Mahmoud Ahmed (ማሕሙድ አሕመድ) Discography: Albums, Songs and Career Guide

The Mahmoud Ahmed (ማሕሙድ አሕመድ) discography begins with a seven inch single on Amha Records in 1971. It runs to Le Tarik (ለታሪክ), the album he presented in Addis Ababa on August 26, 2026, as his 26th and last.

His most famous recordings come from the 1970s. He made singles for Philips Ethiopia with the Imperial Bodyguard Band. He then made four long playing records (LPs) with the Ibex Band, for Amha Records, Kaifa Records and his own label. The French label Buda Musique later reissued much of this music in its Éthiopiques series, on volumes 6, 7, 19 and 26.

This page lists his albums by year, with labels and catalogue numbers. It also lists his best known songs in Amharic script and in English spelling, with English translations where a published source gives one. For the story of his life, read our profile of Mahmoud, the king of tizita.

A Note on Amharic Spellings

The cover of his 1975 Kaifa album spells his name ማሕሙድ ፡ አሕመድ. Amharic Wikipedia spells it መሐሙድ አህመድ, and other records use ማህሙድ አህመድ. All three forms refer to the same singer.

The Amharic titles on this page come from record covers and labels, as listed in the Discogs record database. Others come from Amharic Wikipedia and from The Reporter, the Addis Ababa weekly. When we found no Amharic source for a title, we give the English spelling only. We translate a title only where liner notes, the label or a published review has done so, and we name that source. Other titles are left untranslated.

Mahmoud Ahmed Albums and Records by Year

Year	Title	Label	Notes
1971	Nafqot New Yegodagn / Yasdestal	Amha Records, single	His first record, later added to Éthiopiques 6
1972 to 1974	Fourteen songs on singles	Philips Ethiopia	With the Imperial Bodyguard Band; collected on Éthiopiques 26
1973	Mahmoud Ahmed	Amha Records, AELP 80	First LP, with the Ibex Band; reissued as Éthiopiques 6: Almaz
1974	Mahmoud Ahmed	Amha Records, AELP 100	Second Amha LP, with the Ibex Band; reissued as Éthiopiques 19: Alèmyé
1975	ማሕሙድ ፡ አሕመድ (Mahmoud Ahmed)	Kaifa Records, KF 20	With the Ibex Band; the core of Ere Mela Mela
1978	Jeguol Naw Betwa	Mahmoud Ahmed Records, LR MA 10	His own label, with the Ibex Band
1986	Ere Mela Mela	Crammed Discs, Belgium	First European release of his music; reissued by Hannibal Records
1993	Hulum Yisma	Cassette, no label listed	Released in Ethiopia
1994	ትዝታዎች (Tizitawoch)	Ambassel, cassette	Includes Tizita, Bati and Ambassel
1996	Tizita	Life Records, United States	Compact disc (CD) with Anchi Bale Game and Yeshi Haregitu
1997	Soul of Addis	Stern’s Africa and Earthworks	New recordings, with English titles printed
1997	Live in Paris	Long Distance, France	Concert recording
1999	Éthiopiques 6: Almaz	Buda Musique, France	The 1973 Amha LP plus his 1971 single
1999	Éthiopiques 7: Erè Mèla Mèla	Buda Musique, France	The 1975 Kaifa songs plus two 1978 songs
2003	ይትባረክ (Yitbarek)	Yene Production, United States	Includes songs titled Almaz and Kulum
2005	Éthiopiques 19: Alèmyé	Buda Musique, France	The 1974 Amha LP
2007	Ethiogroove	Buda Musique, video disc (DVD)	Concert with the Either/Orchestra, filmed near Paris in 2006
2010	Éthiopiques 26: Mahmoud Ahmed & The Imperial Bodyguard Band	Buda Musique, France	His Philips singles from 1972 to 1974
2012	Mahmoud Ahmed	Mississippi Records, United States	Vinyl reissue of the 1974 Amha LP
2026	ለታሪክ (Le Tarik)	Yisakal Entertainment	Announced August 26, 2026, with 13 songs

Discogs also lists many cassettes from the 1980s and 1990s, several with no year. They came out on Ethiopian shop labels such as Ambassel, Electra Music Shop and Mahmoud Music Shop. One is titled ማህሙድ አህመድ ከሮሃ ባንድ ጋር, or Mahmoud Ahmed With the Roha Band.

The 1975 Kaifa Album, Song by Song

Kaifa Records released the album in Addis Ababa in 1975. The front cover gives his name in Amharic and English. The back cover reads “Mahmoud Ahmed with the Ibex Band” and lists the songs in both scripts. The record was pressed in Greece, according to its Discogs entry.

Here are the eleven songs in the order on the cover. The Amharic is as printed on the record, and the second spelling is ours.

1. አባይ ፡ ማዶ, Abay Mado (Abbay Mado)
2. እምቧ ፡ በለው, Imbwa Belew (Embwa Belew). A 2000 cassette spells the first word እምቢ.
3. አታውሩልኝ ፡ ሌላ, Atawurulign Lela
4. ትዝታ, Tizita (Tezeta). The notes to his Live in Paris album translate it as “Nostalgia.”
5. ኦሆሆ ፡ ገዳማ, Ohoho Gedama
6. እባክሽ ፡ ታረቂኝ, Ibakesh Tarekign (Ebakesh Tareqign)
7. እረ ፡ መላ ፡ መላ, Ere Mela Mela, which Pan African Music translates as “I am looking for a solution” (our English rendering of its French). The Reporter spells the first word ኧረ.
8. መቼ ፡ ነው, Meche New
9. ስደተኛሽ ፡ ነኝ, Sidetegnash Negn
10. ሳምራዬ, Samraye (Samiraye)
11. እንዴነሽ ፡ ገዳው, Indenesh Gedaw (Endenesh Gedawo)

The Ibex Band also backed him on his two Amha albums and on his 1978 album. Its guitarist Selamino and bass player Giovanni Rico planned a Europe tour with a new Ibex lineup for November 2026.

Buda Musique released the Kaifa songs again in 1999 as Éthiopiques 7: Erè Mèla Mèla. The label says the volume holds all of his recordings that Kaifa Records released in 1975. That means the LP plus two songs from a Kaifa single, Ashèwèyna (አሸወይና) and Bèlomi Bènna (በሎሚ በና). The volume also adds two songs from his 1978 album, Bèmen Sèbèb Letlash and Fetsum Denq Ledj Nèsh.

Ere Mela Mela: The Album That Reached Europe

Crammed Discs, a label based in Brussels, released Ere Mela Mela in 1986. Its notes say the music was remastered from original recordings made in Addis Ababa between 1975 and 1978. The songs came from the Kaifa album and from the 1978 album on Mahmoud’s own label.

Buda Musique calls Ere Mela Mela “the very first record of modern Ethiopian music released in Europe.” Crammed’s own history page gives the year as 1987. The record’s catalogue entry and Buda Musique both give 1986. Hannibal Records later issued the album again.

The Amha Records Albums of 1973 and 1974

Amha Records, the label of the producer Amha Eshete, released Mahmoud’s first LP in November 1973. The cover simply reads Mahmoud Ahmed. Buda Musique later named its reissue after the opening song, Almaz.

Amharic Wikipedia names four songs from this period that he sang with the Ibex Band at the Ras Hotel: ኩሉን ማን ኳለሽ (Kulun Mankwalesh), አምባሰል (Ambassel), ችቦ አይሞላም ወገቧ (Chibo Aymolam Wegebwa) and አልማዝ ምን ዕዳ ነው (Almaz Men Eda New). All four appear on the 1973 album.

The second Amha LP came out in October 1974. Buda Musique reissued it in 2005 as Éthiopiques 19: Alèmyé. It closes with a version of Tezeta that runs over twelve minutes. Amharic Wikipedia lists ደኑን ጥሰሽ (Denun Tesesh) among his known songs; the record calls it Ney Denun Tesesh.

Mahmoud Ahmed’s Key Songs in Amharic and English

Amharic	English spelling	Published English title	Where to find it
ናፍቆት ነው የጎዳኝ	Nafqot New Yegodagn		1971 single; Éthiopiques 6
ያስደስታል	Yasdestal		1971 single; Éthiopiques 6
የሺ ሐረጊቱ	Yeshi Haregitu		1972 Philips single; Éthiopiques 26
ኩሉን ማን ኳለሽ	Kulun Mankwalesh	Who Put Khol on Your Eyes (Live in Paris notes)	1973 Amha LP; Éthiopiques 6
አምባሰል	Ambassel		1973 Amha LP; Éthiopiques 6
አልማዝ ምን ዕዳ ነው	Almaz Men Eda New		1973 Amha LP; Éthiopiques 6
ችቦ አይሞላም ወገቧ	Chibo Aymolam		1973 Amha LP; Éthiopiques 6
ደኑን ጥሰሽ	Ney Denun Tesesh		1974 Amha LP; Éthiopiques 19
ትዝታ	Tizita (Tezeta)	Nostalgia (Live in Paris notes)	1972 single; 1974 and 1975 albums
አባይ ማዶ	Abay Mado		1975 Kaifa LP; Éthiopiques 7
እረ መላ መላ	Ere Mela Mela	Oh, a Way Out, a Way Out	1975 Kaifa LP; Éthiopiques 7
አይኖቼ ተራቡ	Aynoche Terabu		1975 Amha single; 2016 Mr Bongo single
ተው ልመድ ገላዬ	Tew Limed Gelaye		Named by The Reporter among his best known songs
ይትባረክ	Yitbarek	Let It Be Blessed (The Continent)	2003 album Yitbarek
ለታሪክ	Le Tarik	For History (Capital)	2026 album

The English titles in the table come from published sources. The notes to Live in Paris, translated into English by Karen Albrecht, list the songs as “Kulun (Who Put Khol on Your Eyes)” and “Tezeta (Nostalgia).” Pan African Music, writing in French about Ere Mela Mela in 2020, said the title can be translated as “I am looking for a solution.” The Continent, a weekly news publication, translated Yitbarek as “let it be blessed.” It wrote that no wedding is complete without the song. Capital, the Addis Ababa weekly, translated Le Tarik as “For History.”

Albums After the 1970s

In the 1980s and 1990s most of his new music came out on cassette in Ethiopia. A 1994 cassette, ትዝታዎች, carries the songs ባቲ (Bati), ትዝታ (Tizita) and አምባሳል (Ambassel).

Soul of Addis came out in 1997 on the labels Stern’s Africa and Earthworks. He produced the album himself. Its notes print English titles beside the Amharic ones, such as Nafkot (Longing), Selam (Peace) and Amesginalehu (Thank You). The notes say nine songs are in Amharic and one is in Guragigna, the language of his parents.

Live in Paris followed on the French label Long Distance, with concert versions of Tezeta, Kulun and Mela Mela. Yitbarek appeared in 2003 on Yene Production in the United States. In 2007 Buda Musique released Ethiogroove, a video disc of his concert with the Either/Orchestra at the Banlieues Bleues festival near Paris on April 7, 2006.

Le Tarik is the last album in the list. The Reporter wrote that it has 13 songs. Mahmoud presented Le Tarik at the Sheraton Addis hotel, Capital reported. Yisakal Entertainment is coordinating the project.

Mahmoud Ahmed Career Timeline

1. 1941: Born in the Mercato area of Addis Ababa. His farewell concert website gives the date as May 8.
2. 1962: First performance with the Imperial Bodyguard Band, at the Arizona Club in Addis Ababa.
3. 1971: First single, Nafqot New Yegodagn, on Amha Records.
4. 1972 to 1974: Singles for Philips Ethiopia with the Imperial Bodyguard Band.
5. 1973 to 1978: Four LPs with the Ibex Band, on Amha, Kaifa and his own label.
6. 1986: Crammed Discs releases Ere Mela Mela in Belgium.
7. 1999 to 2010: Buda Musique reissues his 1970s work on Éthiopiques 6, 7, 19 and 26.
8. January 11, 2025: Farewell concert at Millennium Hall in Addis Ababa.
9. August 26, 2026: Presents Le Tarik, his 26th and final album.