The meeting of the mythical Dutch punk-rock band The Ex and the legendary Ethiopian saxophonist Getatchew Mekurya has given rise to a CD (Terp Records) as well as many performances to enthusiastic audiences in various venues and festivals, among them the closing concert of the Banlieues Bleues Festival.  This film by Stéphane Jourdain goes back and forth between the concentration of studio rehearsals and the energy of the stage performance. Most compositions come from the Ehtiopian repertoire. While The Ex do not speak Amharic and Getatchew understands only a few words of English, communication flows between them, in the sensitive way they find musical solutions, the energy they put in and the instant pleasure of playing together.


ethioSonic: Today’s Ethiopian groove, wherever it comes from and whatever shape it takes…