Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru's artistic influence cannot be contained by the rigid boundaries of content or form. Her work captures an enchanting spirit, a thoughtful mood, that there is no blueprint for replicating, but that many artists strive to create in their own work, whether consciously under the influence of Emahoy or not.
Teddy Burns, assistant to Emahoy Tsege Mariam Music, has compiled a playlist of songs from mostly contemporary artists in which he hears echoes of Emahoy's influence. Some of these connections are more direct than others– Dev Hynes appears, a contributor to the Passing (2021) soundtrack on which Emahoy is also significantly featured. Also included is a Fleet Foxes song to reflect singer-songwriter Robin Pecknold's love of Emahoy's music and her influence on his craft– he included her in a playlist of artists that inspired their album Crack-Up, and she was his most listened-to artist of 2023!
Also included are the artists who performed at our Kennedy Center concert: John Paul McGee, Meklit Hadero, and Thomas Feng.
What songs or artists do you think could also belong in this playlist?
Kemekem (I Like Your Afro)– Meklit, Samuel Yirga
Hub-Tones– Kamasi Washington
Reflexion– Sufjan Stevens, Tim Andres, Conor Hanick
The Long Ride II– Devonté Hynes
The Anchor Song– Bjork
Wonderful is Your Name (Live)– John Paul McGee
Waiting for You– Alex G
opus– Ryuichi Sakamoto
Hinoki Wood– Gia Margaret
trace of hope (variations)– Thomas Feng
Cerca De Ti– Hermanos Gutiérrez
I Want To See You– Alice Coltrane
Kept Woman– Fleet Foxes