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…and the men are scratching their heads. Following in the footsteps of a Rebel Below are some of the brilliant Taarab groups we met on our 2020 trip to Tanzania, all following in the footsteps of a musical legend. Unyago The group is named after the drums they play and the style. This style is all about ‘Rebels’ and things that women talk about to themselves – very suggestive songs but using innuendo, so all deniable if called out. Traditionally, t…
Day Six: January 24, 2019 From Mwanza to Dodomo to Nzali to Nairobi Story
…rom the Dodoma Hotel, we drove about 90 minutes to Nzali to record four groups: Group 1: Makunga: This group is from Dodoma and the Wagogo Community, which they argued is the main indigenous community of Tanzania (always from the land, never migrated into Tanzania. The group was formed in 2018, but was built on a much older group. They perform in the Wuyina style. Their instruments/costumes include the: Ndulele (Horn), the Nindo (Shakers), the…
Our Sponsors Page
…undcloud for their continued support in the Singing Wells project. You can sign up for a free Soundcloud account which will give you the ability to comment on our recordings. To find out more about Soundcloud, go to: http://www.soundcloud.com Nebulo Strata Type of sponsorship: discounted services Nebulo Strata have been on board from the start of The Singing Wells project, helping to design and put into practice our ideas for our website. Our we…
Ndagwa Msanga Group
…mmunity. Their instruments are all about percussion: Ngoma (Drums) and Kayamba (Shakers). These young performers are amazing and if they are a sign, then the future of Tanzanian music is alive and well!…
Day 1: Saturday, 2017 February 18th Story
…next 3-4 years coming back to Tanzania. The basic structure of a Singing Wells field visit is to accomplish three things: We are here to record traditional music and dance so we can preserve it and share it. In some instances, this is bittersweet as we fully recognize we are recording a style or genre that is dying and we are probably recording the last breaths. In Mission 1, we are purists – recording the village performances as they have been t…
Central and Eastern Kenya: Day 2 – Muranga to Kangema to Nkubu Story
…Muguru Division, Kamgema District and was formed in 2006 and dedicated to self-help. Their style is Ndumo, an old women’s dance purely for entertainment and preservation of culture. For all their songs, the ladies used the Kigamba (leg shakers). The group played 6 songs: Ndumo: sung by Wambui Mwangi. Ngucu: sung by Charity Muthoni and Grace Njuguini Muthuo: sung by Mary Wambui Kimunya: sung by Grace Njuguini Gitiro: sung by Mary Njeri Njagi Magic…
Day 8: Entebbe to Nairobi and Ketebul Studios Story
…and all get out of van and go through a metal detector. There was a large sign telling us not to bring in pistols and rifles. The van was then searched. At airport, we had to unload bags at departures, take them by trolly to bottom of stairs. Take all bags up the stairs. Find new trolly and proceed to next stage. All this would be fairly straightforward except we had 34 bags. There was then a line waiting to go into airport. The security guard mo…
Hannah interviews Evelyn Ojok – Acet, Northern Uganda News
…d as a valued resource for the women involved. In the conversation we had below she tells their story.. Tell me about your group: Ume Udoko Mit started to sing together before the war, but we had to stop during the war because most of us were moved to IDP camps where we had little time to rehearse together and the conditions were too bad. Now we sing and dance together all the time, we are only women (our style of ‘Apiri’ in Acholi is typicall…
Northern Uganda: Day 6 – Soroti to Kampala (a driving story) Story
…earch. We’re really good now at doing interviews on songs, villages and groups and supporting that with research. This all sounds like pretty basic things and we agree. But imagine arriving at a village that has 6 groups, no clear leaders, no common language, and no particular interest in telling their story unless asked. You’ve got to sort this out pretty quick and get the right person talking about the right issues. But we’re doing well now. The…
Northern Uganda: Day 5 – from Pakwach to Soroti (a road trip) Story
…The mud of a market seeps into the base of every building, soaking its way up the walls, giving the whole town a terracotta feel. A very fine mist of red dust covers everything. When red mud merges with deep green grass, you get the amazing reds and greens we associate with all things Uganda. These are the background colours over which you splash the yellow of bananas, the blacks of clay pots, the grays of cutting boards, etc… And now a word about…
Northern Uganda: Day 2 – from Gulu to Acet Story
…t the head, hips and feet. The second theme was percussion. Most of the groups were supported by: Bul (drums), Gara (ankle shakers) and the Gwara (calabash or tambourin with Samba drumming, in this case a tortoise sized shell that they hit with a brush of wire). In addition, one of the groups featured the Uvure, a wonderful horn. The Uvure in action… Omee Odokomit Our first group was Omee Odokomit, who played Apiri style. The group is led by Evely…
The Tribal and Musical Structure of East Africa – Worldmap Research News
…nd are considered to be ‘foolish’, like the cows for which they are traded upon marriage. Polygamy is widely practiced, and so long as a man has enough wealth in terms of cows to offer, marrying more than one wife is common. This seems contradictory as women are of primary importance in running a home. Deep in the roots of cultural tradition is the practice of female circumcision. It is regarded as part of a woman’s rite of passage before marriage…
Background on the Music of Northern Uganda News
…e middle without drums (typically in Uganda, drums are only for men). A group of elderly men would perform it during the time of crowning the chief and then when he dies. It is also performed to entertain important personnel on big occasions. Being the only royal dance, it is one of the most important of the many dances of the Acholi: 2. We then plan to record a group performing the Otole war dance, although as times are changing it can now functi…
Day 3 continued – an interview with Steve Kivutia Story
…in 2002-3. He tried to join the Air Force but his mother wouldn’t let him sign up so he joined Creative Edge a graphics design firm, and then Smoke and Mirrors a multi-media company in 2003-2004. In 2005 Steve moved to Eye 4 Design but later that same year he met Tabu through a friend who sang with Tabu’s band, He knew of Tabu because of his legendary status within Kenyan music. Tabu invited Steve into a meeting where he brought some songs he had…
Return of the Batwa @ Ketebul Music Studios Story
…’ve asked her to sing lead on a couple songs and love her voice. She lives up to her name and is always up for anything; the first in the studio and the last to leave. Jolly Naiti Paskazia (and baby Julius) One of Francis’s two wives and part of the trio of female singers that support Francis. Paskazia Nyirakarombo Vastina (and baby Robson) The second of Francis’s wives, the third of the trio that sings with Francis and on their own. Beautiful voi…
Day 5 (PM): The ‘Togetherness Group’ from Kanyabukunga Story
…ty field.Our time on the hill was followed with an afternoon in an empty field. It was a delightfully empty field. The purpose of the field is as a UN evacuation and refugee centre if there are troubles in Rwanda or the Congo. The fact that it has no tents, has no refugees, is a wonderful thing and we felt it was a great location to record Kanyabukunga Twifatanye (‘Togetherness Group”) from the village of Kanyabukunga. They are led by Gadensia Kam…