Page 48 - Poze Magazine Volume 82

Q&A with

Dereje Tamirat

Poze Magazine: With your debut fusion album
in the works, what message or story are you
hoping to convey through this project—and
what can listeners expect to hear?

The upcoming album is a sound of my journey,
Poze Magazine: Your research into ethnic music, like exploration, heritage, and hope. It’s built on years
that of the Ale tribe, plays a big role in your work. How of research and performance, and it brings
do you go about integrating these unique sounds into together sounds. I’ve collected scales, rhythms,
your contemporary compositions?
and stories from tribal chants to urban grooves. It
blends traditional Ethiopian elements with world
Ethnic music is like a hidden treasure. My approach is music. Listeners expect a soulful fusion of
respectful and immersive. I travel, listen, and study different traditional Ethiopian scales blended to world
ethnic sounds, documenting scales, rhythms, and stories that music. My goal is to invite the world into Ethiopia’s
aren’t often heard in mainstream music. When I had visited musical soul while giving Ethiopian youth a new
the Ale tribe, I recorded, observed, and most importantly way to see their culture. I’m currently in the
listened. Their rhythms, dances, and spiritual tones are woven development phase; therefore, any interested
into my compositions by mimicking their patterns using their individuals, organizations such as musicians,
scales, with respect to the story behind each sound. These producers, creatives who share a passion for
raw sounds become the foundation of my compositions. I cultural fusion and meaningful storytelling can
don’t just sample them; I reimagine them through a modern collaborate with me. This is more than an album;
lens using harmony, groove, and arrangement to tell old it’s a bridge between traditions and futures.
stories in new ways. I want to give these sounds a global
stage, where they can be appreciated and preserved.