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…
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…
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…
Page
…ging 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 favourite moments, as you have read over this Top 20 series, have been when we stumbled upon something unexpected and managed to record, on film or in the studio, a performance so that it’s legacy may live on. It is truly not lost o…
Global Influences Project: Artist Submissions Page
…submission from Beats by Maggy, a producer based in Nakuru, Kenya. “The African sounds were so inspiring, I created the beats using fruity loop Fl studio. The African loop was so energetic so I had to feature some more energy to make it more lively.” We love this energy too – a perfect tune to get the party going! You can follow more Beats by Maggy by following Amina Muta on Facebook. ATIENO OLUOCH X ADUNGU CULTURAL TROUPE This newest submission…
Our Sponsors Page
…bsite is the main repository for all of 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…
Singing Wells Stories Page
…hen to their present home. This group, as with so many others throughout Africa, tell the story of their forefathers through music and dance – the dancers imitating the Nile as it snakes through Africa. To find out more about the day of recording the Marakwet, view the field report. To listen to the music of the Kalenjin, check out the Kalenjin of Kenya. To visit the group page for the Sagat Traditional Dancers, visit their page here. If you haven…
Ketebul Music presents Shades of Benga Online News
…tz to Afro Cuban Rumba and how they helped mould new music styles across Africa. Rumba was brought to Eastern Africa via the itinerant Congolese musicians Edouard Masengo and Jean Bosco Mwenda who’s intricate guitar-picking styles largely shaped the present Kenyan sound, with the Benga playing a dominant role. Currently, you can get advance copies from Ketebul Music Studios or place your order by contacting them directly. #shadesofbenga #legendary…
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
…oke, a retired ethnomusicologist and Research Associate at the School of African Studies, London. We’ve referenced Peter many times in our field reports and blog posts: in our history of recording East African music summary, in our post about music archives across the world, when reflecting on the importance of archiving traditional music and, most recently, in our posts about our journey to discover and record the Royal Drums. It was James Isabir…
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
…he also prioritises preserving traditional Ugandan music. “We perform as Africa’s Dancing Encyclopaedia. In Africa, written words did not exist thus Africa’s cultural history literature, knowledge and wisdom were recorded and passed on to succeeding generations through the medium of performing arts, music, dance, storytelling and poetry. This helps these young performers to have confidence in the Ugandan culture in the community.” The amount of mu…
Music Depositories and Archives around the World News
…ound the world, with the expansion of Putumayo International into South America, Asia, Africa and Oceania Putumayo World Music Hour, the first commercially syndicated world music show now heard internationally on 170 commercial and non-commercial stations. It is fantastic to see a World Music Label with such far reaching success, not only proving that traditional music in Africa, and around the world, can be commercially viable but also acting as…
ILAM, Repatriation and Jimmie Rodgers/Chemirocha News
…itional roots. We will update you on progress to design the July Pilots with ILAM; and we will leave you with a Jimmie Rogers song inspired by black-american music, inspired by African village music, inspired by… oh just listen: …
Ketebul Music: A Year in Review News
…and receive it. Later this year they are travelling to Kuwait. Bado is our latest talent that we discovered during the first Singing Wells project. Rapasa is a new artist. I am also looking to increase the responsibilities of our younger managers, having them carry more of the duties of Ketebul. We have given major new responsibilities to Patrick and Steven, not simply as engineers, but also to discover new talent. Next year, we have to focus on a…