Mahmoud Ahmed

This article is about the Ethiopian singer. For the Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence, see Mahmud Ahmed.

Mahmoud Ahmed መሀሙድ አህመድ
Mahmoud Ahmed in 2005 by Damian Rafferty
Background information
Born	May 8, 1941 (1941-05-08) (age 70) Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Instruments	Vocals
Associated acts	Imperial Body Guard Band, Ibex Band, Venus Band, Walias Band, Idan Raichel Project, Roha Band

Mahmoud Ahmed (born May 8, 1941) (Amharic: መሀሙድ አህመድ) is an Ethiopian singer of Gurage ancestry.

Biography

Born in Addis Ababa, Mahmoud shined shoes in that city before becoming a handyman at the Arizona Club, where he first sang professionally in the early 1960s. He sang for the Imperial Body Guard Band until 1974, and recorded with other bands for the Amha and Kaifa record labels throughout the 1970s. He opened his own music store in Addis Ababa's Piazza district during the 1980s while he continued his singing career.

In addition to the Imperial Body Guard Band, Mahmoud has sung with the Ibex Band, the Venus Band, the Walias Band, the Idan Raichel Project, and the Roha Band over the course of his career. Since the late 1990s he has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in Europe and the Americas since Buda Musique launched the Ethiopiques series on compact disc, leading to new recordings and tours in Europe and the United States with Boston's Either/Orchestra & Badume's Band.

In 2007 he won a BBC World Music Award.^[1]

Selected discography

• Soul of Addis (1997, Earthworks/Stern's Africa STEW35CD)
• Slow Collections (1998, Sounds of Abyssinia SAC-022)
• Live In Paris (1998, Long Distance 302671)
• Ethiopiques Volume 6—Almaz 1973 (1999, Buda Musique 829792 (originally released 1973))
• Ethiopiques Volume 7—Erè Mèla Mèla 1975 (2000, Buda Musique 829802; originally released 1975 and rereleased on Crammed Discs in 1986)
• Yitbarek (2003, Yene Production 77414, rereleased by Nahom Records in 2007)
• Tizita Vol. 1 (The Best of...) (2003, AIT Records AIT-10304)
• Tizita Vol. 2 (The Best of...) (2003, AIT Records AIT-10305)
• Ethiopiques Volume 19—Alèmeyé (2005, Buda Musique 860106)
• Ethiogroove: Mahmoud Ahmed & Either/Orchestra (2007, EthioSonic DVD)

References

1. ^ "BBC Awards for World Music: Mahmoud Ahmed". Bbc.co.uk. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/worldmusic/a4wm2007/2007_mahmoud_ahmed.shtml. Retrieved 2011-11-13. 

• Liner notes. Soul of Addis by Mahmoud Ahmed. Earthworks/Stern's STEW35CD, 1997.
• Falceto, Francis. Liner notes, Ethiopiques Volume 6—Almaz 1973 by Mahmoud Ahmed. Buda Musique 829792, 1999.

External links

• Interview with Mahmoud Ahmed on Fly Global Music Culture
• Article on Afropop Worldwide
• Extensive discography

Persondata
Name	Ahmed, Mahmoud
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	May 8, 1941
Place of birth	Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Date of death
Place of death