on guitar and keyboards. The album was an acoustic return to the folklore of Ethiopia and also used various instruments from their homeland.

In 2005 Gigi worked as a singer in the film Beyond All Borders with Angelina Jolie , and she sang the duet Running From The Light with Maura Davies for the album Enter The Chicken by experimental guitarist Buckethead . This reciprocated the following year by participating in her album Gold & Wax , on which u. a. and Bernie Worrell and Robert Musso are represented. Stylistically, the album is a continuation of Gigi .

In 2010 she participated in Mesgana Ethiopia by Material and in 2011 in Rise Again by Lee Perry .

Discography

  • Tsehay (1997)
  • One Ethiopia (1998) produced by Dereje Mekonnen
  • Gigi (Guramayle) (2001)
  • Illuminated Audio (2003)
  • Abyssinia Infinite: Zion Roots (2003)
  • Gold & Wax (2006)

Holdings

  • Future 2 Future (2001) by Herbie Hancock
  • Realize (2001) by Karsh Kale
  • Radio Axiom (2001) by Bill Laswell and Jah Wobble
  • Live at Stern Grove (2002) by Tabla Beat Science
  • Sacred System: Dub Chamber 4 (Book of Exit) (2003) by Bill Laswell
  • Enter The Chicken (2005) by Buckethead
  • Putumayo Presents: One World, Many Cultures (2006) (Compilation)
  • Lightyears (2007) by Shin Terai
  • Mesgana Ethiopia (2010) from Material
  • Rise Again (2011) by Lee Perry

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Francis Falceto: Gigi Between Past and Future
personal data
SURNAME Shibabaw, Ejigayehu
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gigi
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Ethiopian singer
DATE OF BIRTH October 21, 1974
PLACE OF BIRTH Chagni , Ethiopia