Meklit Hadero murmurs, “I’ve always felt at ease with movement,” in the same gentle voice that she uses to trace her songs’ soft melodies. “All of us come from many places,” she says. This acclaimed singer is a mixture of cultures. She was born in Ethiopia and raised in San Francisco. Her music is influenced by many things, from jazz and soul to hip-hop and art rock to folk traditions from America and East Africa. This singular artist is the only one who can create a sound that transcends all of these influences. Meklit, who was born in San Francisco, became a national sensation with her 2010 album “On a Day Like this …”” on Porto Franco Records. Filter magazine praised Meklit for “[combining] New York Jazz with West Coast folk, African flourishes and all tied together by Hadero’s beguiling vocal,” and her full-length debut, which garnered feature-stories from NPR and PBS, brought Meklit’s music to a new audience. It also announced Meklit’s arrival as “an artistic giant at the beginning stages,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle. She was born in Ethiopia in 1980 and grew up in Iowa (New York), and Florida. After studying at Yale in political science, she moved to San Francisco where she became a part of the vibrant arts scene. After witnessing a performance in San Francisco’s Mission District, a Chronicle reporter wrote that “She sings about fragility, hope, and self-empowerment, exuding all three.” Her gentle, sensuous, and cradling sound is what makes her irresistible. She is amazing.” She hasn’t looked back. Meklit was named a TED Global Fellow 2009 and has been an artist-in residence at New York University, De Young Museum, Red Poppy Art House, and New York University. Meklit also has completed musical commissions for Brava and the San Francisco Foundation. For Women in the Arts. She is the founder and director of the Arba Minch Collective. This group of diaspora Ethiopian artists aims to strengthen ties with their homeland by collaborating with traditional and contemporary artists. Meklit, who is currently touring to support her debut album and making plans for her second, will be appearing at renowned festivals around the world. She is an artist who can be seen leaping from one stage to the next, and she’s at home in many places. from http://www.meklithadero.com
