Midi Maxi & Efti
Midi Maxi & Efti Biography
Midi, Maxi & Efti was a band comprising the twin sisters Midi and Maxi Berhanu, and Freweyni "Efti" Teclehaimanot – all of them born in 1976. Midi and Maxi were refugees from Ethiopia, who had come to Sweden with their parents in 1985. Efti was born in a guerrilla camp in Eritrea during the war against successive Ethiopian governments. She spent two years in a refugee camp in Sudan, before coming to Sweden in 1985. The three girls finally met in the Stockholm suburb of Akalla, and became best friends.
At the age of 13, they used to spend nights and weekends hanging out at "Sergels torg" – a public square in the center of Stockholm, and felt very cool. Several times they were asked by strangers if they were interested in singing or modeling. One of these strangers seemed to be serious, and through him, they got in contact with the music producers Alexander Bard, Anders Wollbeck and Per Adebratt – the men behind many successfull bands at that time, e.g. Army Of Lovers. The girls were given some instrumental demo songs, and started to write their own lyrics. They wanted to share their experiences, and wrote about their childhood in Africa, or just as well something that had happened last Friday night in the center of Stockholm. The long lasting conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea could sometimes have an effect on their friendship, which is described in the song "Sisterhood of Africa". Midi, Maxi and Efti were rapping their lyrics on top of a Ragga beat with African influences, and all of a sudden their first single "Bad Bad Boys" was released in April 1991. It reached number 11 in the Swedish charts, and their follow-ups "Masenko" and "Ragga steady" reached number 39 and 22 respectively. Jean-Pierre Barda and Camilla Thulin, (who also worked with Army of Lovers), did the Africa-inspired styling of the girls. E-type and Johan Renck (alias Stakka Bo) were also involved in the production.
After a successfull year in Sweden, Midi, Maxi & Efti went on tours in Europe, South Africa and the US, but at a strict request of their parents, they continued their Middle school studies in Akalla. A self-titled album and two singles were released in the US in 1992, and a music video for Ragga Steady was directed by Frank Sacramento. A couple of songs were featured in American movies (e.g. "Masenko" in "For Love Or Money" 1993, with Michael J Fox and Gabrielle Anwar), and "Bad Bad Boys" could be heard in an episode of "Beavis and Butt-head" in 1994. The group was offered a record contract by one of the biggest labels in US, but declined since Midi and Maxi's parents wanted the girls to continue studying, and the trio split up. After finishing Middle School, Efti was signed in London and went there for one year. However, The record project was fizzling out, and Efti returned to Sweden and started a coffe house business instead. Midi and Maxi have been living in London for many years, and Efti has no contact with them anymore.
There have been many rumours about new material to be released by the three members. In 1995 it was said that Midi and Maxi had recorded eight new songs together with Mats Thunborg, among them a single called "Unity", and in August 2000 Efti was expected to release a single, but nothing happened.
In 2007, Efti did the vocals for one of the tracks on the Swedish producer and hip hop artist Dr Alban's album "Back To Basics". According to Wikipedia, she has also released a solo single called "One night". A documentary film about the trio, titled "I like it like it was", was made in 2009 by director Farnaz Arbabi, and designer Parasto Backman, both of them old schoolmates with Midi, Maxi & Efti. Arbabi has said that the trio lately has been very sought after by media, but never give any interviews, which has resulted in a "Garbo Effect" and inflated the excitement around the group.
Since 2009, Efti is collaborating with Petter Wallenberg – a writer, producer and DJ working in both London and Stockholm. They have recorded some ragga/electro beats to which Efti is singing in Tigrinya – a language spoken in Eritrea. Efti has performed at Mums Mums – a performance art night club in Stockholm organized by Petter Wallenberg, and she is also featured in the club's magazine.
Links: Wikipedia | Så gick det för Midi Maxi & Efti (Swedish) | Re:public #8/08 (Swedish)
Bad Bad Boys Music Video
Midi Maxi & Efti Discography
Audio Samples do not exceed 30 seconds in length.
Music available on itunes(se) itunes(gb) itunes(de) itunes(jp)
7 BAD BAD BOYS
1991 Sunrise 7SOL-2 (Sweden 7")
Audio Samples do not exceed 30 seconds in length.
1. Bad Bad Boys (3:23)
2. Bad Bad Boys (Dub Version) (4:13)
12 CD BAD BAD BOYS
1991-04-22 Sunrise 12SOL-2 (Sweden 12", plain sleeve)
1991 Sunrise 12SOL-3
1991 NTI 1NTI 589 (France 12")
1991 Ultrapop ULT 9510-0 (Germany 12")
1991 Sunrise 1103012 (Netherlands, Germany cd)
Audio Samples do not exceed 30 seconds in length.
1. Bad Bad Boys (Ext Club Mix / Ext Club Version) (5:45)
2. Bad Bad Boys (Dub Version / Bad Bad Dub) (4:13)
3. Bad Bad Boys (Radio Mix / Radio Version) (3:23)
LP CD MIDI MAXI & EFTI
1991 Sunrise SOLLP-1 (Sweden LP)
1991 Sunrise SOLCD-1 (Sweden CD)
1991 Ultrapop ULT 9511-2 (Germany CD)
Audio Samples do not exceed 30 seconds in length.
1. Ragga Steady (3:22)
2. Poppadink Tribe (3:28)
3. Masenko (3:18)
4. Basement Boyfriend (3:33)
5. I Got Riddim (3:13)
6. Go Girlie Go (3:22)
7. Culture Of Youth (3:12)
8. Bad Bad Boys (3:23)
9. Jamma On Da Savannah (3:59)
10. You Can Make It (3:25)
11. Sisterhood Of Africa (3:22)
12. Ragga Steady Dub (4:02)
7 MASENKO
1991 Sunrise 7SOL-2 (Sweden 7")
Audio Samples do not exceed 30 seconds in length.
1. Masenko
2. Jamma On Da Savannah (3:59)
12 CD MASENKO
1991-09-17 Sunrise 12SOL6 (Sweden 12", plain sleeve)
1991 Sunrise CD12SOL6 (Sweden cd)
Audio Samples do not exceed 30 seconds in length.
1. Masenko (Graduation Mix) (5:35)
2. Masenko (Ballroom Mix) (5:23)
3. Masenko (Latin Soul Mix) (5:14)
4. Masenko (Radio Edit) (3:18)
7 RAGGA STEADY
1991 Sunrise 7SOL-3 (Sweden 7")
Audio Samples do not exceed 30 seconds in length.
1. Ragga Steady (3:22)
2. Ragga Steady (Dub Version) (4:02)
12 RAGGA STEADY
1991-04-21 Sunrise 12SOL-3 (Sweden 12", plain sleeve)
Audio Samples do not exceed 30 seconds in length.
1. Ragga Steady (Kooley Hooligan Mix) (6:21)
2. Ragga Steady (Nuzakalla Dub) (4:02)
3. Ragga Steady (Radio Edit) (3:27)
7 RAGGA STEADY
1991 Ultrapop ULT 9527-0 P (Germany 12" promo)
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1. Ragga Steady (Koolie Hooligan Mix) (6:50)
2. Ragga Steady (Ragga Go Mix) (6:19)
CD RAGGA STEADY
1992 Ultrapop ULT 9511-5 / 9827-5 (Germany cd)
Audio Samples do not exceed 30 seconds in length.
1. Ragga Steady (Radio Edit) (3:19)
2. Ragga Steady (Edit) (3:34)
3. Ragga Steady (Ragga - Go Mix (6:19)
12 CD CULTURE OF YOUTH
1991 Sunrise 12SOL-7 (Sweden 12", plain sleeve)
1991 Sunrise CD12SOL7 (Sweden cd)
Audio Samples do not exceed 30 seconds in length.
1. Culture Of Youth [Radio Edit] (3:10)
2. Culture Of Youth [Extenden Version] (6:32)
3. Culture Of Youth [Dub Version] (5:10)
CD BAD BAD BOYS
1992 Columbia CSK 4596 (US cd promo)
Audio Samples do not exceed 30 seconds in length.
1. Bad Bad Boys (K.C.'s Mix) (3:23)
CD BAD BAD BOYS
1992 Columbia CSK 4584 (US cd promo)
Audio Samples do not exceed 30 seconds in length.
1. Bad Bad Boys (Radio Mix Edit) (2:52)
2. Bad Bad Boys (Mischief Mix Edit) (3:09)
CD BAD BAD BOYS
1992 Columbia CSK 74215 (US cd promo)
Audio Samples do not exceed 30 seconds in length.
1. Bad Bad Boys (Album Version) (3:23)
2. Bad Bad Boys (Mischief Mix Radio Edit) (3:40)
3. Bad Bad Boys (Mischief Mix Extended Version) (6:40)
12 CD BAD BAD BOYS
1992 Columbia 44 74138 (US 12")
1992 Columbia 44K 74138 (US cd)
Audio Samples do not exceed 30 seconds in length.
1. Bad Bad Boys (Mischief Mix) (6:40)
2. Bad Bad Boys (Bonus Beats) (3:30)
3. Bad Bad Boys (Radio Mix) (3:23)
4. Bad Bad Boys (Shadowzone Dub) (7:36)
5. Bad Bad Boys (Alex's Ext. Club Mix) (5:40)
6. Bad Bad Boys (Alex's Dub) (4:20)
CD RAGGA STEADY
1992 Columbia CSK 4682 / PRCD11118 (US cd promo)
Audio Samples do not exceed 30 seconds in length.
1. Ragga Steady (Radio Edit) 3:19
2. Ragga Steady (Edit) (3:34)
3. Ragga Steady (Ragga - Go Mix (6:19)
12 RAGGA STEADY
1992 Columbia 44 74429 (US 12")
Audio Samples do not exceed 30 seconds in length.
1. Ragga Steady (Ragga - Go Mix (6:19)
2. Ragga Steady (Shadow Zone Club Mix) (6:33)
3. Ragga Steady (Album Version) (3:22)
4. Ragga Steady (Kooley Hooligan Mix) (6:20)
5. Ragga Steady (Ragga-Go Dub) (6:19)
6. Ragga Steady (Nuzakalla Dub) (4:02)
7 BASEMENT BOYFRIEND
1991 Columbia GS7 05021 (US 7" promo)
Audio Samples do not exceed 30 seconds in length.
1. Basement Boyfriend (Ragga Mix) (3:44)
2. Basement Boyfriend (Dancehall Mix) (3:44)
LP CD MIDI MAXI & EFTI
1992 Brazil LP
1992 Columkbia 188.292 (US CD)
Audio Samples do not exceed 30 seconds in length.
1. Ragga Steady (3:22)
2. Poppadink Tribe (3:28)
3. Masenko (3:18)
4. Basement Boyfriend (3:33)
5. I Got Riddim (3:13)
6. Go Girlie Go (3:22)
7. Culture Of Youth (3:12)
8. Bad Bad Boys (3:23)
9. Jamma On Da Savannah (3:59)
10. You Can Make It (3:25)
11. Sisterhood Of Africa (3:22)
12. Ragga Steady Dub (4:02)
CD DR ALBAN
BACK TO BASICS
2007 RMG Rommehed Music Group
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1. Don't Joke With Fire
2. Street Vibes (feat Eeka Mouse)
3. Push It
4. I Wanna Know (feat Efti) (3:04)
5. Work Work (feat Jose Chameleone) (africa recall mix)
6. Give Me Lovin
7. Single Searching
8. Push It (ragga dub mix)
9. Don't Joke With Fire (club breeze mix)
10. The One
11. It's My Life 2007 (neomaster bonus track)
12. Habibi (feat Melissa)
13. Habibi (feat Melissa) (marocane remix)
14. Chiki Chiki (starclub video mix)
ONE NIGHT (EFTI)
2007
Audio Samples do not exceed 30 seconds in length.
