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…continue on for the next 10 years so that this music continues to inspire new artists and new audiences. Discovering “The Voice”: Jovah With this in mind, we come to our favourite Singing Wells moment: discovering the voice of Jovah. Jovah is a singer as part of the Mperwa Dancers, a group of Batwa people who were unfortunately forced to leave their forest home. We met Jovah on our field trip to Uganda in 2013 and were instantly blown away by her…
Namaddu Troupe Group
…uffer? A woman can’t have a baby so her husband beats her and sends her to the witch doctor who ensures she gets pregnant. She then returns to husband, who has been off drinking, and they reunite. “Kwakira Wiita”: A song about eating new food, particularly millet, after the harvest. But the children don’t stay home and are out all the time, so they suffer from bad spiritis. They need to be home in the house for the good spirits. Gradually they ret…
Day Four: 10 March 2022 (Rongo) Story
…ations and business models for these musicians to enable them to develop a better understanding of how to improve their performances. These adjustments were of utmost importance in making it easier for these rural and peri-urban based musicians to migrate their shows and concerts to online platforms in order to reach wider audiences and create new revenue streams. As we headed back to Nairobi on Friday, 11th March 2022, we had lively discussions o…
Royal Entenga Drummers Group
…this here). James met him and realised that together they could begin to build the drums. Working closely with Albert and Shaban, a professional drummer who now leads the new band, they built a new set of Royal Drums, recruited a team of passionate drummers to learn how to play the drums, learned to tune the drums and ultimately learned to play new music….
Mission Page
…shared amongst the widest audiences and become a source of inspiration for new musicians. Aims of the Singing Wells Project East Africa is a region with a diverse cultural heritage. Its borders encompass a multitude of different ethnic groups, each with their own unique traditions and histories, languages and dialects, religions and beliefs, ways of dressing, music and dance. We believe the importance of preserving music traditions cannot be under…
Day Three: Bungoma Town to Kakamega Story
…they agreed they would pool all their day job money and gigging money and between them over two years saved 50,000 shillings. They were too young to open an account at bank so saved their money under their pillows. Wilbert then travelled to Nairobi to find someone to record their first songs. They went to Sawa Studios and in 2009 recorded their first album, Khabere Wefwe (these were songs dedicated to their heroes). They turned these recordings i…
Day Five: Ilesi, Khayega to Kisumu Story
…ting. The songs include: Lukumili: This is about the moment the horns lock between the two fighting bulls and the context really begins. Ing’ombe: This is about the bulls (I can’t read my handwriting here!) Iminyi: This is a type of bird that hides in roofs and is difficult to find, but is a strong bird. The song tells the story that the best fighting bulls are not the ones preening around the village, but rather they keep to themselves until the…
Influences songs from Singing Wells Group
…recording visit we are joined by a talented musician who works with us on ‘Influences’ songs. They work with us in the field and also in the Ketebul Music studios in Nairobi to produce this new material. We believe our Influences series will refresh the origins of East African music and make it discoverable to a new generation of music fans….
Shem Tube Group
…Shem Tube is a pioneer of the ‘Luhya Omutibo’ sound and had a big hit with his band Abana ba Nasery (Nursery Boys, including Justo Osala on guitar and Enos Okola on percussion; they played throughout the ’60’s and ’70’s.) Their style was linked to three part harmonies, two finger picked guitars and a ‘fanta bottle percussionist.’ In the 80’s, Shem formed a new band, Les Bunyore , before reforming Abana ba Nasery in the ’90’s….
Liwambwe Group
The Group Leader is: Atanas Teleni. It is a fairly new group, having played off and on for three years. They had unique drums, including small drums with wooden spikes on bottom to be embedded in sand, called the Siganga. They also had a pair of drums called the Likuti and a long drum called the Msondo, and a very long thin drum called a Neya. In the dance they had a character in a mask called a Lipiko, who wore a vest called a Mjuga. They played…
Day 2 – Sunday 2nd July 2017 Story
…ct that younger traditional players do not (or only exceptionally) compose new tunes, but replicate existing old ones. Within the nyatiti tradition, tunes remain the same, whereas the lyrics can change, evolve. They are the fruit of a specific player’s imagination and can be adapted to the occasion and/or to tell the praise of a different person. The fact that Meshack picked up the instrument only once his father had passed away brought about seve…
Recording, archiving and sharing the traditional music of East Africa Page
…shared amongst the widest audiences and become a source of inspiration for new musicians. Here for Research? Click here! Whether you are a Musicologist, a student or just interested in the field, head this way to see more of our detailed field reports, group biographies and in-depth information regarding the various different instruments and styles of music we have encountered on our field trips. Here for the Music? Click here! Want to just enjoy…
Introduction: Project overview and objectives Story
…Ketebul Music. It reports on the field interviews and recordings conducted between Kisumu and Siaya Counties in Lake Region of Kenya and Nairobi City in the period from 1st to 12th July 2017. https://youtu.be/NqomPAxomxI “Masters of the Nyatiti” being a pilot programme for a new project series under Singing Wells, one of the objectives of this report is to reassess the original concept based on experiences from the field and to point out encounter…
Privacy Policy Page
…ake the website work properly, quickly and safely. – remember any settings between visits – such as what worked the last time you visited. They also help to make our Music Map work properly, so you can enjoy the music of the Cookies are also responsible for making sure that you don’t have to view the ‘Splash Screen’ each time you come to the site – thanks to cookies you only see it the first time. Opt-in It is possible to configure your web brow…
Patrick Ondiek Staff Profile
…really love tribal music. So when the Singing Wells project offered him a new opportunity to discover the music roots of East Africa, Pato jumped at the chance. Why? “First, I love the exposure to different cultures – even my own. I have never heard a lot of the tribal music, even around my own villages. Our trip to Nyanza in November blew me away. I have never heard music like that. My favourite performance was by Okumu K’Orengo. I was so moved….
Day Three: February 18, 2020 (Stonetown, Mpendae, Maungani) Story
…s Songs: Chapapunga Asili Zarina – rhumba style Magic moment – trumpets and trombone. Once this band started, they played for 25 minutes. When the lead trumpet played a solo, they switched styles. We were able to distinguish between three main styles. The dancers danced and sung throughout. The village joined in the dancing as they continued to play. By the end it felt like a joyous party with many joining in, reminiscent of New Orleans Mardi Gr…