Mulatu Plays Mulatu, by Mulatu Astatke

Mulatu Plays Mulatu

by Mulatu Astatke

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Roger Huddle Great album. Who are the musicians apart from Mulatu.

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Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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Download available in 24-bit/44.1kHz.

£11 GBP or more
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Tracklist Vinyl:

Side A
A1. Zelesenga Dewel
A2. Kulun
A3. Netsanet

Side B
B1. Yekermo Sew
B2. Chik Chikka
B3. Motherland
B4. Yekatit

Includes unlimited streaming of Mulatu Plays Mulatu via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Download available in 24-bit/44.1kHz.

ships out within 3 days

Purchasable with gift card

£20 GBP or more
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Tracklist CD:

1.Zelesenga Dewel
2. Kulun
3. Netsanet
4.Yekermo Sew
5.Azmari
6.Chik Chikka
7. The Way To Nice
8.Motherland Intro
9.Motherland
10.Mulatu
11.Yekatit

Includes unlimited streaming of Mulatu Plays Mulatu via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Download available in 24-bit/44.1kHz.

ships out within 3 days

Purchasable with gift card

£12 GBP or more
Mulatu Plays Mulatu (Strut Special Edition Vinyl LP)
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
This special Strut edition of the album includes an A2 poster and OBI strip. Only available on Strut's Bandcamp and Webstore.

Side A
A1. Zelesenga Dewel
A2. Kulun
A3. Netsanet

Side B
B1. Yekermo Sew
B2. Chik Chikka
B3. Motherland
B4. Yekatit

Please note that select limited editions are strictly limited to one per customer. Orders exceeding this limit may be partially refunded or cancelled without notice.

Includes unlimited streaming of Mulatu Plays Mulatu via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Download available in 24-bit/44.1kHz.
... more

Sold Out

1.	Zèlèsènga Dèwèl 10:05	info	buy track
2.	Kulun 03:33	info	buy track
3.	Nètsanèt 08:15	info	buy track
4.	Yèkèrmo Sèw 08:03	info	buy track
5.	Azmari 04:48	info	buy track
6.	Chik Chikka 07:13	info	buy track
7.	The Way To Nice 04:53	info	buy track
8.	Motherland Intro 01:36	info	buy track
9.	Motherland 03:37	info	buy track
10.	Mulatu 05:32	info	buy track
11.	Yèkatit 03:45	info	buy track

about

Strut presents Mulatu Plays Mulatu, the first major studio album in over 10 years from the father of Ethio-jazz, Mulatu Astatke.

Featuring masterful new arrangements of some of his classic compositions, Mulatu Plays Mulatu finds Mulatu revisiting the sounds that helped to change the face of Ethiopian music during the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. The album was recorded between London and Addis Ababa, working with his long-standing UK band, a tight, intuitive ensemble honed through years of live performance, alongside cultural musicians resident at his Jazz Village club in Addis.

Mulatu Plays Mulatu realises Mulatu’s long-term vision of Ethio-jazz, intricately balancing Western jazz arrangements with the rich sounds of traditional Ethiopian instruments including the krar, masenqo, washint, kebero and begena. Throughout the album, he reshapes familiar material with rich textures, expanded improvisations and a deepened rhythmic complexity, creating a body of work that feels as vital and contemporary as it does steeped in tradition. Familiar tracks like ‘Yekermo Sew’, ‘Netsanet’ and 'Azmari', composed by Either/Orchestra's Russ Gershon, are reinvented here as elegant big band performances.

“Ethio-jazz brings us together and makes us one,” explains Mulatu. “This album is the culmination of my work bringing this music to the world and pays respect to our unsung heroes, the original musical scientists in Ethiopia who gave us our cultural music.”

Bridging continents and generations throughout his 50-year career, Astatke now offers us an invitation to hear his music again, with a completely fresh perspective. Ethio-jazz, like its creator, is always in motion.

Mulatu Plays Mulatu was produced by Dexter Story and features contemporary artists LA-based artists Carlos Niño and Kibrom Birhane. The album was recorded and mixed by Isabel Gracefield at RAK Studios in London and by Dexter Story in Addis. The inspired album artwork was created by acclaimed Oslo-based Ethiopian artist, Wendimagegn Belete with photography by Alexis Maryon.

credits

released September 26, 2025

2025, Strut Records - a division of K7 Music GmbH

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about

Mulatu Astatke Jimma, Ethiopia

The pioneer of Ethio jazz, Mulatu Astatke developed his sound through studies in the UK during the ‘50s and a series of seminal recordings for domestic label Amha before travelling to New York to record the ‘Mulatu Of Ethiopia’ album. Since collaborating with The Heliocentrics in 2009 for Strut, he has continued recording and is a major draw on the global touring circuit. ... more

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