Gigi (singer)
Encyclopedia
Ejigayehu Shibabaw, or Gigi as she is popularly known, is one of the most successful contemporary Ethiopia
n singers worldwide. Coming from an ancient tradition of song originating in the Ethiopian Church
, she has brought the music of Ethiopia
to wider appreciation and developed it in combination with a wide variety of styles.
in northwestern Ethiopia. She has described learning traditional songs from a priest in the family home, in spite of the Ethiopian Church
generally prohibiting women from singing or playing music in church until the Derg
era. She lived in Kenya
for a few years before moving to San Francisco in about 1998.
Gigi recorded two albums for the expatriate Ethiopian community, but it was her 2001 album, titled simply Gigi, that brought her widespread attention. She had been noticed by Palm Pictures
owner Chris Blackwell
, who had years earlier introduced reggae
to the mainstream through his former label, Island Records
. Blackwell and Gigi's producer (and later, husband) Bill Laswell
, decided to use American jazz
musicians (including Herbie Hancock
, Wayne Shorter
, Pharoah Sanders
and others) to accompany Gigi on the new album.
The result was a fusion of contemporary and traditional sounds. The album was a critical success internationally and generated controversy in her home country for such a radical break with Ethiopian popular music. This release was soon followed by Illuminated Audio, an ambient dub style remix of the album by Laswell.
2003 saw the release of Zion Roots, under the band name Abyssinia Infinite. Bill Laswell played guitar
and keyboard
(instead of his usual bass), and several of Gigi's family members contributed vocals. The album was a return to a mainly acoustic sound for Gigi, incorporating instruments such as the krar
and the tabla
. The track "Gole" is in Agewña, the language of Gigi's father's village.
Gigi's voice may be heard in the Hollywood film Beyond Borders
(2003), in which Angelina Jolie
portrays an aid worker during the 1984 - 1985 famine in Ethiopia
.
She released her sixth album, Gold and Wax on Palm Pictures
, in 2006.
She has also appeared in "Running From the Light" in Buckethead
's Enter the Chicken
(2006). In 2010, she recorded Mesgana Ethiopia with Material
, released on the M.O.D. Technologies
label.
. Her younger sister, Tigist Shibabaw
, died under unknown circumstances in 2008.
Featured on:
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
n singers worldwide. Coming from an ancient tradition of song originating in the Ethiopian Church
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is the predominant Oriental Orthodox Christian church in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Church was administratively part of the Coptic Orthodox Church until 1959, when it was granted its own Patriarch by Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All...
, she has brought the music of Ethiopia
Music of Ethiopia
The music of Ethiopia is extremely diverse, with each of Ethiopia's ethnic groups being associated with unique sounds. Some forms of traditional music are strongly influenced by folk music from elsewhere in the Horn of Africa, especially Somalia. However, Ethiopian religious music also has an...
to wider appreciation and developed it in combination with a wide variety of styles.
Recording career
Gigi was born and raised in ChagniChagni
Chagni is a town in western Ethiopia. Located in the Agew Awi Zone of the Amhara Region, this town has a longitude and latitude of and an elevation of 1583 meters above sea level...
in northwestern Ethiopia. She has described learning traditional songs from a priest in the family home, in spite of the Ethiopian Church
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is the predominant Oriental Orthodox Christian church in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Church was administratively part of the Coptic Orthodox Church until 1959, when it was granted its own Patriarch by Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All...
generally prohibiting women from singing or playing music in church until the Derg
Derg
The Derg or Dergue was a Communist military junta that came to power in Ethiopia following the ousting of Haile Selassie I. Derg, which means "committee" or "council" in Ge'ez, is the short name of the Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Territorial Army, a committee of...
era. She lived in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
for a few years before moving to San Francisco in about 1998.
Gigi recorded two albums for the expatriate Ethiopian community, but it was her 2001 album, titled simply Gigi, that brought her widespread attention. She had been noticed by Palm Pictures
Palm Pictures
Palm Pictures is a US-based entertainment company owned and run by Chris Blackwell. Palm Pictures produces, acquires and distributes innovative music and film projects with a particular focus on the DVD format...
owner Chris Blackwell
Chris Blackwell
Christopher Percy Gordon "Chris" Blackwell is a British record producer and businessman, who was the founder of Island Records, acknowledged as the most successful and groundbreaking independent record company in history. Blackwell has been a music industry mogul for over fifty years...
, who had years earlier introduced reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
to the mainstream through his former label, Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
. Blackwell and Gigi's producer (and later, husband) Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell is an American bassist, producer and record label owner....
, decided to use American jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musicians (including Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
, Wayne Shorter
Wayne Shorter
Wayne Shorter is an American jazz saxophonist and composer.He is generally acknowledged to be jazz's greatest living composer, and many of his compositions have become standards...
, Pharoah Sanders
Pharoah Sanders
Pharoah Sanders is a Grammy Award–winning American jazz saxophonist.Saxophonist Ornette Coleman once described him as "probably the best tenor player in the world." Emerging from John Coltrane's groups of the mid-60s Sanders is known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on...
and others) to accompany Gigi on the new album.
The result was a fusion of contemporary and traditional sounds. The album was a critical success internationally and generated controversy in her home country for such a radical break with Ethiopian popular music. This release was soon followed by Illuminated Audio, an ambient dub style remix of the album by Laswell.
2003 saw the release of Zion Roots, under the band name Abyssinia Infinite. Bill Laswell played guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and keyboard
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
(instead of his usual bass), and several of Gigi's family members contributed vocals. The album was a return to a mainly acoustic sound for Gigi, incorporating instruments such as the krar
Krar
The krar or kraar is a five- or six-stringed bowl-shaped lyre from Eritrea and Ethiopia. The instrument is tuned to a pentatonic scale. A modern krar may be amplified, much in the same way as an electric guitar or violin....
and the tabla
Tabla
The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
. The track "Gole" is in Agewña, the language of Gigi's father's village.
Gigi's voice may be heard in the Hollywood film Beyond Borders
Beyond Borders
Beyond Borders is a 2003 drama film about aid workers, directed by Martin Campbell and starring Angelina Jolie and Clive Owen. The original music score was composed by James Horner....
(2003), in which Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...
portrays an aid worker during the 1984 - 1985 famine in Ethiopia
1984 - 1985 famine in Ethiopia
A widespread famine affected the inhabitants of today's Eritrea and Ethiopia from 1983 to 1985. In northern Ethiopia, famine led to more than 400,000 deaths; over half this mortality can be attributed to human rights abuses that caused the famine to come earlier, strike harder, and extend further...
.
She released her sixth album, Gold and Wax on Palm Pictures
Palm Pictures
Palm Pictures is a US-based entertainment company owned and run by Chris Blackwell. Palm Pictures produces, acquires and distributes innovative music and film projects with a particular focus on the DVD format...
, in 2006.
She has also appeared in "Running From the Light" in Buckethead
Buckethead
Brian Carroll , better known by his stage name Buckethead, is a guitarist and multi instrumentalist who has worked within several genres of music. He has released 34 studio albums, four special releases and one EP. He has performed on over 50 more albums by other artists...
's Enter the Chicken
Enter the Chicken
-Personnel:* Tracks #1-7, 9-11 Recorded at John Merrick Recorder* Track #8 Recorded at the Serjical Strike Dungeons* Vocals for Tracks #1-4, 6-10 Recorded at the Serjical Strike Dungeons* Produced by Serj Tankian* Engineered, Mixed and Co-Produced by Dan Monti...
(2006). In 2010, she recorded Mesgana Ethiopia with Material
Material (band)
For the rock band of the same name, see The MaterialMaterial is a musical group formed in 1979 and led by bass guitarist Bill Laswell.-1978-82: The band:...
, released on the M.O.D. Technologies
M.O.D. Technologies
M.O.D. Technologies is an independent record label based in New York City, intended to be the modern evolution of producer and bassist Bill Laswell's Axiom label. It was founded in 2010 by Laswell and long-time associate John Brown in part to provide a creative outlet for the group Method of...
label.
Personal life
She is married to her producer Bill LaswellBill Laswell
Bill Laswell is an American bassist, producer and record label owner....
. Her younger sister, Tigist Shibabaw
Tigist Shibabaw
Tigist Shibabaw was an Ethiopian singer and one of the original members of the Harlem-based hip hop fusion band Bole2Harlem. She was the sister of singer Gigi.-Early life:...
, died under unknown circumstances in 2008.
Discography
- Tsehay, 1997
- One Ethiopia, 1998
- Gigi (Guramayle), 2001
- Illuminated Audio, 2003
- Abyssinia Infinite: Zion Roots, 2003
- Gold & Wax, 2006
- Mesgana Ethiopia, 2010
Featured on:
- Future2FutureFuture2FutureFuture2Future is the forty-third album by Herbie Hancock. Hancock reunited with bass player Bill Laswell and the two of them tried to recapture the success of the three previous albums.In yet another innovative stylistic move, Herbie reunited with Bill Laswell in the creation of a 21st Century...
by Herbie HancockHerbie HancockHerbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound... - Sacred System: Dub Chamber 4 (Book of Exit) by Bill Laswell
- Realize by Karsh KaleKarsh KaleKarsh Kale is an Indian American musician, producer and composer, and is considered one of the pioneering figures in defining the Asian Underground genre by mixing disparate genres of music such as Indian classical and folk with electronica, rock, pop and ambient music...
- Live at Stern Grove by Tabla Beat ScienceTabla Beat ScienceTabla Beat Science is a musical group founded in 1999 by Zakir Hussain and Bill Laswell. Its style consists of a mixture of Hindustani music, Asian Underground, ambient music, drum and bass and electronica. Laswell met with Karsh Kale , and they later teamed up with Talvin Singh and Trilok Gurtu...
- Enter The ChickenEnter the Chicken-Personnel:* Tracks #1-7, 9-11 Recorded at John Merrick Recorder* Track #8 Recorded at the Serjical Strike Dungeons* Vocals for Tracks #1-4, 6-10 Recorded at the Serjical Strike Dungeons* Produced by Serj Tankian* Engineered, Mixed and Co-Produced by Dan Monti...
by BucketheadBucketheadBrian Carroll , better known by his stage name Buckethead, is a guitarist and multi instrumentalist who has worked within several genres of music. He has released 34 studio albums, four special releases and one EP. He has performed on over 50 more albums by other artists... - Radioaxiom by Bill Laswell and Jah Wobble
- Putumayo Presents: One World, Many Cultures Compilation
- Putumayo Presents: Music from the Coffee Lands, Vol. II Compilation (Song 7. Guramayle)
External links
- Official Website
- Gigi Music Page on MySpace.com
- Gigi Profile Page on MySpace.com
- Bale Washintu - Gigi Shibabaw music video EthioTube
- Fly: Review of Gold & Wax
- Afropop Worldwide (PRIPublic Radio InternationalPublic Radio International is a Minneapolis-based American public radio organization, with locations in Boston, New York, London and Beijing. PRI's tagline is "Hear a different voice." PRI is a major public media content creator and also distributes programs from many sources...
program):