Recorded in 1988, as the title would suggest, this album includes the work of two bands that were prominent on Addis Ababa’s vibrant live music scene, Ethio Stars and Tukul Band. Ethio Jazz superstar Mulatu Astatke was artistic director, composer, arranger and collaborating musician in both bands, but where Ethio Stars had a more funk, pop, and soul groove, Tukul Band experimented with more traditional music, using electrified versions of traditional instruments such as the krar and the masenqo, a single-stringed bowed lute (the only one in Ethiopia), traditionally played by the azmaris.

– Megan Iacobini de Fazio