Afar Ways

During the past few years, music producer Ian Brennan, known for his work with Tinariwen, Zomba Prison Project, and Ustad Saami, has been delighting us with releases of previously little-explored traditional music. 2022 was no exception. One of his works is the album by Yanna Momin Afar Ways, which was recorded in Djibouti in the spring of 2018.

Yanna Momin was born in 1948 and belongs to the Afar people, who live in Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti. Historically, the Afar people inhabited the territory of the Danakil Desert, where they led a nomadic lifestyle. Yanna claims that the Afar people are not used to making money from music, which can be heard almost every evening in live performances in almost every home. However, women among the Afar musicians are rare, which brought unusual popularity to Yanna's voice.

During the recording of Yanna Momin's performance, other musicians participated, passing guitars and calabashes to each other, singing along, and clapping. As a sign of respect, they called her "auntie." Brennan recounts that at some point, a strong tide began, and since Yanna lives in a traditional stilt hut, the recording participants found themselves trapped. Throughout the entire album, you can hear the hut creaking and swaying on the waves.

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