«An authentic legend in Ethiopia, Mahmoud Ahmed has laid down the basis
of a music style which is resolutely original in the way it synthesizes
the most diverse influences into a language both typical and universal.
With his haunting, serpentine voice, at the same time raucous and
velvety, Mahmoud Ahmed has invented a world of uncertain borders, an
improbable mix of Eastern-African rhythmic lines, mysterious laments
with refined ornamentation and melodies of unexpected Indian
modulation; all this streaked by electric sounds and pulsed by a hot,
swaying groove spanning swing to funk and even foraying into reggae
music. What an exhilarating shambles!»
