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…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 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…
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…
James Allen Staff Profile
…Wells project with Ketebul Music, sharing their passion for preserving and promoting the traditional music of East Africa. Jimmy has an MBA from Harvard University and an MA in International Economics from Johns Hopkins. He is a dual US-British citizen and has lived in the United Kingdom, with his wife and three children, since 1995. He is chair of trustees for The Abubilla Music Foundation. During the Singing Wells field recording trips Jimmy is…
Our Sponsors Page
…Our website 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 Fou…
Day One: The Iteso People and their Music Story
…n his own, becoming a nuisance in their house in Saika Estate in Nairobi’s Eastlands. His father didn’t find the guitar-plucking amusing, especially when he wanted to listen to the news on radio. After high school he worked as a construction worker to fend for himself. Meanwhile he mastered his guitar, volunteering to teach kids music at the neighbouring Soweto slums. He continued offering private guitar lessons even after joining the University o…
Global Influences Project: Loop Library Page
…nload the loop Aloka Ohangla Drum Solo – 146BPM Aloka Ohangla are based in East Alego, Kenya. What you need to know as you listen is the drummer was drumming without a chair, doing deep squats and jumping about a foot off the ground with each ‘kick’ – this went on for four minutes. You can learn more about the group here. You can watch the full visual performance of this song on our Youtube channel by clicking here. Download the loop singingwells…
We assemble in Kisumu Story
…anagement. She has 8 years of experience in ethnomusicological research in East Africa, with a special focus on dance traditions of Kenya. She possesses comprehensive knowledge of qualitative research methods, data collection and analysis, and is experienced in academic writing, content creation and editorial. Kahithe has a master’s degree (MPhil) in Ethnomusicology and Dance Anthropology from the University of Paris X Nanterre and is currently fi…
Nile Beat Artists Group
…he Kora, and much of his writing combines West African instruments with an East African writing style. Song Meanings “Ikobo Kobo”: It is a type of herb. It is a song about a girl who is very bitter because her mother will not let her play with her friends freely. The mother explains to her that she was barren but the spirits helper her to conceive so the spirits set the condition that she should never play in the rain. “Amagombe”: This is a song a…
Kahithe Kiiru Staff Profile
…anagement. She has 8 years of experience in ethnomusicological research in East Africa, with a special focus on dance traditions of Kenya. She possesses comprehensive knowledge of qualitative research methods, data collection and analysis, and is experienced in academic writing, content creation and editorial.Kahithe has a master’s degree (MPhil) in Ethnomusicology and Dance Anthropology from the University of Paris X Nanterre and is currently fin…
Tabu Osusa Staff Profile
…s also the Project Coordinator of Ketebul Music’s Retracing Series. Supported by the Ford Foundation Office of Eastern Africa, the Retracing Series is a research based documentary project whose main objective is to research, archive and document the musical culture of Kenya. Tabu is the East Africa Project Co-ordinator for Singing Wells. His extensive knowledge of the East African music industry is integral to the strategic planning of the field v…
Albums Introduction Page
…of The Singing Wells project is to record and share the music we record in East Africa and one of the ways in which we can share this music is through our albums series. For each project we undertake, we curate an album of the resulting recordings. In most cases, this will include at least one recording from each group recorded. Where it works artistically, we’ll arrange the tracks on the album in chronological order of the recording date – so you…
Instruments Introduction Page
As we travel around East Africa, we find that we are at times, recording instruments that we have never seen or heard before. In some cases we manage to purchase instruments for our own Singing Wells instrument collection back in the UK. Where we find an instrument that we have not seen before, we make sure we record it, photograph it and research it. This page features a selection of the instruments we have found so far on our travels. The i…
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…
Singing Wells Stories Page
…n behind the Singing Wells project and the aims we have to record music in East Africa. To visit the group page for the Nyatiti group click here: Nyatiti Group To listen to the track ‘Ywak’ on the album of the Music of the Luo, click here: The Luo of Kenya To learn about the instrument the Nyaiti, check out the instrument page here: Nyatiti Instrument page Jovah We met Jovah on the second day of our trip to record the music of the Batwa in South W…
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…
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…