# Mulatu Astatke — Yèkèrmo Sèw

Mulatu Astatke’s Yèkèrmo Sèw (1969) is No. 1 in our Ethio-Jazz ranking. The full verdict, and where to hear it.

- **Released:** 1969
- **Label:** Amha
- **On one list:** Ethio-Jazz
- **Updated:** 2026-08-30
- **Artist:** [Mulatu Astatke](https://waxonia.com/artist/mulatu-astatke/)
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/track/mulatu-astatke--yekermo-sew/

## What we say

### No. 1 in [Ethio-Jazz](https://waxonia.com/genre/ethio-jazz/)

A vibraphone, a fuzz guitar and a mode that refuses to resolve. Jim Jarmusch later used it in Broken Flowers and introduced the whole tradition to a generation who had never heard of Addis.

## Analysis

6 sections, no single moment the energy jumps to.

- **Tempo:** 117.5 BPM — holds throughout
- **Key:** G minor
- **Dynamic range:** 4.5 dB — compressed hard — very little between the quiet and the loud
- **Length:** 4:16

- `0:00` A · **intro**, instrumental — opens the record below its own average energy — playing: bass, other
- `0:52` A · **steady** (bar 26), instrumental — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: bass, other
- `1:38` A · **breakdown** (bar 48), instrumental — energy falling away mid-record, percussion thinning — playing: drums, bass, other
- `2:24` B · **steady** (bar 71), instrumental — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: drums, bass, other
- `2:35` C · **peak** (bar 76), instrumental — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass, other
- `3:16` A · **outro** (bar 96), instrumental — the closing fall — playing: bass, other

**What is playing.** Separated into parts by a source-separation model, so each lane is the instrument it names.

- **drums:** the drum kit, separated from the mix
- **bass:** the bass part, separated from the mix
- **vocals:** the voice, separated from the mix
- **other:** everything else — synths, guitars, keys, strings

Measured from the YouTube master on 2026-08-29. Section labels describe how the energy
moves, not musical form. Anything we were not confident enough to state is omitted
rather than hedged.

## Listen

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Mulatu%20Astatke%20Y%C3%A8k%C3%A8rmo%20S%C3%A8w) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=2qIJv6XGejc)

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Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.