Hailu Mergia and Dahlak Band - Wede Harer Guzo (2xLP)

Product: Vinyl 2xLP 

Artist: Hailu Mergia and Dahlak Band

Album: Wede Harer Guzo

high-grade Ethiopian synthesizer jazz from 1978

A hypnotic journey into the global grooves of late-1970s Ethiopia. Recorded over three days inside Addis Ababa’s Ghion Hotel nightclub, Wede Harer Guzo brings legendary keyboardist and arranger Hailu Mergia together with the Dahlak Band, a group known for blending Ethiopian sounds with the pulse of American soul and R&B.

Mergia transforms familiar Amharic melodies into richly arranged instrumentals, weaving electric keys, horns and deep, rolling rhythms through the distinctive scales and melodies of Ethiopian music. The result sits beautifully between Ethio-jazz, soul, funk and traditional Ethiopian song—music born from the after-dark clubs of Addis during one of the city’s most fascinating musical eras.

Originally released on cassette in 1978 and largely forgotten for decades, Wede Harer Guzo is a remarkable document of Ethiopia’s golden age: warm, hypnotic, soulful and endlessly grooving.