Berhana - Amén የዘላን ህልም (The Nomad’s Dream) (Album) + Interview

LA-based multi-hyphenate Berhana delivers his magnum opus with the sprawling, self revelatory Amén የዘላን ህልም (The Nomad’s Dream), a high-concept meditation on heritage, romance, family and individuality. The album releases via EQT Recordings and is available to stream now.

Album opener ‘Amén’ serves as a vivid vignette of adolescent life for our protagonist ‘The Nomad’ as we find him in his childhood room, being chastised through the door by a concerned mother for not taking his studies seriously. With her voice being drowned out by the in-world instrumental, another more ethereal voice materialises, presenting its own concern and questions for our hero.

Alongside the album, Berhana releases a short film ‘The Nomad’s Dream’, a work that is in its own right as layered and mesmerising as the music it accompanies. In creating the album and film, Berhanaexplored a deeper connection with his Ethiopian roots, travelling to the capital Addis Ababa and connecting with the people and creatives of his mother country. Film screenings have been held in London, New York, Los Angeles and indeed Addis Ababa, all to critical reception. Inspiration for the film was taken from 1966 student film ‘Have A Coke’, which was put together by Ethiopian students studying at UCLA.

Berhana first entered public consciousness in 2016 with the self titled Berhana EP which was acclaimed across the board, praised for its immersive nature and deeply personal insights into the life of a twenty something creative. In 2019, Berhana released his debut album HAN, which taking cues from Midnight Marauders by A Tribe Called Quest, included a narrator interwoven in its tracklisting, guiding the listener through a genre-bending journey of funk, soul, hip-hop and R&B. Throughout his career, Berhana has received support from a wide variety of media publications including The Fader, Essence, The Atlantic, Clash Music, COLORS, Wordplay Magazine and more.

Across Amén የዘላን ህልም (The Nomad’s Dream) we are granted insight into a coming of age story that interweaves Berhana’s experiences as a first generation immigrant, searching for connection with his ancestral land whilst simultaneously forging a meaningful life in America. The project is a multilayered triumph of sounds, textures, experiences and indeed lessons to be absorbed by any child of the diaspora and beyond.

Berhana sat down with Wordplay Magazine to chat about everything music:

1. how did it all begin what sparked your passion for music?

I've always loved music and I've always loved writing and words. You know, going back, I always take it to Michael Jackson's Moonwalker - I feel like that film had a profound effect on me. It was something watched over and over again. And I wrote my first song when I was really young, and it was a way to express things that I didn't even realise I was feeling, in a way to cope. And that's really what attracted me to it.

2. How would you describe your sound?

I wouldn't. I think I would just have whoever listen to my music and have them describe it for me. I think my sound is something that's evolved so much throughout the years, and you can go back and really hear that, and that's kind of what makes music exciting to me. I don't know what the next album is going to sound like. Just like I didn't know what this album would sound like a couple of years ago.

3. Who or what do you consider to be the biggest influence on your music?

I think that's an answer that is constantly changing for me. Not to sound pretentious, but I think it's just my experiences and what I've been through in the world around me is what shapes my music. In this last album, I feel like a lot of that had to do with identity, family things in my life that I had never really dealt with my past.

4. What's the proudest moment to date for you as an artist?

In 2020, I was asked to do a show in Adisabeba in Ethiopia, and that was actually my first time to Ethiopia, which is where my family is from. And I was able to take my mother with me, and it was her first time back in 47 years. And I feel like that's a memory I'll always just have for the rest of my life. Being able to experience the country through her eyes and just to be able to be there while she was feeling all of that emotion of being back for the first time in so long. It was a really special moment for me, but also for her and my family.

5. Name something you can't live without?

That one's easy, coffee.

6. Why this is so important to you?

This is my favourite part of the day. You know, you get to sit down with people you love, have nice conversation and by the end of it you have a little more energy and you go about your day. I think that's really special.

7. you just released your new album “Amen”. Talk us through your new work and the evolution from your last album, Han.

Han, I felt like, was both albums are journeys. I feel like Han was a bit more of an external journey, this idea of being on a plane and coming back home from some distant place, whereas this album is also a journey, but it's much more internal. It's about self discovery, coming to terms with who you are, where you come from, what makes you you real individualism and coming to this place of acceptance. So, yeah, both journeys are just different.

8. What's the album you played more than any others?

Probably The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill or My Beautiful, Dark, Twisted Fantasy or something. But lately, the album I've been playing over and over again has been Wede Harer Guzo by Hailu Mergia, yeah, lately. I can't get enough of that album.

9. We know you're releasing a short film coming out soon. Why the decision of more visuals?

It was an opportunity to expand on the album, expand on the world, provide another layer and just give depth to the project.

I feel like you can listen to an album and take away one thing, but if you watch visuals, you can take away something else or experience the music differently than you would have if you had just listened to the album. One of my favourite things about music when I was a kid was always like watching the videos and yeah, this was you an exciting opportunity to do something I had never done before.

10. Do you have any advice for our readers who might be trying to play the mad game of music?

I think just trust your gut and get out of your own way. Create as much as possible. Don't be afraid to mess up and really enjoy what you're doing. Don't get lost in the business of things. Like if you really it got into music because you love it, then that should be all that matters.

Interview and Pictures: Silvia Fox