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Ethiopia Music: Aster Aweke New Full Album 2019 የአስቴር አወቀ - ጨዋ ሙሉ አልበም 2011

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Published on 30 Aug 2019 / In Music

#QueenAsterAlbum
this is Just for youtubers... if u are out of this buy the original one!
Album Review - Aster Aweke's Chewa
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Aster Aweke released her debut album on vinyl in 1977 kicking off her career as an iconic Ethiopian superstar. She released three more albums in that same year including the one she collaborated on with the late Wubeshat Fisseha.

The era of vinyl music came and left, and so did cassette tape recording. We are now stepping into a new world where the compact disc will soon be a thing of the past as we embrace streaming music from the ‘cloud’. So much change has affected music and musicians over the decades since Aster’s first album 42 years ago. A lot has changed, but one thing remains the same – that Aster is still singing and she is still a recording artist.

Aster’s songs have universal appeal among Ethiopian audiences because they speak to each listener in an intimate and personal way. She now has about 250 songs, many of which have served as soundtracks to the lives of generations of Ethiopians, and they continue to resonate with young audiences.

Released last week, Aster’s twenty-sixth album is causing a stir. From Apple Music to Spotify, Amazon to CD Baby and YouTube, Aster’s latest album, “Chewa”, is delighting her fans across the world.

Packed with thought-provoking and eloquent lyrics, her commanding and ever clear voice as well as her hallmark playful style, this is a quintessentially Aster Aweke album.

The singer/songwriter has written nine of the eleven songs on this album and all of the melodies are her own creation. The two songs she didn’t write are song number 9, Efoy, and song number 11, Lib Weled. These are written by the legendary Yilma Gebreab.

Chewa means decent and it is the title of song number 6. It tells the story of a discovery she made of a decent companion and how the beauty of a man lies not solely in his looks, but greatly in his manners.

But if you thought that was an amazing description of a man’s beauty, wait until you listen to song number 5, Aynihin, in which Aster says that the beauty of the man she has fallen in love with lies in his eyes.

This is a sensational song and Aster sings it right from the heart. Rarely in Ethiopian music do we see such an exquisite and generous depiction of a man’s charm and it seems that only Aster can do it with the power that she holds as a rare musical talent. Listen carefully to the sophisticated and painstakingly put together lyrics and one fact becomes clear – that Aster is a musical genius.

Separation doesn’t stop true love and that is the subject matter of song number 1, Nafkot. True love is enduring so much inner turmoil that it threatens to rip you apart, the song implies. Yet you take it all on again for the promise of holding that person another day.

The test of true love is loyalty to that one person no matter the cost, always believing in them and always expecting the best of them. The song says what sustains you in the meantime is the bittersweet feeling of nostalgia, known in Amharic as Nafkot.

Aster has hand-picked this song and created a music video for it which she also released on her YouTube channel last week. She has only ever created a handful of music videos so it came as a pleasant surprise. The video was shot in the grand concert hall of the National Theatre in Addis Ababa where Aster’s singing career began.

The theme of living life away from your lover is continued in song number 2, Hello. In a celebration of long-distance relationship, which can be tough, the song points to what comes to the rescue when you desperately want to hear the voice of your distant lover – the telephone. Anyone would appreciate this song, especially those who have had to endure a long distance relationship for any span of time. Day or night, Saturday or Sunday, just call and say hello, says Aster.

The album will have you in a roller coaster of emotions when you go from Hello to song number 9, Efoy. This song is about the sigh of relief felt not just when your sweetheart calls and says hello, but when the time comes to reunite and they come back into your arms.

Song number 3, Tiwsta, is a beautiful ballad that takes great advantage of Aster’s silky and calming voice, her greatly crafted lyrics and the smooth sounds of the saxaphone. This perhaps is the most classic contemporary Ethiopian ballad song on the album which also brings out the awe-inspiring magic in Aster’s voice. Another song that is of the same Tizita genre is song number 11, Lib Weled. In a tale of fantasy, this song pleads with God to make the dream of an imaginary companion come true.

Aster was born in Gonder and she pays a fascinating tribute to the northern Ethiopian ancient city in song number 10, Fasiledes. The story of this thrilling song revolves around a pleasure road trip around the many localities of Gondar including Ar

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