Earlier this year, after contributing three EPs to Washington imprint 1432 R that established him as one of the most singular voices of today’s African electronic music, Ethiopian producer Mikael Seifu made his noteworthy debuts on Brooklyn’s finest Rvng Intl. with the deeply magnetic ‘Zelalem‘, a five-track manifesto for his riveting ‘Ethiopiyawi Electronic’ blends.
Trimming off his music of all western music tropes or calibrated 4/4 punctuation to concentrate on the naturally expansive, widescreen dynamics of Ethio-jazz and local folk music, Seifu offered an overwhelming trip in the pulsating heart of Addis-Ababa, equally redolent of crowded and coloured markets as it is of enigmatic wildernesses.
The inward-gazing euphoria of the record’s closer, ‘Zelalem (Vector of Light)‘, has been the starting point to this dazzling visual piece directed by Stella Scott & Jessie Ayles. Framing the track’s slow and steady transformation from an austere, stripped-back opening sequence to a stunningly emotional vox-led trance, the video rolls out a kaleidoscopic collage of elements and textures morphing in one smooth, mesmeric movement of camera. Simply breathtaking.
Discover more about Mikael Seifu and Rvng Intl. on Inverted Audio.
