The song I chose is titled Dishta Gina by Tariku Gankisi and originates from Ethiopia. It starts off with an electric feeling (perhaps the electric guitar – I can’t really tell) with the use of a woodwind, followed by percussion, which sounds like clapping honestly. The solo male voice comes in singing the title of the song first and then cuts out, comes back in and keeps following this pattern. A lot of the lyrics are the same throughout the song. His dynamics are pretty mezzo forte throughout and the tempo always stays consistent. At the end of the piece, both the vocalist and the instruments cut out at the same time, drastically decreasing over a short period of time. 

This was the first piece I picked solely because I thought the music video looked cool. I also noticed that this song was released April of this year! Also, when looking for a translation for the song, I found an article saying a meeting was held November 7 of this year where Tariku Gankisi gave a speech about the war in Ethiopia currently. He talked about saying no to conflict, bringing peace to all and to reconcile our mistakes. He then ended the speech saying that he would not be singing. He was later on confronted for his behavior and was forced to apologize to everyone who attended his speech, but it was a very touchy subject for him and he knew that peoples actions in the war needed to be addressed. 

This quote really stuck out to me – “I can’t sing, what’s there to sing about when our brothers and sisters are dying, we have no enemy, let’s stop killing each other ” he stated. I just really like that this is a newer song and is about an ongoing issue in Ethiopia currently. I like to know what is happening around the world. 

Tariku Gankisi article: When a peace speech breaks down to pieces – Addis Insight

Tariku Gankisi – Dishta Gina – ታሪኩ ጋንካሲ – ዲሽታግና – New Ethiopian Music 2021(Official Video) – YouTube