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Rada’s an Israeli-born Ethiopian singer who’s based in Tel Aviv, and this self-titled debut LP follows her 2013 “Life Happens” EP (if you missed that, don’t fret: all four of its songs make return appearances). Among her idols are Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald, and Aretha Franklin, and she does not suffer in comparison to such venerated company. Half of the album is produced by Rada and her band, the other half by various Israeli producers – including the EP’s four by Sabbo and Kuti, and one each by Tamir Muskat and Yossi Mizrahi – yet it maintains a cohesive sound.
I first encountered Rada’s smooth, silky, and soulful pipes on two arresting YouTube “singles”: the slinky, joyous, Eastern-tinged “Life Happens” and the tender, heart-melting, Phil Spector-flecked ballad “Could It Be.” (See their videos here and here.) But in contrast to those two nicer, more accessible songs, the rest of the LP veers into harder hitting directions. Rada smartly employs a top-flight backing band, including a bevy of stunning horn players. They match her every move with an often invigorating blend of jazz, R&B, soul/funk, rock, African/Ethiopian music, and – on the springy “Sorries” and the Amy Winehouse-like “No More” – reggae/dub.
Rada pours forth an eclectic brew: the opening “Monsters” morphs from jazzy bebop into more chaotic, claustrophobic Otis Redding/Marvin Gaye-inspired soul, as she is besieged by unnamed, ruthless demons who take advantage of her; “Lose It” has a submerged, scratchy BellRays/MC5 rock/funk rhythm, with Rada alternating between an angry, Lisa Kekaula growl and a soothing croon; the aptly-titled “Herd” has a heavy, rumbling stomp and bleating horns that resemble stampeding elephants, while her scat-like wordplay denounces those who obediently follow the status quo; and the ‘70s soul/R&B/funk-inspired, Stevie Wonder-meets-James Brown “Bazi” finds Rada lamenting the loss of a lover, amidst Ben Hoze’s wah-wah guitar, Gal Dahan’s groovy flute, and blaring trumpet, trombone, and sax (courtesy Inon Peretz, Maayan Milo, and Dahan).
Those intertwining, insistent horns take center stage on the most exhilarating, off-the-rails track, “Bad Guy,” on which Rada chides herself for getting involved with a crafty married man on the prowl. To round out the LP, she summons up a commanding belt on another Winehouse-esque number, the skronky-saxed “Out,” covers 1970s Ethiopian singer/drummer Muluken Melesse on the bouncy, danceable “Nanu Hey,” and sets an oddly-timed, near-monochromatic refrain to a wheezing keyboard as she rebukes another selfish deadbeat on the closing “Anything From You.” With twelve strong tunes, Ester Rada is convincing, confident soul music with an edge.
