Dereb The Ambassador

Dereb the Ambassador’s much anticipated debut album is out now on the Other Tongues label. Backed by a hand picked 7 piece band of Sydney’s finest musicians, Dereb covers many of the vintage soul masterpieces made famous by artists from the 1960s and 70s such as Mahmoud Ahmed and Mulatu Astatqe, given wide exposure through the ‘Ethiopiques’ compilation series and the soundtrack to Jim Jarmusch’s film ‘Broken Flowers’.

Dereb Desalegn is well known on the streets of Addis Ababa as one of Ethiopia’s most respected singers.

Born in a mud hut in the north of Ethiopia into a family of musicians, Dereb’s destiny was sealed when as a 4 year old he first performed publicly with his family. His vocal talent was evident and, with his parent mentors by his side he went from strength to strength, finally adding a Masenko, an Ethiopian violin, to his repertoire at the age of 10. By the time he was 16 he was drawing crowds in the bars of Addis Ababa and around Ethiopia, as both a solo artist and with other Ethiopian musicians. His first solo CD, ‘Korkoro Yalew’ recorded in Ethiopia in 2003, included the song “Wollo”, which hit the top of the charts in Addis Ababa that year.

After moving to Australia he has performed extensively with his group Lion Of Judah and he now heads up his latest project. ‘Dereb The Ambassador’ was recorded by producer Tony Buchen using only pre 1970s equipment. The band features virtuoso musicians from bands including the Strides and Deep Sea Arcade.

Dereb The Ambassador is available now from Other Tongues.