For the first of the TRUE Africa series curated by Ethiopian Records, we bring you a mix by Digital Fukera.
Digital Fukera is a production and vocalist group from Addis Ababa. Founded in the summer of 2013 by Yonatan Workneh, Nebyu Zelalem and Abrham Kahsay, they cite Ethiopian 60s and 70s songs, nineties hip hop and electronic music among their influences.
The trio have known each other since high school and have been working on music individually too. They’ve now decided to work together under the name Digital Fukera. ‘Digital’ refers to using technology whilst ‘Fukera’ is an ancient tradition in Ethiopia, a kind of poetry warriors use to motivate each other before heading to battle. So Digital Fukera basically means using technology to motivate people; they’re all about motivating the youth and self-expression.
The mix they’ve made are all original productions, taking chops of various Ethiopian samples ranging from the Ethiopian lute, the masinko, to vocals from legendary singer Gigi Shibabaw, with hints of Ethio-jazz all mixed in with hip-hop rhythms.
Listen to more of their music on soundcloud.com/digitalfukera
Like Digital Fukera on Facebook here