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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…
Day One: The Iteso People and their Music Story
…rces are trying to divide the people, the song encourages everyone to stay united. Akidai Imojong: This song asked everyone to take care of old people and respect them. Asorit: This is a song about poison and refers specifically to Aids, which is the killing disease. The song tries to educate people to be cautious. Magic Moment: While playing, a young child Otwoma was dancing on the edge of the performance. He loved the music, so we brought him fo…
What We Do Page
…ot consider it relevant today. So we have developed the Influences series: new compositions comprising a fusion of traditional and contemporary styles, themes, harmonies and instruments. Influences is led by musicians from Ketebul Music or singer/songwriters from the areas we are travelling to during our field visits. “Singing Wells can’t be just about archiving. We can’t be fossil collectors. We also have to make sure we can bring these tradition…
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
…rican rhythms such as Msewe and Kyaso (both from Zanzibar) with Singeli (a new tribal rhythm). Taarab came from early 1800’s as Egyptian music. In Zanzibar the Mother of Taarab, Siti Binti Saad, made Taarab more popular in the 1920’s to 1950’s. We spoke to Hassan Mahenge, the assistant director of this band. He is a teacher at the DCMA. He teaches the Oud and plays the saxophone. All the students at the DCMA study traditional music such as Taarab…
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…
The Revival of the Entongooli Page
…ed in this part of the process. Though they said it wasn’t pleasant, they knew the importance of this part of the process and wanted to be a part of it so that they could continue their education about this instrument. It is amazing to see young people getting actively involved in the traditions and methods of creating this instrument, so that they will be able to continue these traditions for generations to come. Meet the Students In this weeks v…
Global Influences Project: Artist Submissions Page
…lowing Amina Muta on Facebook. ATIENO OLUOCH X ADUNGU CULTURAL TROUPE This newest submission is called Wena and is by Atieno Oluoch. We loved the vocals and the way they complimented the rhythmic musical workings of the Adungu Cultural Troupe. This new version gave us summer vibes and felt incredibly uplifting! “I’m humbled by this opportunity and glad to have participated in the Singing Wells global project. When I picked the loop, I thought of c…
Aynu Traditional Group Group
…r current name perhaps came to be used after the intrusion of the Khartoum Arab slaves in the second half of the 19th century. Their origins are described in relation to their belief in mythology: with God’s creation of Meme and the universe. The first two human beings Gboro-Gboro (male) and Meme (female) are said to have been superhuman. Some traditions only speak of Meme, whose womb God filled with the living things in the world. Customs: They a…
Nyota Ze Meremeta Group
…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:…
Day Zero: February 15, 2020 – Assemble in Zanzibar Story
…important and famous of the musical styles originating from Zanzibar is Taarab, which roughly translates in Arabic as ‘having joy with music.’ Taarab’s origins are in the late 1800s. Mohamed Ibrahim, studied music in Egypt, where he learned to play the Qanun and returned to Zanzibar to form the Zanzibar Taarab orchestra. Of course, there are a variety of musical styles in Zanzibar, including (every use of quotes in this post are direct quotes…
Day Two: February 17, 2020 (Stonetown) Story
…Mwanangu – Congratulations my child, used for weddings to congratulate the newlyweds or the bride. Muhogo Wa Jangombe – Means cassava of Jongombe. In Swahili these songs don’t tell you directly what they are trying to say. They use metaphor and analogies. Here the message is: “Don’t insult the midwife because you might need her again.” The song is about not taking cassavas for granted. Kidole Chauma Sana – translates to “My Finger is Painful.” A…
Day One: February 16, 2020 (Ngawala Hotel) Story
…style (a chain-smoking rebel!). She followed Siti Binti Saad as a major Taarab vocalist and was considered queen of Taarab and Unyago music and died at 103 in 2013. Amina Abdalla still performs in her house, which is called Raha Leo. Folks go to see her there from all over. The other members included: Fatima Juma (dancer and singer), Raya Abdalla (drums), Fatima Hamza (drums) and Tatu Hamisi Amur (please note she was in all three groups). The dru…
3. Background of the Naizungwe drums Story
…administrative units that culminated into the eleven chiefdoms that later united to form Busoga [kingdom]. When the central government abolished kingdoms in 1967, the bigger administrative structures were weakened. Clans remained because they represent people’s birth, life and death. The larger more political structures [ie. the eleven chiefdoms] were demonized by the central government and all meetings at that level stopped. When the top structu…
Uganda: music of the Batwa Gallery
…orded the music of the Batwa. The journey started in Nairobi where the team boarded a flight to Kigali, Rwanda. From there we travelled by road to Kisoro where we stayed at the Traveller’s Rest Hotel. Our hosts were from the United Organisation for Batwa Development in Uganda (UOBDU) who arranged for us to record the performances of six Batwa communities from the district of Kisoro – Birara, Mpwera, Kanyabukunga, Micyingo, Gatera and Kabahenda….
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…