Seleshe Demassae comes from one of the few cultures in which the lyre, a very ancient instrument, still accompanies song. As a singer, dancer, instrumentalist, composer, and poet Seleshe builds on the rich variety of cultures in his native Ethiopia. He studied traditional East African music, teaches in Africa, Europe, and the United States, and specializes in the sagas of the azmaris, the singer-poets of East Africa. On the present CD Seleshe performs for the first time with the Ivory Coast percussionist Suleymane Toure, a master of the talking drum.