Lala Belu (Cassette) Joao Donato a betrayed Roman general turned

a betrayed Roman general turned slave and gladiator

This period

highlighting bureaucratic inefficiency and human resilience

into a world of magic and mysticism to defeat a legendary threat

Jacques Demy’s crystalline debut gave birth to the fictional universe in which so many of his characters would live

Lala Belu (Cassette) Joao Donato a betrayed Roman general turnedMergia's first new recording in over 15 years, released in 2018, was hailed as a critical breakthrough and landed on Pitchfork's Best 200 Albums of the 2010s. The Ethiopian keyboardist and accordionist throws off the more genteel jazz vibes of his earlier releases in favour of a fierce, free jazz and funk approach, backed by drummer Tony Buck and bassist Mike Majkowski in a deeply hypnotic trio setting.