One Ethiopia

Ejigayehu Shibabaw (who goes by the stage name Gigi) is an Ethiopian singer and songwriter who has frequently collaborated with her husband, the legendary bassist and producer Bill Laswell. But this 1998 album is a fully Ethiopian production: the instruments are played by producer Dereje Makonnen, with all lyrics and vocals by Gigi. As is typical of Ethiopian pop music, songs are as likely to be written in a fast, loping 6/8 or 12/8 as in the more conventional (in the West) 4/4. The horns that are often abundant in Ethiopian music are here approximated by synthesizers, but otherwise this is very straight-ahead Ethiopian pop: Gigi not only has a gorgeous natural voice, but she’s also a master of the graceful melisma, and on songs like “Until When?” and “Without” it turns beautiful, looping somersaults all around the melody notes. (Don’t be fooled by the song titles; everything here is sung in Amharic.) I have yet to hear a disappointing Gigi album, and this one is among her best.