Awalom Gebremaria is an Eritrean singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. According to Awalom, his musical influences were from Bob Marley, Yemane Barya, and well-known Eritrean singer, Abraham Aferewerki. While in his country, Awalom learned to play the Wata and the Krar, two important Eritrean musical instruments, and in 2007, he completed his debut and only album, Desdes. Shortly, he emigrated to the United States and never got to know how well his debut album did in his home country.