By- Emrakel Sileshi
Yohana’s new album ‘Kelemat’ released on 31, 2023, possesses a colorful theme throughout the songs. It’s a familiar groove with a mellow and soulful sound. One of the fundamental elements of music is its ability to express emotions, it has the ability to go beyond itself, its form, structure, and composition. It is not confined by the limitation of linguistic assertion but exceeds beyond in provoking different states of emotional manifestation through its formation. The listener experiences music as an unfolding continual happening of notes bounded by spatial confinement in the flows of its duration. But its expressiveness of the artist’s desire and the listener’s persuasion presents its unprecedented qualities as a fine work of art. The phenomenological approach of music happening is conveyed in the album title of ‘kelemat’, translated as colors, a continuous formation and development of a recognizable outcome, its process of maturing into full development, an understanding of colors as a lived experience.
Music is a continual and developing flow that expresses the artist’s desire, and hope and, most importantly captures the artist’s emotions, this album attempts to emphasize the connection between the emotions it expresses and the life experienced. Music tends to give a direct experience to the listener as it unfolds as it happens and is a reflection of the artist, experiencing reality. This phenomenological quality of music is expressed in this album, composed by Raphael and Yohana Sahle, Addis insight interviews artist Yohana Sahle as she explores her inspiration for the album and its origin story.
Addis Insight: Can you tell us a bit about the inspiration behind your new album?
Yohana Sahle: This album was inspired by life. It’s also the product of Raphael and me (my guitarist and composer of the album) meeting and performing live for a long time.
Addis Insight: How would you describe the overall theme or concept of this album?
Yohana Sahle: I would say that this album is about ‘the self’ and the plethora of experiences it goes through – from love to heartbreak, from fighting with oneself to reconciling with oneself, and from playfulness to hopefulness, including everything in between.
Addis Insight: Are there any specific experiences or events that influenced the creation of this album?
Yohana Sahle: Everything in this album is about something that I was feeling or going through at the moment it was written or at some point in my life. So yes, it was definitely influenced by multiple experiences and life events
Addis Insight: What artists or genres influenced the sound of this album?
Yohana Sahle: I would say that this album is influenced by Jazz, R&B and Soul. The chord progressions are very familiar and simple. For Example, “Filega” is influenced by D’angelo’s laid back groove style.
Addis Insight: Were there any specific albums or songs that inspired you during the creation of this project?
Yohana Sahle: The thing that inspired me are the compositions that Raphael would send me. I wasn’t necessarily listening to anything specific at the time but his compositions. And then I would try to work around that.
Addis Insight: Do you have a favorite track from the album? If so, what makes it special to you?
Yohana Sahle: Yes, Semagne is my favorite track from the album. And funny enough it’s the song that we almost abandoned because we didn’t know what musical direction to take with it. The song is about a very tough time in my life when I was trying to reconcile my heart and my mind. I think that the music really captures the message. I absolutely love that track!
Addis Insight: How does the album artwork tie into the overall theme or message of the music?
Yohana Sahle: So when we were talking about what to name the album, we took one line from “Les anges que je suis” that says “couleurs en revelation”. That translates to the development process of waiting for the image on film to form in analogue photography. So basically, the revelation of the colors from the picture that you took. So, from there we came to the title “Kelemat” which means colors in Amharic. This album is a revelation of colors and I think the album cover portrays it perfectly.
Addis Insight: What do you hope listeners take away from this album?
Yohana Sahle: My biggest hope and dream is to be able to say to people what they haven’t found the words to express, through my music. And I just want my listeners to feel a sense of peace and warmth when they listen to my album.
Kelemat album is now available on YouTube.
Instagram: Yohana Sahle (@yohana_sahle)
