Billed as an Ethiopian Supergroup, Qwanqwa is a little multicultural. Electric violinist Kathe Hostetter was in Boston based African outfit Debo Band, and was decidedly Caucasian. The remaining 4 from Ethiopia played electric Krar, bass electric krar, “traditional drums/percussion”, and vocals. The sound was back alley Addis Ababa trance funk. The krar looked like a table leg stuck into a Kleenex box and had one string. The man played it with a tree saw shaped bow and got amazing tones with vibrato. The electric bass krar was even better, it looked liked a cigar box welded to an upholstery-free frame of a wing back dining room chair. It had six strings, and the man used his fret hand fingers between the strings to slur amazing bass riffs. “ Traditional drums” was a sit down drum kit with a series of toms and mini congas. The diminutive drummer was all over this set, with sticks or hands, he propelled the groove. The singer was a fireplug, and reminded me of Chaka Khan, in regard to her hair:body ratio. She sang in her native tongue and gyrated and vibrated when she was involved. She had a chair that she’d retreat to on off tunes, which was good, her contribution was tiring. The electric violin, is an odd duck. At times I got a whiff of 90s crew Afro-Celt Soundsystem, others, the vibe was down right Jeanlucpontyesque in a gypsy trance style. The highlight was Mela Mela, translated as “we can solve this together”, a drum centric rave, capped with ululating yelps. I can’t help but think of the Warren Smith rockabilly chestnut Ubangi Stomp, wherein the protagonist, a hapless, slightly racist sailor gets entranced by “the natives doin an odd lookin skip”. When the Captain yells “son we gotta go”, to which the sailor responds “ that’s awright, you go right ahead, I’m gonna Ubangi Stomp till I roll over dead” Now I’m not implying Kathe is a racist or a sailor, but she has been bitten by the rhythm. It was nice to note that their touring makes an effort to play to underserved communities. Highly recommend this group, traditional yet modern sound.
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