Dawit Yifru - Dawit Yifru
Just about 2 years ago we sent out what has become one of all time our favorite Good Thing records ever. Wede Harer Guzo by Hailu Mergia is still on regular rotation around these parts and for good reason! One of the things that really makes that record so special is the choice of the backup band that Hailu Mergia used for this recording - The Dahlak Band. And you wanna know something about the Dahlak Band? Well, they just happen to be founded by - you guessed it - Dawit Yifru. This here album is a collection of Yifru’s solo instrumental recordings that have been remastered from original tapes from the 1970s. Dawit is also a founding member of the Ethiopian Musicians Association and he is still an influential participating member of the Ethiopian music community. This record is the first release from Muzikawi’s (an Ethiopian record company) Archive and Research Project that reissues popular Ethiopian music that has never been heard outside of the country. Now with any luck Yifru will also become influential in the global music community as well. He sure has been getting a ton of play in the cafe lately.
Telila - Jimma, Ethiopia
Telila is a washing station located in southwestern Ethiopia that is owned and operated by Mike Mamo - a super cool dude who also exports the coffee through his company Addis Exporters. That's some vertical integration right there! Telila seperates all of their lots by kebele or municipality. This particular lot comes from Kecho Anderacha and is made up primarily of JARC 74112 - a coffee varietal developed in the 70s by the Jimma Agricultural Research Center to resist the dreaded coffee berry disease (CBD) - a fungal infection that affects coffee production worldwide to this day.