For years, his passengers had no idea. Hailu Mergia drove a taxi around the Washington, D.C., area, often to and from Dulles Airport, keeping a keyboard in the car and practising between fares. Decades earlier, he had been one of the leading musicians of Addis Ababa’s golden age of music.
The Walias Band
In the 1970s, Mergia was the keyboardist and a leader of the Walias Band, one of Ethiopia’s top groups. The band held a long residency at the Hilton Hotel in Addis Ababa and recorded with leading singers. Their sound blended Ethiopian scales with jazz, funk and soul.
Tche Belew
In 1977, the band released Tche Belew, an instrumental album that later became a collector’s favourite.
The 1981 tour
In 1981, the Walias Band toured the United States. Some members decided not to return to Ethiopia, which was then ruled by the Derg military government. Mergia stayed in America, and the members who remained formed the Zula Band.
Life in America
Mergia continued to make music, including home-recorded cassettes, but music did not pay the bills. From the late 1990s, he drove a taxi in the Washington area.
Awesome Tapes from Africa
Brian Shimkovitz, founder of the blog and label Awesome Tapes From Africa, found Mergia’s cassettes and tracked him down. In 2013, the label reissued a 1985 cassette as Hailu Mergia and His Classical Instrument, one of the most talked-about reissues of the year. Tche Belew was reissued in 2014.
Back on stage
The reissues brought Mergia back to the stage. He toured internationally, playing festivals and clubs, and recorded new albums, including Lala Belu, which critics praised.
Ethiopian music’s revival
Mergia’s story is part of a wider rediscovery of Ethiopian music from the 1960s and 1970s, helped by the Éthiopiques series and the popularity of Mulatu Astatke.
The accordion and keyboard
Mergia is known for his work on keyboards and accordion. On his reissued solo recordings, he plays layered keyboard parts with a drum machine, creating a distinctive, hypnotic sound rooted in Ethiopian melodies. Critics praised the warmth and inventiveness of these home-made recordings.
Addis Ababa’s golden age
The late 1960s and early 1970s were a golden age for music in Addis Ababa, with hotel bands, nightclubs and record labels producing a burst of creativity. The Derg’s seizure of power in 1974 and its curfews gradually crushed that scene, pushing many musicians abroad.
Many musicians retire and are forgotten. Hailu Mergia kept a keyboard in his taxi, and when the world finally came looking, he was ready to play.
