April 3–4, 2006 at Jottem, Wormerveer, Netherlands; tracks 3, 5, 6, 8, 11 recorded live April 8, 2006, in the Grand Mix, Tourcoing, France, by Jeroen Visser
The project came together on the heels of The Ex's previous studio album Turn,which incorporated elements of Eritrean and Congolese music alongside a tribute to the Ethio-Jazz anthems of Getatchew Mekuria. The Ex had toured Ethiopia twice and then invited Getatchew to perform at their 25th anniversary show in Amsterdam where he proposed that The Ex be the backup band for his next album.[2] In addition to Moa Anbessa,the collaboration yielded tours of Europe and North America as well as an official live DVD released by Buda Musique,producers of the influential Ethiopiques series of ethiojazz compilations.
Live performances
In addition to Mekuria and The Ex's core two-guitar/drums/vocals line up,Moa Anbessa and the tours surrounding it featured additional brass and reed work from Canadianalto sax player Brodie West,Frenchclarinetist Xavier Charles,and Dutch trombonist Joost Buis who had previously played with the band in their Ex Orkest project. The Ex also reunited with Scottish bass player Colin McLean with whom they had toured and co-released records in the late 1980s when both McLean and Andy Moor were members of the Dog Faced Hermans.
Album title
The name "Moa Anbessa",Amharic for "The Conquering Lion",refers to a political party made up of Ethiopians who support a constitutional monarchy. The party was created by exiled titular emperor Amha Selassie I to operate as the political wing of the crown. As an album title,it makes note both of Getatchew's support of the royal family,as well as his own "return to the throne" of Ethiopian jazz.
Steve Holtje of The Big Takeover ranked Moa Anbessa the best album of the year,writing:"the idea of a bunch of left-wing punks [...] acting as Mekurya’s band had seemed an odd fit,and fraught with potential for disappointment and disaster. But then here came their new album together [...] and it is a magnificent melding of cultures. [...] Moa Anbessa is a great introduction to Mekurya for rock fans. The Ex doesn’t cut their intensity a bit –heck,they need it all to keep up with Mekurya,still going strong in his seventies. This is a powerful,rocking record that will thrill even listeners who’ve never bought a “world music”album in their lives."[1] Jason Cherkis of Washington City Paper called the album "thrilling."[6]Peter Margasak hailed the album as "Ethio-Dutch brilliance".[7]
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