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…trip for his entire group. The Watmon Cultural Group was created by Watmon to promote the preservation of Ugandan cultural heritage through music and dance. With almost 50 members, the youngest being only seven years old, they play an electric combination of rhythmic beats and intricate melodies, which are supported by energetic dancing. The group performed for President George Bush during a state visit to Uganda and they were also recorded in 201…
Biluli Dutwa Group
…ght them about hoeing the soil to the song. Later we saw several videos of how this song is used in the fields to motivate farmers, who hoe to the beat. Throughout Tanzania, we saw school kids walking to/from school with their hoes, where they often tend to small plots at the school. Serengeti: We are near the national park and this is a song in celebration to Tanzanian parks and wild life. Freestyle filming with song Balimi Magic Moment: Song Mak…
Bukaala Twesitule Troupe Group
…sobbing at one point. “Akabira” (Worship Song): Means a small forest where spirits tend to run, deep in the trees and high in the mountains. But they are not always well cared for and they then tend to cause havoc with the rest of family members. “Omwenge” (a local brew): This is about how the local brew is made in stages and sets out each procedure to produce the brew….
Day Six: January 24, 2019 From Mwanza to Dodomo to Nzali to Nairobi Story
…d three performances: Tamasha la kumi: a song about ten principal rules on how to live a meaningful and productive life within society. Mapambano: a song against FGM and early girl child marriage. Vibibi Viwili: a warning song on alcohol and drug abuse. Group Four: Hiari Ya Moyo: This group was formed in 1957 by their grandfathers and is located in Dodoma. They are from the Wanyamwezi Community and performed in the Ngoma Style. Their instruments…
Day Four: 10 March 2022 (Rongo) Story
…ls 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 on ways and means of empo…
Twone Mbee Group
…tempting the position because it is already taken by the one they are praising. ‘Nzembanie na ivinda’: (Chasing After Time). This song talks about the President’s call to stop corruption. The call to chase after time comes from the society that won’t condone these malpractices….
Day Zero: February 15, 2020 – Assemble in Zanzibar Story
…bar’s musical styles leads us to Sidi Binti Saad. And we’ll simply quote what is told about her at the DCMA: “Singer Siti Binti Saad is a trailblazer who revolutionized taarab music in a way the is still felt today…Whereas her predecessors were all male and sang predominately in Arabic, she was the first woman to perform in Swahili…She was born in 1880 in the Fumba village in Zanzibar…She left her home village and met Al Muhsin of Nadilkhwani S…
Pius Wafula Group
…al group called “Webuye Jua Kali” up to 2009, when he founded his own group. Today the group counts 5 members who play the following instruments: LITUNGU – a 7-string traditional lyre; ISIRILI – a one-string fiddle; LUENGELE– a percussive idiophone, they use a wooden stool struck with wooden sticks; ENG’OMA – a generic term for drums, they use a plastic water container also struck with wooden sticks; CHISASI – shakers made out of gourds. We record…
The Revival of the Entongooli Page
…as travelled to visit Mr Mukadisi, who is educating a group of children on how to build and play this instrument in the hopes of continuing it’s legacy. Below you will find footage and information about the Entongooli and how the project is working to restore this instrument back to it’s former glory. Skip ahead to your preferred section… A Musical Education Finding the Materials Simple but Effective Tools Getting things Dung! Meet the Students…
Martin Fredrick Muyeshi Staff Profile
…he worked on the TV programmes Tabasamu, Nairobi Law andMashtakaas a Director of Photography and a Lighting technician. He later joined Ketebul Studio, where he went on to work on several studio projects, among them the studio’scompilation “retracing” series that include Retracing Benga Music, Retracing Kikuyu Popular Music, Retracing Kenya’s Funk Music, Retracing Songs of Protest and the book Shades Of Benga: The story of Popular Music in Keny…
Day Three: 9 March 2022 (Kisumu) Story
…ba (or Maddo, as the cartoonist is popularly known). After taking a few photos to prove to the award-winning cartoonist that we actually visited his ancestral home, we continued with our journey. Our location for recording that day was Dunga Hill Camp, right by the shores of Lake Victoria. After a quick survey, our camera crew settled for a spot indoors, next to the fireplace. Lined up were three musical acts and the first to arrive was Peter Akwa…
Royal Entenga Drummers Group
…h 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….
Day Three: January 20th, 2019 Story
…! We recorded five performances: Busumabuno Kulima: A song about farming Watoto wakalime Freestyle on Kulima Magic Moment Busumabudo, focus on percussion https://youtu.be/dHeTdA5m5gQ Group 3: Awilo: The group, which is a comedy circus act, is from Ikungu lya nkoma and performs in the Bununguli style. They are from the Sukuma community and were formed in 1981. They played the Ng’oma and entertained the kids with circus acts involving fire, razor bl…
Makunga Group
…ro, Freestyle recording of their entrance. Masasi: the celebration song after circumcision completed Nindo: Song on social issues Muhene: Song during girl ceremony where she reaches puberty and now must be hidden from village for 40 days (song acts out how girl learns to reject the advances of men, represented by two men playing shakers) Muziki: A song to gain support of the people for the music and dance Muziki: Freestyle Muhongwa: another song f…
Day Four: January 21 2019 Mwanza Story
…on Man 2 who was even poorer. Meanwhile Man 1 got rich and lady came back to him and the song asks, “So how did it end up?” Magic Moment on a song Ndono. They then did a lot of dances with ‘modern’ music on speakers. https://youtu.be/uRfFn7ZgUrU Group 2: Camera: Camera, who has been performing since 1999, is from Nzega and from the Sukuma community, playing in the Kadete style. Camera plays the Kadete (like the Zeze from earlier and Orutu from Ke…
Baseki Group
…ght them about hoeing the soil to the song. Later we saw several videos of how this song is used in the fields to motivate farmers, who hoe to the beat. Throughout Tanzania, we saw school kids walking to/from school with their hoes, where they often tend to small plots at the school. Serengeti: We are near the national park and this is a song in celebration to Tanzanian parks and wild life. Freestyle filming with song Balimi Magic Moment: Song Mak…