HAILU MERGIA

Unbeknown to them, many have shared a cab ride through the streets of Washington D.C. with an undisputed legend, Hailu Mergia. A humble cab driver of over 20 years, Mergia leads another life submerged in rambling bass lines and rippling melodies that speak to memories of his homeland. Since fleeing Ethiopia in 1981 with his band, the Walias Band, famous for their 12-hour shows for club-goers seeking refuge during the 16-year enforce curfews of Ethiopia’s Derg government; the keyboard and accordion luminary has continued to find inspiration in his surrounds, tinkering on his keyboard in the drivers seat between pickups. 

A little over 10 years ago, Mergia reemerged on the scene and quickly built a new audience of adoring fans with his bands ability to energetically and playfully unfurl layer after layer of harmonic and rhythmic interest out of a range of Ethiopian sounds. Jazz demands constant reinvention and improvisation, night after night creating new works out of known modes and classic standards. This band is unstoppable when it comes to turning age-old melodies (like “Tizita” or “Anchihoye Lene”) upside down and inside out until they emerge as molten new works, often spontaneously. Mergia’s original compositions (like “Yegle Nesh”) shine brighter than ever here as well. Moving from keyboard to organ to accordion to melodica, he deftly switches instruments—often during the same song. At 78 this maestro, is a powerhouse. Swoon over his sweepingly beautiful sound. You’ll be moving and grooving in a set as fun as it is virtuosic.

HABIBI FUNK

Unearthed hidden gems released in the 1960’s-80’s across the Middle East and North Africa and spanning a plethora of genres from funk, soul and jazz to punk and hip-hop; Jannis Stürtz’s Habibi Funk has been a musical staple for every environment, from the record player at the bar to the one in your living room. 

Reissuing the records in eclectic compilations for the modern listener, as well as more recently releasing music from musicians in the current day, Stürtz’s project celebrates its decade anniversary in 2025. A project originally conceived while record digging in Casablanca, Morocco; his dedication to immortalising works that might have otherwise gone forgotten has fostered new connections and modalities of working in the music industry with efforts to not reproduce historic economic patterns of exploitation and colonisation. 

Since the labels success, Stürtz’s mastery as a vinyl only DJ has taken off in equal measure over recent years, with major residencies at institutions such as the legendary Jazz Cafe, Colour Factory, KOKO and his return to Melbourne is sure to have the dance floor swirling once more.