[TOKYO, Japan] — [June 5, 2026] — A new book by anthropologist and filmmaker Itsushi Kawase offers a vivid exploration of music, performance, and social life through the experiences of Ethiopia’s itinerant singer-poets.

Drawing on more than two decades of ethnographic engagement, Azmari presents an intimate portrait of musicians who earn their living through song, storytelling, and performance. Focusing on Azmari singer-instrumentalists and itinerant Lalibela singers, the book reveals how performers build relationships, navigate uncertainty, and create opportunities through their interactions with audiences.

For these musicians, performance is far more than entertainment. It is a means of communication, livelihood, social negotiation, and self-transformation. Through wit, improvisation, praise, criticism, and poetic expression, singers actively shape the social worlds in which they live.

Moving beyond conventional distinctions between observer and observed, Kawase follows the lives, aspirations, and struggles of the performers over many years, tracing how both the musicians and the researcher are transformed through sustained encounters.

Richly illustrated with photographs, Azmari captures Ethiopian musical culture in motion — from local taverns and religious celebrations to international stages. The book also documents the profound challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic and the creative ways musicians adapted to changing circumstances.

At a time when music is increasingly consumed through digital platforms, Azmari invites readers to reconsider performance as a deeply human practice rooted in presence, participation, and social connection.

Key Themes Explored in the Book

• Music as livelihood, social practice, and creative expression
• The lives and performances of Azmari musicians and Lalibela singers
• Audience participation and the co-creation of performance
• Improvisation, poetry, praise, and social commentary in Ethiopian music
• Long-term ethnographic engagement and collaborative knowledge production
• The impact of globalization and international mobility on local musical traditions
• Musical resilience and adaptation during the COVID-19 pandemic

About the Author

Itsushi Kawase is an anthropologist and filmmaker whose research focuses on music, religion, performance, and visual ethnography in Ethiopia. Through long-term fieldwork and audiovisual practice, he has explored the relationships between artistic expression, social life, and cultural change. His films and publications have been presented internationally and have contributed to new approaches in visual and collaborative anthropology.

About the Publication

• Azmari: Living Through Song in Ethiopia

• Availability: here

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