Etenesh Wassié

Today, Etenesh Wassié regularly performs in Addis Ababa with various Ethiopian and European musicians at clubs, festivals and private parties. A recognised singer in both Azmari and contemporary music circles, she is often invited as a special guest by groups active on the Addis scene.

She was the queen of Datsun Sefer for 15 years. A cult street full of azmaribets (traditonal cabarets), a must-see axis where you could spend the night from cabaret to cabaret a few years ago, but which has been in real decline for the past 5 years... Etenesh eventually left the area and moved to Meskel Flower, where a whole new genera on of dynamic, creative musicians are on the rise.

In the early 2000s, Etenesh began to perform on European stages. She was invited by Francis Falceto (founder of the Les Éthiopiques record collection) to participate in a series of "Ethiopian Cabarets" with several Azmari musicians from Addis Ababa. On this occasion, she recorded two tracks - Ambassel and Bati- for Éthipopiques 18.

In 2007, she was invited by the Tigre des Platanes in Toulouse to create a new show with covers of traditional songs and standards by stars of the Golden Age (Mahmoud Ahmed, Thlaoun Gessesse, Alemayehu Eshete, Aster Awake...). This was followed by several European tours and a memorable tour of Ethiopia in 2009, which resulted in a documentary film, Yezemed Yebaed, directed by Leïla Morouche.

The duo with Mathieu Sourisseau was born in 2009. Two albums, a creation with Hamid Drake and numerous tours in France and Europe followed. This is the lively, daring project with which Etenesh is still playing today, in a new trio version. In 2024, she begins a new parallel story with Paolo Angéli.