The Singing Wells podcast #5 Podcast
…Edition 5 of the Singing Wells podcast is here – with a bit of a catch up on the latest news from the past 12 months of the Singing Wells project. Click here to download Podcast 5…
Day Three: 9 March 2022 (Kisumu) Story
…alse starts we finished the recordings of Peter Akwabi at 4:00 PM with his latest song which is a tribute to D.O. Misiani, the maestro of benga music who died in the lakeside city in May 2006. Next on stage was Olith Ratego, a musician whose unique dodo style is one of the oldest forms of music performed by the Luo people of Western Kenya. Olith Ratego is a self-taught musician who plays a musical instrument fashioned by himself. It is a replica o…
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…Recording the Mperwa Dancers Recording the Batwa The Batwa of Kisoro Album Promotion of Batwa Culture – UOBDU Report Play Video #2 – Finding the Lost Voices of East Africa Play Video Letting Voices Be Heard Our mission at Singing Wells has always been to preserve the rich musical heritage of East Africa, whilst also promoting the importance of introducing this music to a wider audience so that this heritage doesn’t get lost. So many of our favouri…
Our Sponsors Page
…our recording activities in East Africa, and the we are very proud of the latest version. Thanks to Wes and the team at Nebulo Strata for their continued help and support. To find out more, go to: http://www.nebulostrata.com Clarkson, Wright & Jakes Type of Sponsor: donation in kind Thanks to Clarkson, Wright and Jakes solicitors who were a big help when we set up our charity, The Abubilla Music Foundation. For more information on their service…
Global Influences Project: Artist Submissions Page
…AWACH BOYS This upbeat bop has been submitted by Jay P Production for our latest installment of the Global Influences Project. We love how they used this beat to create something that got the whole team wanting to dance! When we asked about their process, Jay P Production said “We have always believed in selecting the best drums and sounds for each genre and that’s what we did here and we really appreciate you guys for believing in us.” We think…
The Revival of the Entongooli Page
…hreads are used to tune the Entongooli base. Stringing it Together In this latest video, we go back to visit our music scholars after a month away (due to the political climate and the Covid pandemic). Here we go back to our original instrument and strings, and begin to thread everything together to start the tuning process. It was great to go back and visit these students who are all working so hard and progressing so quickly towards their goal o…
Singing Wells Stories Page
…or the Sagat Traditional Dancers, visit their page here. If you haven’t signed up to the Singing Wells mailing list – please do. It is the best way to keep up to date with the project, our plans for recording and our latest content releases. You can do that below in the footer of the page. If you would like to hear more about the history of the Singing Wells project, then please check out our Podcasts on our Podcast Page…
Day One: February 16, 2020 (Ngawala Hotel) Story
…ow Countries Music Academy. For 50 years he’s taught music in Zanzibar and promotes other musicians. Other members of this group include: Ramadhan Muhidan (accordion), Ali Ibrahim Musa (Kanan or Qanun), Tatu Hamisi Amur (accordion), Asha Khemisi Amur (violin) and Malick Anas (fiddle). Malick is 75 and has played with the Professor since 1961. All songs were very Arab influenced by all the lyrics are Swahili. They played five songs:Bashraf Ilyas: A…
Unyago Group
…ls becoming women. The singers come from the Wagindo people, who came from Malawi to Zanzibar, probably through the slave trade. When the British stopped the slave trade they then stayed. This band has a strong African influence. The main leader, Amina Abdalla, studied and sang with Madam Bi Kidudi, a legendary singer in Unyago style (a chain-smoking rebel!). She followed Siti Binti Saad as a major Taarab vocalist and was considered queen of Taara…
Ketebul Music presents Shades of Benga Online News
…Benga: The Story of Popular Music in Kenya 1946 -2016’. You can watch the latest episode below, and also find out more at their website here. Shades of Benga: The Story of Popular Music in Kenya delves into the foundations of modern Kenyan music, examining external influences from the English waltz to Afro Cuban Rumba and how they helped mould new music styles across Africa. Rumba was brought to Eastern Africa via the itinerant Congolese musici…
Latest Field Trip – Kenya 2018 News
…We’ve returned from our latest field trip, this time to western Kenya. Field reports coming soon….
Tanzania 2017, Dar es Salaam and Bagamoyo News
…We’ve just returned from our latest field trip discovering the music which took us to the eastern side of Tanzania. We witnessed an amazingly rich offering of music and met some extremely talented musicians. Read our field reports here to learn about our experiences with a snake dance, an amazing performance of a female initiation ceremony ,and recording members of the extraordinary Zawose family….
Discussions with Peter Cooke: ethnomusicologist and Ugandan music expert News
…es at Kyambogo to implement our entenga restoration scheme to preserve and promote this traditional instrument for future generations. Students practice entenga drum-chime at Kyambogo in 1968 (Musisi is furthest from the camera) Peter’s research into African music is extensive. “It all began in 1964, a few weeks before travelling out to begin teaching in Kampala, Uganda,” says Peter. “On the stage of the Prince’s Theatre, London, I received my fir…
Central Uganda: Day 3 – From Mbale to Iganga to Jinja Story
…is from Manafawa District and playing since 1970 and has played in Kenya, Malawi and Nigeria. He has 7 children none of who want to carry on the music tradition. Eridat Makwiri was fantastic; a very traditional player who lost himself in his music. Very much a long the lines of the Lou Nyatiti players or Ben Kinsinja. He played three songs: Wangoyo: This is a song about co-wives. One lady was lazy. And she would wait for the co-wife who had alrea…
We’re discovering the lost music of the Ugandan Kingdoms News
…s field trip Interviews with the palace players and a great deal of information on the art of drum making You can also keep up to date with our latest news from the field via our Twitter and Facebook pages….
Current Leading Figures News
…cribed as a ‘key part of the East African music industry’, Tabu has been a promoter, producer, composer and band manager and, since 2007, the founding Executive Director of Ketebul Music. However, the projects in which he is involved reach far and wide, with his expertise and passion not just being limited to the invaluable work he does at Singing Wells and Ketebul Music. Tabu co-chairs the committee of the “Spotlight on Kenyan Music“ project – a…