Make Love Band

Make Love is a reggae band based in Pittsburgh, Pa. Some of the members of the group have been performing all over the world for over two decades either as solo artists or with other ensembles. Their brand of reggae usually sung in English, Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia, and Chinsenga, Chibemba, Chinyanja and Chichewa, all Zambian local languages but also spoken in the neighboring Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, makes use of some Ethiopian and Zambian music elements such as syncopation, polyphony and call and response. Reggae Le Salam, the group’s fourth album recorded in the Netherlands, Malawi, Zambia and Ethiopia, features Fikru Serawit, one of Ethiopia’s finest in Ethio-Reggae. The lead singer Mateyo is from Zambia and has been recording and touring for over twenty years.

Mateyo, was born in Zambia although he has recently been spending quite sometime in Ethiopia, which he refers to as his second home. He started music as a singer in the 1990s after he graduated from high school but was also a well known keyboards player as he played keys in other reggae bands before his career as a solo artist took shape.

Serawit Fikru was born in the 80s in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His music career began when he was in elementary school, mostly singing music of the legendary Muhamud Ahmed’ from Ethiopia. After Fikru graduated high school, he went to study Ethiopian traditional music and Jazz at Tafari Makonen Jazz School in Addis Ababa majoring in alto saxophone.

During his time at Tafari Makonen, Fikru developed an interest in Reggae mostly because of the peaceful messages ‘preached’ in the music. He developed his own style of reggae, a fusion of reggae, jazz and Ethiopian traditional music. He is also a music educator teaching ensembles of youths at Siddartha Center in Addis Ababa.

The group, Make Love, has produced hit songs such as Reggae Le Salam, Awelela Mabunu and Mkazi wa M’Zambia. The title track of the album, Reggae Le Salam, sung in Amharic and Chinsenga is a cry for peace in the world. Although some critics might argue that peace has been sung too many times already, the group believes that there is still a need to sing about peace and love because there is still a lot of fussing and fighting going on in the world today. Make Love believes that the solution to all the fighting is love.

So, no more war.

Make Love