CD Review: Meklit & Quinn's Self-Titled Release

Meklit & Quinn
Meklit & Quinn
Porto Franco Records

Meklit Hadero, a native of Ethiopia, and Quinn Deveaux, from California, showcase their blend of soul, blues, and a little downtempo funk from music by Arcade Fire, Talking Heads, MGMT, Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Stevie Wonder, Kyle Field, Neil Young, and Sam Cooke. Meklit's vocals are a perfect mix of Sade and Leona Naess. Quinn's vocals are slightly bluesy, but there is an element of smooth jazz vocalizations with airy and sultry deliveries. The twelve tracks explore a bit of nostalgic jazz, soul, R&B, and downtempo. Meklit writes "Slow" and "Sent By You," which is composed with Quinn. The music contains a plethora of instrumentation, including guitar, keyboard, bass, piano, mellotron, strings, trumpet, tuba, pedal steel guitar, trombone, sax, organ, washboard, B3, and others. The soft grooves and stirring melodies are modern in composition, but they reflect a sort of classical ambiance from America's early music history. The music is not rock or folk; it's just good music with good instrumentation. It's that simple...and delectable. ~ Matthew Forss 

CD Review: Ethiopia's Meklit Hadero

Meklit Hadero

On A Day Like This...

Porto Franco Records

San Francisco-resident and Ethiopian-native, Meklit (pron. muh-kleet) Hadero, is a groovy, sultry, and poetic vocalist that transcends traditional genre borders. The entire album is poignant, laid-back, and inspirational. Meklit composes eight original songs on this album. One cover song, "Feeling Good", by Anthony Newley and Bricusse is included. The only other cover song is a traditional Ethiopian song, and the only song sung in Amharic, celebrates the rural life. It is originally written by Ethiopia's legendary musician, Mahmoud Ahmed. Meklit's voice and acoustic guitar playing are joined by upright bass, oboe, clarinet, sax, piano, viola, ney flute, cello, and other assorted instruments. The music is perfect for lounging and takes on an almost Brazilian/samba sound in parts. A Sade-like vocalist, Meklit creates a new form of music that borrows classic big band elements, R&B, jazz, folk, and easy listening influences. On A Day Like This... is highly recommended any day of the year. ~ Matthew Forss