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308:. Hailu's organ work for the band was one of the Walias Band's key characteristics, but during a 1980s tour of the United States, Hailu and several other members decided to stay in the US, effectively ending the band's career, although their legacy in Ethiopia was strong by this point, especially via their 1977 instrumental "Muziqawi Silt."
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was often a problem for the area's musicians, but Hailu acknowledged one way around censorship was to only create instrumentals. He later noted: "When you sing or write lyrics you have to support the government, and if you don't do that then you have a problem." Ethiopian music was typically led by a
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at age 14. In 1952, when he was 14, he dropped out of high school and joined the army music department to support his family. He stayed in the army 2 years, where he learned how to read and write music. Then, he became a freelance musician, touring around nightclubs in
Ethiopia before meeting future
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government imposed breaks to Addis Ababa's nightlife, but music was still being regularly recorded, and cassettes were the typical release format, given they were easy to duplicate and distribute. Walias Band had a 10-year residency at Addis's Hilton hotel in this period.
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label, after the label’s owner discovered the album in a cassette bin. This album was followed up in 2016 with a re-release of "Wede Harer Guzo", which translates roughly to "Journey/Travel to
342:", a town in Eastern Ethiopia. Wede Harer Guzo became his most popular release yet, with tracks reaching over 5 million streams). In 2018, his first new record in over two decades,
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317:, in 1985, during which point he was playing with the Zula Band. Hailu recorded the album alone in a small studio belonging to an acquaintance that Hailu met at
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vocalist: just three instrumental albums were released during Addis’ 'golden age' of music, including one of Hailu's landmark albums with the Walias Band,
328:. However, he continues to write music in his spare time: “After I drop my customer, I grab my keyboard from the trunk and sit in the car and practice.”
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He stopped performing in 1991 and opened a restaurant. Since 1998 Hailu has worked as a taxi driver, mostly based around
Washington DC's
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296:(1977). As a side project, Hailu joined the Dhalak Band around this period and recorded the cassette-only
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Hailu's mastering of the accordion, as well as the keyboard and his talent for "re-purposing
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23:. The article properly refers to the person by their given name, Hailu, and not as Mergia.
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622:"Hailu Mergia: A beloved Ethiopian musician of a generation ago now stays quiet in D.C."
275:. In the period, it was harder for working bands in the region to make a living, after
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in the 1970s, one of the most significant groups in
Ethiopia’s "golden age" of music.
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502:"Hailu Mergia's hypnotic synth music is the hidden jewel of Ethiopia's golden age"
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It was only several years after moving to the US that Hailu recorded a new album,
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562:"Awesome Tapes From Africa Reissues Songs From Hailu Mergia, Local Cab Driver"
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528:"An African Funk Pioneer Gets a Second Chance on a Global Stage"
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modern melodies," defined his contribution to popular music in
436:"Hailu Mergia: the Ethiopian jazz legend who jams in his taxi"
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at the venue Zula Club and leading the formation of the band.
247:. In the 1970s, Hailu Mergia was the keyboardist in the
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This article is about a person whose name includes a
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352:. This was followed in 2020 by a full-band album,
177:, United States. He is known for his role in the
469:"Afropop Worldwide | The Return of Hailu Mergia"
263:funk sound influenced by western artists like
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593:"Ethiopian Funkster, Back After Long Break"
390:Hailu Mergia & His Classical Instrument
332:Hailu Mergia & His Classical Instrument
314:Hailu Mergia & His Classical Instrument
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218:songbook melodies, and taught himself the
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526:Russonello, Giovanni (20 February 2018).
760:Ethiopian emigrants to the United States
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321:, where he had begun studying music.
206:at age 10. He grew up on traditional
194:Hailu Mergia was born in 1946 in the
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500:Welsh, April Clare (12 June 2016).
304:-infused album with a dominance of
646:"Wede Harer Guzo, by Hailu Mergia"
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591:Pareles, Jon (20 December 2013).
16:Ethiopian keyboardist (born 1946)
620:Richards, Chris (28 June 2013).
560:Schweitzer, Amy (21 June 2013).
434:Bengal, Rebecca (1 March 2018).
780:Musicians from Washington, D.C.
334:was re-released in 2013 on the
287:Due to the Derg dictatorship,
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719:"Hailu Mergia: Yene Mircha"
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62:1946 (age 77–78)
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785:21st-century accordionists
775:Musicians from Addis Ababa
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765:Ethiopian music arrangers
694:"Hailu Mergia: Lala Belu"
336:Awesome Tapes From Africa
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54:Background information
572:on 17 September 2016
566:Washington City Post
300:(1978) with them, a
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790:Male accordionists
532:The New York Times
473:Afropop Worldwide
319:Howard University
259:band with a hard
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770:Taxi drivers
726:. Retrieved
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701:. Retrieved
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650:Hailu Mergia
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570:the original
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273:Maceo Parker
261:polyrhythmic
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163:accordionist
132:Hailu Mergia
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65:Debre Birhan
32:Haliu Mergia
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405:Yene Mircha
360:Discography
354:Yene Mircha
265:King Curtis
249:Walias Band
239:songs into
225:Walias Band
204:Addis Ababa
179:Walias Band
159:keyboardist
744:Categories
630:8 February
602:8 February
576:8 February
511:8 February
412:References
377:Tche Belew
294:Tche Belew
289:censorship
190:Early Life
101:Occupation
87:Ethio-jazz
21:patronymic
723:Pitchfork
698:Pitchfork
540:0362-4331
448:0261-3077
398:Lala Belu
350:Tony Buck
345:Lala Belu
220:accordion
185:Biography
156:Ethiopian
145:romanized
117:accordion
46:Sony Hall
728:22 April
703:22 April
597:NY Times
545:22 April
478:22 April
453:22 April
277:Mengistu
245:Ethiopia
216:Tigrinya
171:arranger
167:composer
154:) is an
140:ኃይሉ መርጊያ
121:melodica
113:keyboard
104:Musician
69:Ethiopia
241:funkier
198:of the
147::
136:Amharic
679:21 May
655:21 May
538:
446:
407:(2020)
401:(2018)
393:(1985)
385:(1978)
379:(1977)
373:(1975)
371:Tezeta
231:Career
212:Amhara
169:, and
75:Genres
340:Harar
208:Oromo
730:2020
705:2020
681:2023
657:2023
632:2018
604:2018
578:2018
547:2020
536:ISSN
513:2018
506:FACT
480:2020
455:2020
444:ISSN
302:jazz
281:Derg
271:and
257:funk
255:and
253:jazz
251:, a
237:folk
214:and
92:Funk
82:Jazz
59:Born
279:'s
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