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…) the better! Muwewesi Xylophone Group Unsurprisingly for the Muwewesi Xylophone Group, the Xylophone is the star of the show. A giant xylophone lays across the floor, played by 8 musicians, alongside vocalists, pipe flute players and tube fiddle players. Based in Nakisenye, East Uganda, we visited the group in 2013, and when we arrived we found that the band had been there since morning preparing – they had dug the pit for the xylophone, with the…
Get on the Map Page
…the form grants The Singing Wells project permission to embed any links contained within the form on the map of East Africa. Submission of the form does not guarantee that your group or music will be featured on the map….
Fanuel Amimo Group
…ing technique was extremely interesting to observe, as it reminded us of the various litungu players we had seen in the past two weeks in Luhya land….
Day 9 – Sunday 9th July 2017 Story
…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); body parts (any specific additional parts and why); strings number; playing techniques (position of instrument; hands positioning and fingers involved in playing; plucking tech…
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….
Albums Introduction Page
…h 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 groups we record. In the event that we have invited one of the musicians back to the Ketebul Studios in Nairobi to record, we will also include these rec…
Conclusion: Challenges and Recomendations Story
…eration, we should encourage closer collaborations and the creation of a network that could surpass the SW project itself. In order to do this, we should extend the master classes duration to one week (5 working days at least) and consequently enable younger players to learn much more on the tuning, playing techniques, traditional tunes and the culture behind the instrument from the elders. This would, I believe, also encourage and give time and s…
Day 1 – Saturday 1st July 2017 Story
…yatiti’s shape (resembles the traditional Luo hut shape), symbolism of the number (8) of strings of the nyatiti, his tuning techniques and order of string tuning, together with the story of his personal attachment to his instruments collection (owns 14 nyatitis). Upon our arrival to Kisumu City, we had another semi‐formal interview that would birth ideas for other hypothesis and arguments to follow up on. We met Meshack Okoth Okumu, who was to be…
3. Background of the Naizungwe drums Story
…ties were and still are organized on clan system. One ethnic society has a number of clans where each clan has a leader – clan leader. Each of those clans had identifying regalia and one of them are drum rhythms that symbolize the general belief of that 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 ba…
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). …
Introduction: Project overview and objectives Story
…the day‐to‐day field report contained herein is of a narrative nature and does not focus on the details of collected data, which will be presented in a finer ethnographic report to follow. “Masters of the Nyatiti” focuses on the nyatiti, an 8‐string lyre originating in the Luo community on the shores of Lake Victoria in Western Kenya. Most of the field recordings this report is based on were thus conducted in Lake Region of Kenya, notably in Kisu…
What We Do Page
…allows us to record audio via up to 8 different professional quality microphones and video with three HD cameras. Following each visit, this material is post produced to provide an archive of audio tracks and videos. We are in contact with The British Library about adding the Singing Wells collection to their archive of World and Traditional Music but we also endeavour to make our recordings accessible to the widest possible audience of musicians…
Here for Research? Page
…oup is from. A brilliant resource and great for comparing musical styles amongst groups that are local to each other. “Our goal is to record, archive and share the traditional music of East Africa for two important reasons – to sustain and celebrate the extraordinary cultural music heritage of the region and to help make this legacy relevant and fresh to today’s audiences.”…
Field Recording Report by Kahithe Kiiru Story
…y authentic and original for his mastery and virtuosity on the drum. These two played a large number of popular Luhya folk songs and marked the perfect end to our stay in Isukha land. DAY 7 – Friday 23rd February 2018 On the seventh day of recording, we moved to yet another county of the Western region of Kenya – Vihiga County. Here we were welcomed by Philip Isilia, our contact for the area who is himself also a musician. In Emativini village o…
The Best of Singing Wells 2011 Album
…A collection of some of our favourite tracks from our trip in 2011. NOTE: some of the tracks on this album also feature on the release ‘The Batwa of Kisoro’ under different titles. …
Singing Wells Stories Page
…he Batwa of Kisoro and the Luo of Kenya. Abubilla Music also supported the release of his debut album: The Benga Blues. To listen to and buy a copy of that, head here: The Benga Blues Sagat Traditional Dancers We recorded the music of the Sagat Traditional Dancers as part of our trip to record the music of the Kalenjin in the Rift Valley of Kenya in March 2012. The recording location was stunning. The group performed their piece ‘Chemuso’, which t…