Conversations with Amanuel Tsegaye

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanuel Tsegaye.

Hi Amanuel, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
First and foremost, thank you for giving me the opportunity to be on your platform and share the Tizita Sounds story.

Tizita means “Memories” in Amharic.

Tizita Sounds is a community that I started on October 6th, 2020. The inspiration behind starting Tizita Sounds comes from a plethora of memories I had growing up listening to Ethiopian music. I decided to start the community with the hope that I could help people reminisce about their memories through these timeless songs. All of the songs that I post on the Tizita Sounds page bring me happy tears and sad tears, which explains the page’s official slogan: “Memories are a timeless treasure of the heart”. Through the creation of the Tizita Sounds brand, I’ve been able to meet some great people along the way, including some of my favorite Ethiopian artists. As the Tizita Sounds community continues to grow, it is my hope that I can continue to find ways to bring the community together.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, but this journey is something that I’m so proud of being on. Some of the difficulties I’ve faced have largely been due to Tizita Sounds being a one-man operation. Despite these difficulties, my friends have been of immense help when I needed it. They’ve helped me out with setting up photoshoots, assisting with the planning and execution of Tizita Sounds parties, and setting up pop-up shops. Without them, my vision for Tizita Sounds would be incredibly difficult to manage. My passion for Ethiopian music has also been a major catalyst in keeping me afloat along this journey. Listening to Ethiopian music is something that brings me so much joy and also sorrow, but this is what Tizita can do to the soul. When I listen to these songs, some of the most notable memories I think about are the countless times spent with my Mom during her Buna (Coffee in Amharic) ceremonies and listening to old tapes & vinyl records with my Dad as he tells us stories that are spurred by some of his favorite songs.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Tizita Sounds is an Ethiopian & Eritrean music community that focuses on bringing people closer through the nostalgia that Ethiopian & Eritrean music brings. In an effort to achieve this, I upload playlists on Apple Music & Spotify that are filled with some of the best throwbacks of Ethiopian & Eritrean music. I recently dropped a clothing line for the brand that focuses on bringing some of my favorite songs into something tangible for the Tizita Sounds community through the form of t-shirts. The Nafkot collection (Nafkot means to miss someone or something in Amharic), which is the name of the first drop, is a collection that consists of 4 songs that are each featured on its own t-shirt. Each t-shirt consists of the name of the song, the name of the artist, the meaning of the song, and a QR code on the sleeve that leads you to the song.

I also throw shows for Tizita Sounds, with the last show being at The Goldfish in Los Angeles, California. This show was used to celebrate the Ethiopian & Eritrean New Year, which falls on September 11th in the Gregorian Calendar. The event featured Genet Collection, makers of handwoven Ethiopian fashion pieces, a live Trumpet/DJ performance from Todd Simon of Ethio Cali, a live Kirar/DJ performance from Robel Ketema, and a live DJ performance from Amani Gedamu (DJ Hitlist), and me, Amanuel Tsegaye of Tizita Sounds. It was great to celebrate with such a diverse crowd and I hope to bring something like this again to Los Angeles in the near future.

What were you like growing up?
I was always curious growing up. Listening to Ethiopian music with my parents spurred my curiosity into learning more about my cultural identity. My parents would describe the struggles they had faced and the memories they made before immigrating to the United States in 1992. I would try to build a picture in my head of what being in Ethiopia was like through the stories they would tell me. It wasn’t until last May that I was able to go to Ethiopia for the first time in my life. Going into the trip, I didn’t expect to experience the cultural shock that I did, but what an experience that was. Being able to spend time with my family and meet some of the creatives over there has inspired me to take Tizita Sounds as far as possible and build a brand that only brings good things to our people.

Pricing:

• $40 for Nafkot Collection t-shirts on www.tizitasounds.com

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tizitasounds.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tizitasounds/?hl=en

Image Credits
The guitarist that I am in 2 pictures with is the legendary Selamino of Ibex & Roha Band. Selamino has been a part of 250 albums in more than 40 years as a guitarist. Selamino is like “The Jimi Hendrix of Ethiopia”. Selamino, however, is a legend in his own right. The 8th photo is a picture of me with the legendary Mahmoud Ahmed. Mahmoud Ahmed is one of the many Ethiopian artists I grew up listening to with my parents. This photo shows one of my happiest moments as I was able to meet one of the most influential Ethiopian musicians.