Omar,
I agree with you that Alamin's cassette was long overdue. I am glad he
finally released it. If memory serves me well, he planned to release it
since 1993. I had the privilege to play (guitar) with him during his
first trip to Asmara in '93; it was also my first trip home after 20
years, very emotional one. Anyway, we played the very songs on his new
cassette in Asmara and Addis Ababa, during '93 independence
celebrations. I tell you, the audience really loved it.
As you probably noticed, he has changed the melody of most songs
slightly. I remember rehearsing the songs in my basement with Alamin,
accompanied by my favorite musician, Abdalla who composed most of the
songs (I still have some of the original copies), I enjoyed every bit of
it, I really like the songs. In fact, when we played at his 30th
anniversary, in Washington DC, the songs had the original melodies (the
video cassette was on the market, I don't know if it still is).
The new cassette is arranged by Mahmud Aman, a very talented Eritrean
musician, who also played with us in Asmara and Addis in '93. Mahmud
also composed the famous Alamin's song 'yuma'.
Tesfay
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