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Born in Mogadishu, the daughter of an Italian father and Ethiopian mother, Saba Anglana has made her home in Rome, Italy, but has brought in influences from her historical roots and beyond, merging them all into a powerful musical and sometimes political statement.

Read George De Stefano's review in RootsWorld

Listen to a few samples:
"Gabriel"

"Tariken"

"Zaaraf"

"Abebech"

"Tizita"

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From Addis Ababa to Rome, from Mogadishu to New York, and across the length of the whole planet, cities form as living organisms. The belly of the city is the place where all transformations occur most authentically. While often not matching with its centre, it contains the visceral aspect of its existence, such as in its ghettoes, its suburbs, its most vulnerable groups. There, as well, the disease of the city shows up, and form there its discomforts, its contradictions, its sufferings are taking form, catalysing big historic and social changes.

Africa is growing as African big cities are, too. The urban centre where this work was conceived and thought up is Addis Ababa with its many buildings growing up among scaffolding and poured concrete, like wooden cages with glass and concrete heart beating within.

Historically, the Ethiopian capital is a place of great musical production and tenacious ethiopization of foreign influences by constant reference to the traditional structure of pentatonic scales: this record ranges from the Ambassel to the Tizita, and again to the Anchihoye , only to mention the most important. The record digs into those scales on an acoustic basis, with Western musical instruments, like double bass, drums, accordion and sometimes viola. The structure, as essential and balanced between worlds as possible, create an intimate, personal soundtrack for this global era of deep changes. The music dispels the threat of modernity washing over and undermining everything. Music to find and reveal the human element, the sentiment that lifts, defends his diversity, his right to tell and resist.

Ye Katama hod speaks of the nostalgia of places and traditions constantly erased by the progress (Tizita ), tells the problem of non-membership (Abebech) and the difficulty to recognize herself (Ma Celin Karo); the resulting individual somatization (Gabriel), loss and reacquisition of innocence(Makaan Yara). A reaction opposes to this dissolution, (Zarraf) and it's created right there, in the belly of the city.

SABA ANGLANA was born in Mogadishu, from an Italian father and Ethiopian mother. She graduated in Modern Literature History at the University of Rome La Sapienza. She worked as an actress, voice actress and singer in theater productions and television, developing recording international projects. In 2008 she released worldwide for the British label World Music Network her debut album as a singer-songwriter Jidka - The Line, whose songs are included in collections with international singers like Miriam Makeba and Sally Nyolo.

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