Day 9 – Sunday 9th July 2017 Story
…ation (types of wood); body parts (any specific additional parts and why); strings number; playing techniques (position of instrument; hands positioning and fingers involved in playing; plucking techniques); tuning and sound (central string, sound spectrum, twin strings, accompanying instruments in both traditional context and modern instrumental ensemble, technical innovations and developments); transmission methods; community occasions played in…
Conclusion: Challenges and Recomendations Story
…ncept for Masters of the Nyatiti, we expected to film all of the following stages of the instrument manufacturing: Showing us the trees where the wood for the instruments are extracted from; Where possible, felling of the tree; Preparation of the wood from the tree: trimming the bark, treating etc.; Carving and shaping of the wood for the body and frame of the instrument; Preparation and treatment of the skin for the instruments; Preparation of th…
Group 1: Inganzo Ngari Group Story
…culture. The dancers were accompanied by the Inanga (a traditional wooden string instrument played in Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and parts of Congo). Then the same dancers performed a number about a community, Intwatwa, formerly known as the Batwa, the group we recorded in November 2012. It was a celebration dance with many steps to honour their rich and historic culture. Next we had the Intore – which means a traditional warrior dance. This was a m…
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.…
FAQ’s Page
…album of music from each trip, and we hope to curate albums of particular styles and instruments soon. To browse our albums, head over here. Where does the money to support Singing Wells 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…
Albums Introduction Page
…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 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…
The Kalenjin of Kenya Album
…ondly the Takar group – their Korutan and Chepo Mining making it through past technical difficulties on set. The very visual performances of the and the Sagat group (their image is on the cover) and the Embolet are both represented on the album. The final field day of the trip was spent recording the Tugen. The vocal harmonies of the performances have been captured well, with The Elimu Cultural Promoters and the Kewamoi Women Dancers both featured…
Field Recording Report by Kahithe Kiiru Story
…– 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 recorded five of Pius’s original compositions and were amazed with his rough yet mellow voice. We then proceeded to the location of our last session for the day. In Bungoma town, at a hotel known a…
Day 1 – Saturday 1st July 2017 Story
…n and/or English names TBC); ‐ Dispute over which part of the region the instrument first originated in – South Nyanza or Central Nyanza; ‐ Discussion on the nyatiti gender taboo (whether a woman is or is not traditionally allowed to play the nyatiti and the reasons why); ‐ Mention of a Cultural Festival which takes place every year on 27th December and hosts several local nyatiti players; ‐ Discussion on whether a good nyatiti maker needs to be a…
Group 8: Abutazi Story
…band to combine inanga with rap. Their flow was such that they often went straight from one number into another, so the set list reflects this. Set list Agahinda (“Sad”) and Inanga. Agahinda is a song about depression that Makare wrote 8 months ago, using a metaphor of a burning house where the smoke can’t be kept in. This went straight into Inanga, an ode to the inanga and its sound and all it does for them. We loved this double number so much w…
3. Background of the Naizungwe drums Story
…. 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 structures died, the clan structures also weakened because clan leaders did not answer to anybody higher. Eventua…
Group 4: Urugangaze Ballet Story
…saw 21 today). They are all made up of locals of different ages, the furthest being from Nyanza. The group was started in 1991 by Tomas Bazatsinda, and since then has only grown, performing at weddings and ceremonies around Rwanda and even touring France, Libya, Egypt and Germany over the last ten years. While the engineers set up, Daisy and Kathy interviewed the leaders: Their leader, Bertin, took us through the songs they performed for us today….
Mchele Mchele Sanaa Group Group
…This group, from the Sukuma community, was formed in 2010 and performs with a number of styles: Bukomia Lume, Buchheye, Wigashe. Their instruments are: Ng’oma (Drums), Pembe (animal horns, large impala), Firimbi (flute), and Njuga (shakers). …
Day Four: January 21 2019 Mwanza Story
…enya). He is an extremely cool cat, who we actually discovered walking the streets with his instrument during the RECCE. We recorded five performances: Changamoto: This is about life’s challenges Mawazo Gakwira: About deep worries Nkewane nsanja: girlfriend got pregnant and came to singer for papers Tudumishe mila: about honouring our culture Raisi Ametamka: politicians must support education https://youtu.be/Hmp4zM3kSaM Sadly, we then got rained…
Day Zero: 6 March 2022 – Travel To Stream Story
…holders into the virtual performance. The result was that a number of live streaming studios where performers book sessions to perform and stream their concerts sprung up in Nairobi. Some venues also adapted to hosting online performances, directly streaming shows to mobile devices and computers of audiences wherever they may be. With the prevailing situation, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the ability of performers to earn a living is…
Page
…pt alive in the public eye but also through the work of his family. Our first stop on our trip was to meet the son of Mzee Morris who lives in a small compound in the suburbs of Dar es Salaam. The sound of Nyunyusa Dance Troupe is what greeted our ears first, which included two of Mzee Morris’s grandsons, Abdala Nyunyusa Morris on vocals and Rajab Alli Nyunyusa Morris on drums. You can watch Rajab performing on the drums below. Surprisingly, he is…