10 th strike from one great artist

By Alemayehu Seife Selassie & Samson H/Yesus

Judging by his smooth skin and lively charm, it is hard to guess that this musician has been on the spotlight for over twenty-five years. Hitting the hearts of music lovers this artist has managed to carve out a successful music career. Now Tsehaye Yohanes is one of the idols that many young musicians aspire to become. His previous albums bring fond memories of coming to grips with romance, patriotism and other facets of life during their youth .

Starting out with Tey Munit, Finchitwa, and Sab Sam great music albums Tsehaye has released nine albums that withstand the test of time. When the news hit the streets that he has released yet another album, it came as a surprise to many asking “will this guy ever tire?”. And in terms of becoming a hit as his previous albums, his recent release Sakilkign [smile for me] that just got released last week, is no exception.

It has been six years since the artist has released his ninth hit album Letinish [barely]. But on this day and age Tsehaye did not want to let his old Afro days drag him from keeping up with the technology. Coming up with an enhanced CD that has a photo slide show, a video music clip, biography of the artist and an interactive link to his website, the artist has included several special features on the CD.

Among the songs that Tsehaye is associated with, Berta Zemede, [Be strong my compatriot] Manbeb ena Metsaf [reading and writing] which later served as a motivational song for the campaign against illiteracy are significant. The video dramatization of the song Manbeb ena Metsaf on ETV, still brings smiles and nostalgia on the faces of those who lived during his early Afro donning periods. These songs show that this artist is not just a love song singer. The rigorous songs with which the artist expressed his love for Ethiopia are also some of the themes, which have never been absent from his albums.

It should not come as a shock for an artist who is responsible for making over a hundred original songs, to go around worldwide tours. But for an Ethiopian artist, Tsehaye is among the few who has performed almost in all states of the United States, Israel, the Middle East, different European countries and Australia. With the exception of China, this artist has performed in almost all continents. And the past six years were also among the highlights of his touring and performance.

The past two years however, Tsehaye was busy working on his new album. “You can not find most of the song writers there in the US, and Abegaz (the leading music arranger) has also moved here. So I have to base myself here”, he explains on how he came to decide to move back home.
Tsehaye wanted to make his current album Sakilign a catchy one and that is how he came to choose the 12th song from the album to be the album title. “Like my previous album, “Letinish” I wanted my audience to find it easy to catch the term. Other than that the song Sakilign is no different from the rest.”

Most artists of his popularity use the Electra Record store, but Tsehaye’s album is distributed under Habesha Records. “I chose Habesha to be my official distributor because of the wide range of distribution roots they have across the country.” The artist explains. “Plus they have young team and I want to give the young potentials a great opportunity as well.”

Tsehaye’s songs did not take long to start getting requests on the radio, and the video music clip that has been made for the song Beanew Bey, has made his new rendition Sakilign popular even before it reached the ears of his fans. And the artist states that it has been his dream to make a Wolaita [a region in the southern part of Ethiopia] song for the past seven years. “I came looking for Zewdu Bekele (an extra-oridinary Wolaita artist) for my last album, but by then he had moved to the Middle East to perform. So I had to use just the Wolaita tune”, Tsehaye remembers.

“This year I came here, aiming to do a duet with his featuring. I personally think that the Wolaita dance is really moving, and the rhythm is rich enough to represent Ethiopia in general”, Tsehaye stated.
The reason that the song was chosen to be the video clip that accompanies the album is for the dance. “Wolaita songs are more beautiful in their dance, so we have to do a musical video to show that. It is hard to take your eyes off the Wolaitigna dance”, the artist says. In the making of this video clip Tsehaye has spent four days shooting in the southern Ethiopian region.

As a matured artist Tsehaye is one who can compare the recent life of musicians with the days when he started. “Today, there is a great promotional campaign and there are a lot more music lovers. But the illegal duplication is killing the business”, Tsehaye says. “There are more illegal copies sold on the streets than the original. You see the price of everything increasing in Ethiopia but the price of music albums has gone down. And yet the illegal copies are the ones which sale more than the original. This looks like one of the areas, which the government has not given much attention. When you see the intellectual property getting robbed it is really saddening”, Tsehaye pointed out.

Seeing many record labels closing down due to piracy was a shocking experience for this artist. “When you see many record stores closed down because they have gone bankrupt due to the illegal copies it gets you worried how long the situation will continue and how long the existing record labels will run before closing down. It is really worrying.” The case of music piracy in Addis Ababa has made Tsehaye think twice before trying his knack at the Ethiopian music business scene. “When I see that there are many people getting pushed out of the business, I don’t see any reason why I should go in”, he said.

The one thing that Tsehaye thinks is on the right track is the talent of the young musicians. Tsehaye says the Ethiopian artists taking part in international competitions are great signs as to how much the art of singing has improved. “Today we have musicians which can compete with other African countries. We have created international musicians that can compete on international stages.”

But despite having a great optimism for the new songs, Tsehaye believes that the old songs should also be remembered. Among Tsehaye’s future plans one is to re-release a two volume CD version of his old songs. This artist states that he loves all his songs but among the songs that he never gets tired of singing is Yalanchima [without you].

Right before SSI caught up with Tsehaye for an interview this week, he was on a musical tour to Stockholm and Geneva. “We try to go on a tour and when the Ethiopian Diaspora see us there strikes a certain feeling of longing. There are people who come and welcome you with flowers at airport. The feeling is one of the things which make you happy that you are a singer”, Tsehaye says.

After the Ethiopian millennium, Tsehaye is expected to have a major concert in his motherland, Ethiopia. But for now he is going to keep to his international tours.
When Tsehaye started out singing he was impersonating the musical legend artist (Honorary Doctor) Tilahun Gessese. But right after he started, he was told by his mentor, Tesfaye Lemma that he should find his own style. Tsehaye’s little brother Mezmur Yohanes has also become a musician whose song Lijinete, has become a hit single. As his elder brother, Mezmur started singing impersonating another artist. But for a change Yohanes junior was imitating his brother instead. “I have been telling him and guiding him to sing using his own style. I did not want him to disappear in my shadow and end up in nightclubs. Now he has found his own style and has become a successful artist himself.”

Tsehaye’s new album is dedicated to the honorable artist Tilahun Gessese. And the artist explains why that is the case, “I have had a dream of singing with Tilahun Gessese, and I was lucky that we have had a great concert touring around the world with Tilahun, Neway Debebe, Tamagn Beyene and myself. When you perform with great artists like Tilahun, they show you how they have won the hearts of the audience on stage. It is pointless to make a fuss when great men are gone. So I am showing my respect while he is still kicking.”
Tsehaye gets together with other Ethiopian artists abroad due to the association they have formed. And he states that life for the musicians of his fame is good. “You don’t get together like the case in Ethiopia, but life for us is relatively easier. It is not the case for the many Ethiopians in different walks of life.”

Tsehaye states that he loves his stage performances after the release of an album. And the expression he gets from his fans is something he takes as a real source of joy. With the tenth album under his belt, Tsehaye has made it look easy to come up with great music consistently and bring more light to the art. With the re-release of a two vol. CD on a pipiline, the source of great music like Tsehaye does not seem to dry any time soon.

June 15, 2007