COUNTLESS trips to Ethiopia have made the East African country a second home for roots singer Orthodox Issachar. His travels there inspired the song Kuch Bel.

The diminutive artiste first visited Ethiopia in 1986. Because it is the home of Emperor Haile Selassie I, spiritual leader of Rastafari, it is a special place for members of that faith.

“Reading the Bible a chapter a day, I take heed and realise that this is the land we as a people should return to,” said Orthodox Issachar.

Produced by Sangie Davis, Kuch Bel is recorded in English and Amharic, a traditional Ethiopian language. It is a guide of sorts as it mentions the country’s transport system (Makenia) and alphabet (fidel).

Kuch Bel was recorded two years ago at Tuff Gong in Kingston with guitarists Dalton Browne and Earl ‘Chinna’ Smith, drummer Cliff Ellis, bass player Dale Brown and O’zoune on keyboards.

A video for the song, filmed in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa and the town of Shashemane, has also been released.

Shashemane has been home to many Jamaicans since the late 1960s. In 1948, Selassie pledged land in that region to people from the Caribbean interested in settling in Ethiopia.

Most of the Jamaicans in Shashemane are members of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Orthodox Issachar, who has lived in Canada for 40 years, is part of that organisation.

Born Patrick Spence in Montego Bay and raised in east Kingston, Orthodox Issachar has been recording since 2000. He has done three albums to date, all produced by Davis, a ‘Twelve Tribes’ stalwart.

His previous set, Rastaman, was released in 2009.

­— Howard Campbell