30th
Ethiopian Music Videos
If you want to witness the regional variety of Ethiopian music and culture, there is no better way than to turn on ETV, the state-controlled national TV station. Footage from past performances and music videos are generously scattered throughout the day, almost in an effort to remind its inhabitants of the country’s cultural wealth. The traditional dancing and clothes are phenomenal, even jaw-dropping sometimes. I can’t believe it hasn’t been shown in the West more – or at all. For example, in one region in the south, girls swing their heads in a figure of eight so fast that it becomes a blur. Yes, a bit like headbanging.
Many of the clips feature a young male singer in a lush green, flowered setting or maybe by a river (always keen to show off the country’s attractive parts), joined by girls often in traditional dress and perhaps a less handsome right-hand man who probably had a hand in the production. In this respect the videos seem to take their cues from urban clips from the US – the usual characters are popular here: 50 Cent, Beyonce, Shakira, etc. However, a lot less flesh is on show and the songs are undoubtedly less sex-obsessed – they are more likely to be about the shyness a boy feels when he’s around his girl.
However, what contemporary Ethiopian music videos lack in straight-up, brazen sex, they make up for in occasional shocking political or religious imagery – often without any warning. The clip will begin with the artist singing at the sky with the usual pained expression on his face denoting heart-ache or personal struggle. Then the vibrant colours of the idealic Ethiopian setting (usually lots of green grass) will be replaced by grainy scenes of historical torture or protest – civilians fleeing military gunfire. It’s at this point that you realise you’re not watching a pop video. It’s most likely Protestant and subtle it is not. Scenes from an old European film about Christ (always the same one by the way) show bloody crucifixion and gruesome torture. Meanwhile, Christian words are sung over cheap-sounding instrumentation with keyboard horns and programmed percussion breakdowns. If the music wasn’t striving to be taken so seriously, had a few more quirks – i.e. played in the wrong key – and more gritty production, it might be an interesting combination. As it is, the sledgehammer images and synthetic instrumentation leave a bad taste in the mouth.
