Francis Falceto, a young music promoter from Poitiers in France, stepped nervously off an Aeroflot flight from Moscow and into the dark, empty streets of Ethiopia's capital, which had been cleared ...

Download the mix below, and read the Q+A after the jump ... it touches on a lot of African influences—especially Ethiopian music, which is pretty popular right now because of the Ethiopiques ...

This formed important context; waltz time (3/4 and 6/8) is very important in Ethiopian music, and Chopin, as became clear in the second half, is a major influence on Yifrashewa’s composing.

Their most recent adventure was in Ethiopia, where they partnered with Chapel Hill non-profit IntraHealth. They set up the initial lab in June and began working on music with a group of youths.