The result is an ambient reinterpretation. When it comes to remixes you can’t touch Bill//.”Īfter the great response to the original album’s release, Palm Picture’s founder, Chris Blackwell, suggested that Laswell and Gigi go back to the studio and “re-think” the entire album. “//He plays me the tracks and we discuss them – but I trust him completely. “//I really love what Bill does in the studio//,” says Gigi.
The floating vocals of “Abay” are reminiscent of the Cocteau Twins at their peak, while the deep basslines of “Sew Argen” and “Mengedegna” build on the groundbreaking studio stylings of Lee “Scratch” Perry and The Orb’s Alex Patterson. Laswell’s reconstructions are long and patient, taking the essence of the original songs and building towers of dub around them. “ We wanted to capture the whole spirit of each track, and Bill’s remixes translate the original melodies and create a different music language that really put you in a pleasant place.” “ It works perfectly,” says Gigi of Illuminated Audio. In the same spirit as his noted interpretations of Miles Davis (Panthalassa, 1998), Bob Marley (Dreams of Freedom, 1997), and Carlos Santana (Divine Light, 2001), Laswell went back to the original multi-track masters and re-imagined new versions and perspectives to highlight Gigi’s singular vocals.
It was a complete reconstruction of Gigi’s debut album by producer and dubmaster Bill Laswell. On her first recording for Palm Pictures, produced by Bill Laswell, Gigi teamed up with some of the finest American jazz musicians: Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Henry Threadgill, David Gilmore, Aiyb Dieng, Nicky Skopelitis, Pharoah Sanders, Art Baron, Hamid Drake, Bill Laswell and many more.
GIGI HANCOCK MOVIE
GiGi already has credits in two feature films in Ethiopia and a song for the soundtrack of the movie endurance. Gigi considers her music to be representative of the world and her international band reflects such with musicians from Ethiopia, West Africa, and the United States of America, including Native-Americans. She was also involved in a French theater production of Solomon and the Queen of ShebaLater, she resettled in San Francisco, and soon caught the attention of Chris Blackwell, who signed her to Palm Pictures. Cast in an all-Ethiopian theater production, Gigi toured East and South Africa, and eventually France, where she was invited to perform at a Paris world music festival. Gigi settled first in Nairobi, Kenya and then Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, where she soon established herself as one of the city’s leading singers.
Going against her father’s strict traditional wishes and Gigi’s refusal to buy into gender specific roles, she pushed the envelope towards musical freedom allowing funk, hip-hop, West African and South African music and the Ethiopian church (where she sang even though women are not allowed) to influence her work. Her music is a unique blend of African, jazz, slight reggae and futuristic sounds.
Gigi’s music is inspired by Ethiopian tradition, culture and a sense of heartfelt spiritual freedom music. Your Connection to traditional and contemporary World Music, including folk, roots, global music, ethno and crosscultural fusionsĮgigayehu Shibabaw, better known as Gigi, is a multi-talented singer from Ethiopia.
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