Fendika

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}} {{Short description|Ethiopian musical group}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Fendika | image = Mélaku Belay & Zenash Tsegay.jpg | image_size = | landscape = yes | alt = | caption = Fendika members Melaku Belay and Zenash Tsegaye in 2009 | background = group_or_band | alias = Fendika Azmari Bet | origin = Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | genre = Ethiopian music | years_active = 2009–present | label = Terp Records | associated_acts = Ethiocolor Cultural Band<br>Debo Band<br>The Ex | website = <!-- {{URL|www.example.com}} --> | current_members = | former_members = | module = | module2 = | module3 = }}

'''Fendika''' (Amharic: "Exult!"<ref name="Tadias, 2018">{{cite news |title=Meskel Holiday Party in Brooklyn, NY w/ Ethiopia's Fendika Dance Group at Tadias Magazine |url=http://www.tadias.com/09/20/2018/meskel-holiday-party-in-brooklyn-ny-w-ethiopias-fendika-dance-group/ |accessdate=3 October 2018 |work=Tadias Magazine |date=September 20, 2018}}</ref>) is an Ethiopian music group based in Addis Ababa.<ref name="Cadenza, 2014" /> Led by dancer/choreographer Melaku Belay, they operate a venue, tour, record, and perform under the name Fendika.<ref name="Ex, 2016" />

==History==

[[File:The Ex and Melaku Belay.jpg|thumb|left|Melaku Belay onstage with The Ex in 2008]] Born in 1980 in Ethiopia, Melaku Belay lived as an orphan on the streets of Addis Ababa.<ref name="Unthank, 2010">{{cite news|author=Unthank, Rachel|author-link=The Unthanks|title=Folk: Ethiopia|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/folk/2010/02/ethiopia-by-rachel-unthank-par-1.html#more|accessdate=13 December 2016|agency=BBC|date=24 February 2010}}</ref> As a child Belay earned a living shining shoes<ref name="Niederndorfer, 2018">{{cite news |last1=Niederndorfer |first1=Florian |title=Ein Jazzclub steht dem Plan im Weg |url=https://www.pressreader.com/austria/der-standard/20180801/281616716175901 |accessdate=4 October 2018 |work=Der Standard |date=August 1, 2018 |language=German}}</ref> and taught himself to dance through participation in folk traditions and religious festivals.<ref name="Kennedy Center bio">{{cite web|title=Fendika: Biography|url=https://www.kennedy-center.org/Artist/B75269|website=Kennedy Center|accessdate=13 December 2016}}</ref> He worked for seven years as a dancer for tips in Addis Ababa's Kazanchis neighborhood at a local ''azmari bet''—a tavern that hosts azmari story-songsters who accompany themselves on the masenko (a one-stringed violin) or krar (a type of lyre).<ref name="Britannica: azmari">{{cite web|last1=Halfpenny|first1=Eric|last2=Grame|first2=Theodore C|title=azmari: Ethiopian bard|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/azmari/article-websites|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|accessdate=21 December 2016}}</ref> Each night after work, the young Melaku slept under the bar and eventually saved enough money to buy the club, Fendika Azmari Bet, from its owners.<ref name="Unthank, 2010" /><ref name="Doyle, 2014">{{cite news|last1=Doyle|first1=Rachel B.|title=In Ethiopia's Capital, a Resurgent Jazz Scene|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/16/travel/in-ethiopias-capital-a-resurgent-jazz-scene.html?_r=0|accessdate=13 December 2016|work=The New York Times|date=13 November 2014}}</ref>

When not working at the azmari bet, Melaku traveled extensively through Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, and South Sudan to learn as many dances as he could from more than 80 tribes around the Horn of Africa,<ref name="Forster, 2010">{{cite web|last1=Forster|first1=Siegfried|title=L'art et l'audace des " Regards sur l'Ethiopie " – RFI|url=http://www.rfi.fr/afrique/20100722-art-audace-regards-ethiopie|website=RFI Afrique|accessdate=14 December 2016|language=fr-FR|date=22 July 2010}}</ref> including the traditions of Gurage, Wolaita, Tigray, Wollo, Konso, Gonder, and Gojam,<ref name="Earth Beat">{{cite web|title=Fendika|url=http://earthbeat.nl/fendika/|website=Earth Beat|accessdate=13 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161023011102/http://earthbeat.nl/fendika/|archive-date=23 October 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> as well as dances from Somali and Afar regions.<ref name="Matatu, 2018">{{cite news |title=Melaku Belay & Fendika |url=http://www.matatu.co/routes/melaku-belay-fendika |accessdate=3 October 2018 |work=MATATU: Nomadic Cinema}}</ref> Melaku also became a nationally celebrated artist in ''eskesta'', a shoulder dance style whose movements share roots with hip hop's traditions of locking and popping.<ref name="Cadenza, 2014" /><ref name="New Yorker">{{cite magazine|title=Fendika|url=http://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/dance/fendika|accessdate=13 December 2016|magazine=The New Yorker}}</ref>

With Ethiopia's capital city being a nexus of culture, music, and dance from other nations, Melaku incorporated these into his repertoire as well, gradually assembling a 13-piece ensemble called the Ethiocolor Cultural Band.<ref name="Addis Zefen, 2014">{{cite web|title=Ethiocolor releases debut album|url=http://www.addiszefen.com/news/ethiocolor-releases-debut-album/|website=Addis Zefen|accessdate=14 December 2016|date=25 September 2014}}</ref> Combining tribal dances and folk instruments with jazz, rock, theater and elaborate costumes.<ref name="Ex, 2016">{{cite web|title=Birabiro by Fendika|url=http://exmailorder.nl/shop/birabiro-lp|website=exmailorder.nl|publisher=The Ex|accessdate=13 December 2016}}</ref> The group became a staple at Fendika, rooted in the azmari tradition but with amplified versions of its instruments.<ref name="Selam, 2014">{{cite web|title=Selam Sounds new Release: Ethiocolor|url=http://selam.se/eng/news/selam-sounds-new-release-ethiocolor|website=Selam|accessdate=14 December 2016|date=20 October 2014}}</ref> In 2009 Melaku assembled a smaller group out of the larger Ethiocolor ensemble, featuring three musicians, two dancers, and one singer. With a more portable acoustic sound and azmari folk aesthetic, the group named themselves Fendika in tribute to the establishment from which they originated.<ref name="Cadenza, 2014">{{cite web|title=Fendika|url=http://www.cadenzaartists.com/fendika.html|website=Cadenza Artists|accessdate=13 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220135935/http://www.cadenzaartists.com/fendika.html|archive-date=20 December 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Fendika and Debo in Philly 2010.jpg |thumb|300px|Fendika performing with Debo Band in 2010]] Through the Fendika venue's hosting touring artists from all over the world, the ensemble has established an international network enabling them to travel and collaborate with musicians from around the globe. They have toured the United States and eastern Africa with Boston-area Ethio-jazz orchestra Debo Band, and in 2010 the two groups released a joint live recording from a concert given at the Sauti za Busara African music festival in Zanzibar.<ref name="Hog Eye Man, 2012">{{cite web|last1=Man|first1=Hog Eye|title=Interview: Debo Band|url=http://www.tinymixtapes.com/features/danny-mekonnen-of-debo-band|website=Tiny Mix Tapes|accessdate=16 December 2016|date=20 June 2012}}</ref> Fendika has also toured throughout Europe with Dutch post-punk band The Ex and released records through the band's label.<ref name="Ex, 2016" /> In 2018 Fendika toured Scandinavia in collaboration with Paal Nilssen-Love's free jazz orchestra Large Unit before embarking on their first U.S. solo tour, performing as headliners to Ethiopia Fest Chicago<ref name="Meyer, 2018">{{cite news |last1=Meyer |first1=Bill |title=Fearless song and dance troupe Fendika headlines Ethiopia Fest Chicago 2018 |url=https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/fearless-song-and-dance-troupe-headlines-ethiopia-fest-chicago-2018/Content?oid=57441770 |accessdate=3 October 2018 |work=Chicago Reader |date=September 8, 2018 |language=en}}</ref> and Boston's Global Music Fest.<ref name="GMF, 2018">{{cite web |title=Global Music Festival |url=http://www.bu.edu/gmf/ |website=www.bu.edu |publisher=Boston University |accessdate=3 October 2018 |language=en}}</ref>

In their home city of Addis Ababa, Fendika have collaborated with many of their nation's most well-known musicians, including singer Mahmoud Ahmed, begena player Alemu Aga, and saxophonist Getatchew Mekuria.<ref name="Aymar, bio">{{cite web|last1=Aymar|first1=Patrick|title=Melaku Belay|url=http://www.melakubelay.com/melaku|website=www.melakubelay.com|accessdate=13 December 2016|archive-date=21 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221150712/http://www.melakubelay.com/melaku|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Educational work== thumb|Fendika musicians at PhilaMOCA in 2018. Fendika often leads workshops in traditional Ethiopian music and dance.<ref name="Cadenza, 2014" /> The group also supports a school for migrant children which aims to prevent youth homelessness and child labor by providing cultural education for these children and their families.<ref name="Unthank, 2010" /> At the azmari bet, Belay supports a dozen young azmaris with room and board plus stipends to support their work.<ref name="Niederndorfer, 2018" /> Fendika has also collaborated with members of The Ex, Instant Composers Pool, and others to bring electronic, punk, and improvised music education to Ethiopia.<ref name="Ex, 2008">{{cite web|title=The Ex: History: 2008|url=http://www.theex.nl/history.html#y2008|website=The Ex|accessdate=13 December 2016}}</ref>

==Awards and tributes==

In 2011 Melaku Belay won the Alliance Ethio-Francaise award for dance excellence and in 2015 was named Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture.<ref name="Cadenza, 2014" />

In 2011 Los Angeles rock group the Red Hot Chili Peppers released the song "Ethiopia" for their album ''I'm with You'' based on band members' time spent at Fendika.<ref name="Aguillo, 2013">{{cite news |last1=Aguillo |first1=Carlos |title=Clapping, dancing the night away at Fendika – AddisZefen |url=https://www.addiszefen.com/clapping-dancing-the-night-away-at-fendika/ |work=Addis Zefen |date=May 14, 2013}}</ref> While visiting Ethiopia with guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, Peppers' bass player Flea had called up Melaku and asked to play at the venue.<ref name="Ellingsen, 2018">{{cite news |last1=Ellingsen |first1=Eric |title="The Rehearsal: Poetry-Jazz in Addis Ababa," by Eric Ellingsen |url=https://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/2018/september/rehearsal-poetry-jazz-addis-ababa-eric-ellingsen |work=World Literature Today |date=8 August 2018 |language=en}}</ref> Inspired by their experience at Fendika, the musicians returned home and penned the song.<ref name="Bakker, 2018">{{cite news |last1=Bakker |first1=Stephanie |title=Addis Abeba is het bruisende hart van Afrika |url=https://www.trouw.nl/samenleving/addis-abeba-is-het-bruisende-hart-van-afrika~a32130ac/ |accessdate=4 October 2018 |work=Trouw |date=May 23, 2018 |language=nl-NL}}</ref>

==Members==

Fendika and Ethicolor perform, tour, and record in different configurations with ensembles that vary from 5 to 20 members at any given time.<ref name="Constellation, 2016" /><ref name="Samuel, 2014">{{cite web|last1=Samuel|first1=Rahel|title=Ethiocolor Releases Debut Album {{!}} Ethiosports|url=http://www.ethiosports.com/2014/10/01/ethiocolor-releases-debut-album/|website=Ethiosports|accessdate=7 January 2017|date=1 October 2014}}</ref><ref name="Melaku's Fendika, 2016">{{cite book|last1=Beley|first1=Melaku|title=Melaku's Fendika: Volume 1|date=2016|publisher=Fendika|location=Addis Ababa|page=Back cover|type=Compact disc}}</ref>

{{col-begin}} {{col-break}}

;Dance * Melaku Belay * Zinash Tsegaye * Frehiwot * Dagim

;Vocals * Nardos Tesfaw * Selamnesh Zemene * Belaynesh Bezabeh * Tesfaye Taye * Gashaw Abateneh * Hawa

;Krar * Fassika Hailu * Anteneh Teklemariam (bass krar)

{{col-break}}

;Masenko * Gizachew Teklemariam * Endres Hassen * Asrat Bosena * Hargos Takele

;Kebero * Mesay Abebaye * Misale Legesse * Asrat Ayalew

;Flute * Yohannes Aferworq

;Songwriting * Tamru Neguse

{{col-end}}

==Discography==

;Albums * ''Addis Tradition'' CD (2013)<ref name="Constellation, 2016">{{cite news|title=Fendika with Joshua Abrams, Tim Daisy, Ben LaMar Gay, Macie Stewart and Mars Williams|url=http://www.constellation-chicago.com/event/1286653-fendika-fendika-joshua-chicago/|accessdate=7 January 2017|work=www.constellation-chicago.com|agency=Constellation|date=19 September 2016}}</ref><ref name="Romero, 2015">{{cite web|last1=Romeero|first1=Angel|title=Interview with Melaku Belay of Ethiopian Band Fendika {{!}} World Music Central.org|url=http://worldmusiccentral.org/2015/12/29/interview-with-melaku-belay-of-ethiopian-band-fendika/|website=World Music Central|accessdate=7 January 2017|date=29 December 2015}}</ref> * ''Ethiocolor'' CD (Selam Sounds, 2014)<ref name="Selam, 2014" /><ref name="Constellation, 2016" /> * ''Melaku's Fendika'' CD (2016)<ref name="Melaku's Fendika, 2016" /> * ''Birabiro'' LP/CD (Terp Records, 2017)<ref name="Hareuveni, 2016">{{cite news|last1=Hareuveni|first1=Eyal|title=Fendika|url=http://salt-peanuts.eu/record/fendika/|accessdate=7 January 2017|work=Salt Peanuts|date=5 December 2016}}</ref> * ''Ethiobraz'' CD/FLAC with Large Unit (PNL, 2019) ;Singles and EPs * ''Flamingoh: Pink Bird Dawn'' CD EP with Debo Band (2010)<ref name="Flamingoh">{{cite web|title=Flamingoh (Pink Bird Dawn), by Debo Band|url=https://deboband.bandcamp.com/|website=Debo Band|accessdate=7 January 2017}}</ref> * "Lale Guma"/"Addis Hum" 7" single with The Ex (Ex Records, 2015)<ref name="Tuffrey, 2015">{{cite news|last1=Tuffrey|first1=Laurie|title=The Ex & Fendika - Addis Hum|url=http://thequietus.com/articles/17520-the-ex-fendika-addis-hum|accessdate=7 January 2017|work=The Quietus|date=27 March 2015}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==External links== *[https://www.fendika.org/ Fendika's website] *[https://www.reverbnation.com/melakubelay Reverb Nation] *[http://www.terprecords.nl/as27.html Terp Records]

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Category:Ethiopian musical groups Category:Culture in Addis Ababa Category:Musical groups established in 2009