Not an expat, but....

Hi there -
I am most definitely not an Expat in Ethiopia, but in the past I have lived and worked in Nepal and Brazil, and used this forum to make links with other expats and reply to people who posted messages about the country, asking for help.

So, now the shoe is on the other foot, as it were.
I am coming to Addis on the 17th January, sadly only for 10 days and wondered if anyone could share their experiences on where to go for food, culture, areas outside the city, etc.
More specifically, where to go for live music (both traditional and contemporary) and if there is an 'underground' or experimental music scene and/or youth culture.

Over the next 6 months I am visiting a number of African nations (including DRC, Nigeria, S Sudan, Angola, Mali, Niger) with the general purpose of recording the ambient sounds of each city/country, hopefully record and perform with musicians and to document this with still and moving images at an exhibition in Brighton, UK.
At this point in the project, the idea of the show is to explode assumptions about Africa, but things always change.

So, if anyone can be of help I would be very grateful. And if someone out there wanted to meet up for a coffee, beer, that would be even better.
Many Thanks
Thom

I am Gashaw, from Addis Ababa and it will be a pleasure to meet up with foreigners and share experience. We can meet and I will take you to the places you are interested to, I actually know some nice places where live music is on the stage week and week out...Let me know if you want to meet me and we will talk about how to meet...