ACTIVE MUSIC PROJECTS

QWANQWA

QWANQWA is a five-piece ensemble based in Addis Ababa, dedicated to furthering Ethiopia’s unique string traditions. Inspired by a shared passion for Ethiopian music, the group brings together some of the most accomplished traditional players in the country; creating a space to explore new sounds and break the rules in a very traditional musical culture. Since their 2012 debut, QWANQWA has merged the richness and diversity of rooted tradition with a modern, experimental sensibility, inspired improvisation, and a mission to transcend genres and blur boundaries.

Kaethe Hostetter, violin

Selamnesh Zemene, voice

Misale Legesse, kebero

Endris Hassen, masinko

Anteneh Teklemariam, bass

THIRD MAN DUO

Mother/daughter duo draw on Irene’s lifetime collection of sweet and rare folk melodies from around the world: rags from the 1920s, Italian arias, greek tunes, klezmer, romanian, and more!

Kaethe Hostetter, guitar

Irene Herrmann, mandolin

K8A & Thalia Zedek— the music of Paul Bowles

K8A & Thalia Zedek perform handful of songs by Paul Bowles, and American known mostly for writing The Sheltering Sky, but who was also a prolific composer, and who lived in Morocco for 50+ years. Due to Kaethe’s mothers friendship with PB and her frequent visits to Tangier, her hand in organizing his musical affairs, and her ongoing performances of his compositions, these songs became a part of Kaethe’s musical atmosphere as a child, almost becoming folk songs in my family.  A selection of these songs are reimagined in a new settings, with Thalia's distinct voice of rawness and immediacy, and K8A on violin and electronics.

Thalia Zedek, vocals

Kaethe Hostetter, violin and electronics

CACCIATORE DI TRESORI

Cacciactori de Tesori is a quartet of Italian music enthusiasts who play traditional music of Italy - mazurkas, waltzes, polkas, tarantellas and a tango or two. The repertoire is culled from master musicians (78rpm recordings), first-hand contact with Italian musicians and sometimes written sources. Lively harmonies and countermelodies are an integral part of their performance style.

Maxwell Poulos, mandolin and tenor banjo

Irene Herrmann - mandolin

Janet Dows - concertina

Kaethe Hostetter - guitar

K8A & Marié

These soulmates met through Debo Band and the connection only grew from there. The special stylings of eclectic tunes -- from Ethiopia to Japan, from folk to pop, simmered in musical spices from the world over, flavored by our journeys together and apart, make for a duo like no other.

Album coming soon!

Kaethe Hostetter, violin

Marié Abe, accordion

LIONESS

Lioness is the new trio of deconstructed Ethiopian traditional and "Golden Era"  éthiopiques tunes-- using electronics, soaring delay, twisty scales, tricky riffs upon cyclical patterns, familiar Ethiopian melodies pushed into distant primal realms. 

Kaethe Hostetter, violin

 Samson Kebede, bass

Django Carranza, drums

K8A’s Impressions of Ethiopa: for violin and electronics

This is a collection of musical vignettes by American violinist and composer Kaethe Hostetter. Sourcing from her 11 years living in Addis Ababa, she transports you to the bustling streets of the East African metropolis, evoking the crackling sounds of a saxophone blaring out of a barbershop radio, a shepherd's flute melody turned dub reggae, the fervent dancing on packed dirt floors of a rural honey-wine bar, and the funky big band psychedelic sounds of Ethiopia's "Golden Era".

The solo multimedia project uses  electronics and loops, storytelling, video projection, to share a personal journey and be a door to a world that is now undergoing serious ethnic conflict.

Kaethe Hostetter, 5 string violin and electronics

With Dan Moon and Village of Spaces

This special circumstantial collaboration is drenched in magical vibes, as Dan and Kaethe tap into the sounds of the spheres, drawing from the audio experiences of surfing, the redwoods, and the otherworldly in our midst,

Kaethe Hostetter, violin and effects

Dan Moon, guitar and effects

BINOCULARS

Welcome to Chloë and K8A’s picnic blanket under the shade of a black walnut tree where they’ve brought a fiddle, guitar, lap steel, and a pair of binoculars to peer at long lost tunes and try them out their own way!

Chloë Swantner, guitar, fiddle, lapsteel, vocals

Kaethe Hostetter, guitar, fiddle, vocals