Ready to go deep? Look no further than our conversation with podcaster, storyteller, and Ethio-jazz vocalist/composer Meklit Hadero. Ahead of her acclaimed show — Movement LIVE — hitting LA, Hadero fits in a meaty chat with Novena Carmel and Anthony Valadez about certain songs that have defined her life’s journey, experiencing the expansion of her voice in real time during childbirth, and what it means to be human.
Click in for a free wheeling conversation that’s guaranteed to make you feel at least 10 percent smarter, and which includes our world premiere of Meklit’s own song “Ethio Blue” (due in Feb., 2024 via an EP of the same name). Plus, read on for some serious personal reflections around the rest of her picks.
Aster Aweke – “Tizita”
Growing up in Brooklyn… and in Iowa, this was the music that was on our parents stereo. It was juxtaposed with 80s pop radio [think David Bowie, and Prince], but these songs like this tizita were [such a major] part of how I grew up.
[The tizita] is a classic [type of] song from Ethiopia and this is such a beautiful version. And I really want everyone to hear the kirar [which is a] six string Ethiopian harp.
[This particular tizita] is really about the voice. It's about where the voice takes you. There's often the kind of space in Ethiopian music that lets you digest the voice and that leaves space for how it's hitting you in your heart.
Nina Simone – “Suzanne”
Leonard Cohen’s writing is just immense, gigantic poetry in every line. And then the way that Nina Simone delivers [those words], the way she can be so raw and take everything to its deepest root… For me, this was a huge step in my creative journey to becoming a songwriter.
Dengue Fever – “Prahok In My Suitcase”
Nimol, the lead singer of Dengue Fever is featured as part of the show [Movement LIVE] on Saturday. She is so incredible — as a singer and as a human being. I've loved her music for almost 20 years so getting to work with her in this process has been amazing.
Nimol has so many powerful stories. She is a person with stories, stories, stories.. so much story! At the Dengue Fever shows, she doesn't necessarily get to tell those stories because it's not that kind of show. It's a super high energy rock and roll show. But on Saturday at the Nimoy theater, we'll get to hear a different side of Nimol. And I love the new Dengue fever album Ting Mong so I thought it would be amazing to share “Prahok In My Suitcase.”
On Saturday, Oct. 28 CAP UCLA and KCRW Present Meklit Hadero’s Movement LIVE at The Nimoy: A Transcendent Fusion of Music and Migration Stories. Chhom Nimol (Dengue Fever), San Cha, and LA-native, Palestinian-American oud musician Clarissa Bitar are the special guests for the LA edition of the show. Grab tickets, and learn more here.