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Henock Temesgen
and Abegasu Shiota formed, in Washington, DC, ADMAS (which
means "HORIZON" in Amharic, the Ethiopian language) in 1984.
ADMAS,
initially a backup band, went on to compose, arrange and produce music
for most Ethiopian Artists working in the U.S., Europe and Ethiopia.
Aster Aweke, world-renowned recording artist, approached ADMAS
to arrange and produce her first two CD's that were released on Columbia
Records.
ADMAS
band members, Henock and Abegasu, enrolled at Berklee College of
Music in Boston, Ma. In 1995, they graduated and received BS degree
in jazz composition and performance (double majors).
Upon
graduation, they moved to Manhattan, NY becoming active in the local
Jazz and African music scene. ADMAS toured the United States, Europe,
Africa, the Middle East and Canada with Ethiopian artists, and played
at different festivals, including, The Montreal Jazz Festival and Summer
Stage at Central Park.
In
1997, they were joined by Zakki Jawad a longtime friend from back in Addis, by way of Washington DC. This was the point of return for Admas from a backup band to a band that once again composed and performed its own music. This new and invigorating collaboration spawned the album 'Indigo Sun', released in 2000.
Zakki, an accomplished musician in Reggae and World Music
circles, has been actively performing in the U.S and abroad for the
past 16 years. He has recorded and performed with several renowned Reggae and
African musicians, such as the Itals from Jamaica, Jean-Marie Tala from Cameroon, and Dave Wakeling (of the English Beat) from the UK. He was a songwriter soon after he learned his first chords on the guitar, and has one solo album to his credit (ZEDICUS), with a second due for release late 2009.
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Work on the follow up to Indigo Sun is nearing completion. The bulk of the record (working title 'Itiopia') was recorded at Orange Studios in New Jersey in 2003, with the remaining tracks currently being recorded in Addis. Admas hopes for a late 2009/early 2010 release.
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