Sileshi Demissie ( also known as Gash Abera Molla ) is an exceptional singer and musician from Ethiopia. He was born and raised in Addis Ababa. He started studying krar when he was a kid with his father. After a while, he attended the Yared School Of Music to be trained more technically. He loves exploring the deeply rooted traditional Ethiopian culture. He spent around four years studying the traditional culture and finding the true essence of why it exists.
As a musician who has researched Ethiopian Culture, Sileshi is highly respected for his knowledge of the vocal and instrumental music of Ethiopia. He creates one-of-a-kind vocal styling using a pioneer traditional 6-string lyre named Krar. He uses a complex vocal styling that is even hard to mimic. He constitutes a quality that is rare to find in several musicians nowadays – Authenticity. He is an authentic artist which has helped him stand out by creating his own vocal style using multiple music tools like Krar, fiddles, harps, and drums. He has performed his music throughout the world – majorly in the United States, Europe, and Africa.
Sileshi founded the Gash Abera Molla Association, an association that works on several social and environmental issues throughout the country. In case you are wondering where he got his nickname from, he created the character “Gash Abera Molla” in his music to symbolize an old man who takes care of his local community. Sileshi used this character to convey the association’s message and people used the name to call him. It perfectly suited him as he was, eventually, the old man who takes care of his community.
Our community can learn a lot from game-changers like Sileshi Demissie (Gash Abera Molla) as it is important to recognize those who have created an impact and learn from them to take care of our country in our own path. Sileshi has shown an immense effort in creating and shaping the youth to be a part of an actual environmental change by teaching us how to clean our environment starting from home. We remember him leading a campaign and collecting trash using a wooden stage as well. It is not only his efforts but his creative approaches to tackle environmental problems that have helped him stand out from any of such activists.
