Day One: 7 March 2022 (Shikangania and Mukumu) Story
…t caused us some delays when the laptop overheated due to the hot tropical sun, resulting in drops in frame rates. We solved this problem simply by avoiding direct sunlight and staying in the shade. Due to the short period assigned for the completion of this project, we did not have time to conduct a recce and for that reason we came to realize rather late that some of the venues chosen for the recordings had no main power outlets. Fortunately and…
What We Do Page
…field visits in both Kenya and Uganda. Our long term goal is to visit each country in East Africa and research, document and record the music and dance of the major traditional music styles of each region. Click on the following links to read our field reports from each of our visits: Music of the Mijikenda – Kenya’s Coastal Region Music of the Luo – Nyanza Province, Kenya Music of the Kalenjin, Great Rift Valley, Kenya Music of the Batwa, Kisoro,…
Day 9 – Sunday 9th July 2017 Story
…lutes or lyres – The strings are attached to a yoke which lies in the same plane as the sound‐table and consists of two arms and a cross‐bar.” Through a group interview, we attempted to compare them in: size (size of resonator; length of arms and per extension of strings); materials of fabrication (types of wood); body parts (any specific additional parts and why); strings number; playing techniques (position of instrument; hands positioning and f…
Day Two: February 17, 2020 (Stonetown) Story
…Vuai Juma Vuai. Ibrihim Ali Hassan has two brothers and two sons (youngest is 10) in this group. Songs: Mzuri Sana Nabia – About the Prophet Mohamed Yaa Nabia Salamu Alaika – Greeting for the Prophet Mohamed sung in Arabic. Hongera Bwana Harusi – Congratulations to the bride and groom Ilifurahika – The whole world is rejoicing after the battle of the prophets Ndoa Ni Sunna Adhimu – Perfect Marriage…
Day 4 – Tuesday 4th July 2017 Story
…ately a rather difficult interview to conduct because of the interviewee’s reservations, as well as for reasons of bad weather that chased us away before we could complete it. However, we did manage to find out several interesting information, notably, on his beginnings as a player and on the instrument manufacturing itself. Alex Ogwe confirmed our two generation theory and said he only started playing once his father was gone. He also gave us an…
Day Zero: 6 March 2022 – Travel To Stream Story
…ians via M-pesa and Pay-Pal contributions. Another possibility was to sell tickets with the use of online access codes that admit ticket holders into the virtual performance. The result was that a number of live streaming studios where performers book sessions to perform and stream their concerts sprung up in Nairobi. Some venues also adapted to hosting online performances, directly streaming shows to mobile devices and computers of audiences wher…
Field Recording Report by Kahithe Kiiru Story
…became ery famous and started getting invitations to perform all over the country. His group added dancers, a keyboard and a drum-set, as they started making their livelihoods out of music alone. DAY 4 – Tuesday 20th February 2018 As we waited for the recording team to set up at the Santa Maria Resort, we started the morning of February 20thwith an interview with Fadhilee Itulya – our Influences artist. Born in 1988 in Kakamega town in Western Ke…
3. Background of the Naizungwe drums Story
…ief of that clan. The Basoga ethnic society from the Eastern region of the country is organized according to clans. Eleven clans are royal; they are the leaders and the rest are not. One of the clans is the baise muwaya. Their regalia is naizungwe drums. Is there any particular reason they no longer have any players (like with the entenga drums)? The clans organized themselves into bigger administrative units that culminated into the eleven chiefd…
Tabu Osusa Staff Profile
…running some of the top recording and performing bands and artists in the country, including the much acclaimed Orchestra Virunga and The Nairobi City Ensemble, and more recently Iddi Achieng,’ Makadem, Suzanna Owiyo, Olith Ratego, Ogoya Nengo, Gargar and Winyo to mention but a few. Together with the director of Alliance Française in Nairobi, Tabu Osusa co-chairs the steering committee of the “Spotlight on Kenyan Music“ project which seeks to dis…
Day One: The Iteso People and their Music Story
…lage know this is a man of bad character. Achaung Kakolong: This is a song sung during droughts. Everyone in the village is running out of vegetables, and in the song the performers ask the villages to look for vegetables along the river banks. They need find wild vegetables wherever they can. We asked him about the type of vegetables they can find and they include “Erenge” (dark greens) and “Amudokolo” (vines). During the drought, all the women d…
Uganda: Music of the Northern Tribes Gallery
…n Uganda, Kampala and Entebbe where we recorded the music of the Acholi, Alur and Iteso tribes. The journey started in Entebbe where we collected two vehicles to take the team to towns and villages in the north of the country including Gulu, Pakwach, Nebbi and Soroti. After 5 days recording in the north we returned to Kampala to record two more groups based near Naguru which perform in the traditional Alur and Acholi styles….
Otieno Aloka Group
…pressure against the central stick. It provides a fast-moving, melodic accompaniment, similar to the fiddle in folk and country music….
Day Four: January 21 2019 Mwanza Story
…wants to be always right. Just accept it’ Ba Tanzania (Malima): Praising country, encouraging farmers and hard work – this song had an incredible beat. Ng’oma ya Asilia: a traditional song Ali Nilihali: A lady turned down Man 1 because he was poor and settled on Man 2 who was even poorer. Meanwhile Man 1 got rich and lady came back to him and the song asks, “So how did it end up?” Magic Moment on a song Ndono. They then did a lot of dances with…
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…ians, British missionaries had travelled with a wind up gramophone playing country music, and that of Jimmie Rogers especially. Here’s Tabu’s telling of the rest of the story in Muzik: “And then the big bomber: the song I consider Tracey’s single most outstanding recording, “Chemirocha,” a paean to Jimmy Rogers (yes, the country singer) by some Kenyan girls. The song is haunting but made more so by Tracey’s introduction on the LP record (not inclu…
Global Influences Project: Artist Submissions Page
…he rhythm familiar and similar to some of the 6/8 rhythms found in my home country Ethiopia. As the electric bass is my main instrument, I first tried to identify a root note to play along with the song and build a bassline and groove from there. Afterwards, I found that some agogo or cowbell samples and some synths to evolve the track into a more dance/electro track per the prompt.” If you want to hear more of Yohanan’s work, head to www.blackbud…
2. Naizungwe Drums – progress report 1 Story
…comes from a famous family of drum makers from Kalalu village, Buyanga sub country, Bugweri County in Iganga district. Muhamudu was taught how to make drums by two of his uncles who shared their wisdom and experience with him, and tells us that ever since he was young, his relatives and neighbours have all been drum makers. This begins to make sense when he says that one drum offers 54 different jobs: cutting the tree, shaping the trunks, putting…