![](http://i.imgur.com/CdtyDPz.jpg) [SOURCE](http://thequietus.com/articles/01601-afrosonic-2-a-column-about-african-pop-music-mulatu-astatke-and-ethio-jazz) Mulatu Astatke is an ethiopian jazz musician who caught my eye when I heard his songs in the *Jim Jarmusch* film *Broken Flowers (2005)*! If you haven't seen this film it is wonderful and I highly recommend watching it and listening to the soundtrack!
![](http://i.imgur.com/2aLmZHj.jpg) [SOURCE](https://www.movieinsider.com/photos/47044) I have for a long time been a jazz fan but I had never come across any ethiopian jazz before and it really struck a chord with me. It has such a unique sound and rythym I was instantly captivated. I decided to look into Mulatu Astatke a little more. He was born in 1943 in an Ethiopian city called Jimma. He originally set out to study engineering but ended up getting a degree in music mostly focussed on percussion. After that he moved to the US and studied at Berklee College of Music. His first recorded albums were *Afro-Latin Soul Volumes 1&2* which were recorded in New York city in 1966. These earlier recordings are largely instrumental. Since then he bounced back and forth between New York and Ethiopia making various recordings and collaborations.
![](http://i.imgur.com/RJluhgp.jpg) [SOURCE](http://btglondon.com/2010/04/rediscover-mulatu-astatke/) His music discovered a resurgence in the 1990's when a Parisian record label called *Buda Musique* started releasing his music in a series called Ethiopiques. Volume 4 was entirely composed of Mulatu Astatke's songs! Here are a few songs from the *Broken Flowers* soundtrack that first piqued my interest, if you are enjoying his sound check out Ethiopiques volume 4! https://youtu.be/yulnyGZ4d3Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uwlEp1pmvg&ab_channel=JavierMayoral