Adungu Instrument
…he way to Entebbe. It is an arched harp instrument with between 7 and 10 or more strings. They vary in size between smaller instruments, played close to the body and the larger bass adungu, on which the player can sit. The sound box is commonly covered in animal hide, and is also at times used as a percussion instrument – by a musician sitting behind the adungu, hitting it with a beater. We are pleased to have an Adungu as part of the Singin…
FAQ’s Page
…ells come from? We invite financial contributions from private donors and corporate sponsors and seek grants from NGOs. Donations and grants are administered by The Abubilla Music Foundation. Donors may support specific parts of the project – a particular field visit perhaps. For example, in 2011 we received a grant from the Institute of International Education to record the music of the Batwa in Uganda. Click here to find out more about donations…
Field Recording Report by Kahithe Kiiru Story
…th Fadhilee, as Wilbert and his group – the Bungoma Roots Band were ready for recording. We were able to record five songs, including his biggest hit “Chapa Ilale”. From Bungoma town and the land of the Bukusu, we moved to the Kingdom of Wanga. In Nabongo location of Mumias sub-county (Kakamega County), we met Mumias United Group led by Francisca Oduor. Established in 1997, Mumias United is a folk group that presents traditional music and dances o…
Page
…loops. You could use these loops to create a house track, as inspiration for a dance piece, or as the soundtrack to a painting you create. Whatever your response is, we want to see it! Click here to access the Global Influences Artist Submissions We will be sharing all of the artist submissions on this page so you can keep up to date with the incredible commissions we receive. If you want to be involved in this project please download the brief a…
Albums Introduction Page
…works artistically, we’ll arrange the tracks on the album in chronological order of the recording date – so you can experience the journey that we took through the music of the area we were recording in. Each album also contains a number of extra tracks that weren’t strictly part of the archiving recordings we were making. These recordings are of ‘Influences’ sessions – where a popular musical artist has joined us on our trip to collaborate with…
The Singing Wells podcast #3 Podcast
…Here is podcast number 3. In this podcast, we look at the development of Abubilla Music – one of the partners in The Singing Wells project – from initial idea, to music label. There are interviews with members of the SMCC, and music from the SMCC, Louise Calf, Gus Warriner, Tati Kalveks, Chris Kozlowski and Ketebul artist Winyo. Click here to download the podcast….
What We Do Page
…manifestation itself but rather the wealth of knowledge and skills that is transmitted through it from one generation to the next. The social and economic value of this transmission of knowledge is relevant for minority groups and for mainstream social groups within a State, and is as important for developing States as for developed ones.” Source:UNESCO website on Intangible Cultural Heritage …
Tabu Osusa Staff Profile
…ic’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 visits and identifying inspirational, cultural…
Day 9 – Sunday 9th July 2017 Story
…rding to Hornbostel– Sachs(2), all four would be classified as composite chordophones, more precisely under the 321.2 category of: “Yoke lutes or lyres – The strings are attached to a yoke which lies in the same plane as the sound‐table and consists of two arms and a cross‐bar.” Through a group interview, we attempted to compare them in: size (size of resonator; length of arms and per extension of strings); materials of fabrication (types of wood)…
Conclusion: Challenges and Recomendations Story
…s allow the central instrument to maintain its centrality, a fact crucial for the story. In editing, we can then draw lines of comparison between instrument 2 and 3 as well. In this exercise, I believe, it is not necessary to involve more than 3 additional instruments in comparison to the central one. Finally, yet perhaps mostly importantly, I believe the Masters series should put more focus on nurturing traditional instrument playing skills. Asid…
Our Sponsors Page
…rt to 2 music groups during our visit to Central Uganda in November 2013. For more information about Bain Capital click here. Gorilla Tours Type of Sponsorship: Donations in kind Gorilla Tours have been a great support to us since we went to Kisoro in 2011 to record the Batwa people. The Singing Wells team stayed at the Traveller’s Rest Hotel during that visit and since then have also stayed at the Airport Guesthouse, Entebbe and Fort Murchison,…
Day 1 – Saturday 1st July 2017 Story
…area. Son of late Okumu Orengo, a well‐known nyatiti master previously recorded for SW, Meshack took up the nyatiti after his father’s death. His discussion with Rapasa and Ketebul’s Tabu Osusa brought up several interesting points, including: ‐ Differences between the two most commonly used trees for nyatiti resonator – ngowu (oak tree) and poch ondero (fig tree); ‐ Trees used or arms and head of the instrument – powo, siala (vernacular names, c…
Orutu Instrument
…bi. We are pleased to own an Orutu, as part of the Singing Wells instrument library. This resides in our London studio….
Kayamba Instrument
…The Kayamba is a shaker, with a cross bar which is played with the thumbs at the same time as it is is shaken – producing a percussive ‘hit’ at the same time as the traditional ‘shaker’ sound. We bought a couple of the Kayamba shakers from the musicians, and these became the founding items in the Singing Wells percussion library….
3. Background of the Naizungwe drums Story
…clan. The Basoga ethnic society from the Eastern region of the country is organized according to clans. Eleven clans are royal; they are the leaders and the rest are not. One of the clans is the baise muwaya. Their regalia is naizungwe drums. Is there any particular reason they no longer have any players (like with the entenga drums)? The clans organized themselves into bigger administrative units that culminated into the eleven chiefdoms that la…
Kiplagat Edwin Kwambai aka Fifty Cows Staff Profile
…music of the Kalenjin, which was the focus area for the Singing Wells project at the time. Fifty Cows went on to be the main contact person and “fixer” for the project. In 2014, the Singing Wells again called on Fifty Cows for the first Repatriation Project by the International Library of African Music, which was supported by the Singing Wells. This repatriation project involved retracing and locating surviving musicians who had been recorded and…