The Kalenjin of Kenya Album
…rs and the Kewamoi Women Dancers both featured. The latter – a nice addition to the lineup, as the field day coincided with World Women’s Day. Eddie Grey was part of the team for the recordings, and he joined a number of groups to join them for Influences recordings. Two of these have been included on the album – his guitar playing accompanying The Elimu Cultural Promoters and the Kewamoi Women Dancers….
Group 8: Abutazi Story
…nanga 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 we recorded it twic…
Group 4: Urugangaze Ballet Story
…dance. As with the other Intore we saw, there was a group accompanying the dance on the amakondera (horns). A couple of facts we learned about the Intore today: firstly, the Intore name is derived from the verb “gutora” (to choose/select) as a large number of the trainees originally were recruited from the children of upper middle class families. Secondly, the lion manes that the dancers wear are made of wood that is beaten so fine it becomes hair…
Albums Introduction Page
…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 groups we record….
Conclusion: Challenges and Recomendations Story
…ission – a recce. In that sense, all participants would be informed on the date they are to be filmed much more in advance, and the recce could preselect them according to their knowledge and accessibility. I believe recces have been a part of previous Singing Wells projects and both Ketebul and Abubilla crew are well aware of the benefits of this practice. This should thus be considered a reminder of its vital importance. If we look closer at the…
3. Background of the Naizungwe drums Story
Before we bring you our next update on the progress of the Naizungwe drums, James Isabirye, who is co-ordinating the project gives us some background information about the drums and the traditions from which they come: Where do they originally come from and who played them? Uganda has about 65 ethnic societies according to the 1995 constitution. Each ethnic society had a way it was organized socially before the advent of colonialism. Most of the…
Day 4 – Tuesday 4th July 2017 Story
…player had his own hit composition. When we asked him about “Koblong”, he dated it as late as 1980s and even claimed the tune was borrowed from his repertoire. His current instrument was made by a certain Apondi; yet he had to take it to Obong’o Omenda, the maker we interviewed on the first day in the region, for repairs, since he considers him the best. According to Owit, there are no traditional taboos as to who can play the nyatiti, neither in…
Day Two: February 17, 2020 (Stonetown) Story
…ox with a string going from the top of the stick to the top of the box. He changed notes by holding the string less or more taut as well as holding the end of the string down against the stick. Pretty amazing bass sounds came out of this. The two dancers danced with almost a belly dancing movement where they moved their hips and buttocks completely independently of the rest of their bodies. They wore a sash around their hips to accentuate the mov…
Singing Wells Stories Page
…a. 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 tells the story of the Marakwet people…
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). …
Field Recording Report by Kahithe Kiiru Story
…I – leg rattles; EFIRIMBI – a metallic whistle; OLWIKA – antelope horn aerophone; LIKHANGO – another aerophone made out of a reed attached to a wild goat horn; MUTINDI – flat two-skin drum played using two wooden sticks. Their props included spears (lifumo), shields (esikhumba), fly whisks (mukia) and clubs (eskong’o). They were wearing hats and tops made out of leather, leaves and feathers, and most original skirts which were in fact recycled umb…
Group 1: Inganzo Ngari Group Story
…da, 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 manifestation of each warrior showing the king what he’s made of – his talent, his weaponry, and judging by…
FAQ’s Page
…the recording. This amount varies based on a number of factors such as the number of members in the group and the number of songs we record. In the event of any music we record making money directly (through sales, sync licensing or performance royalties) we will endeavour to channel this money back to the original performers. Can I buy the music you have recorded? A selection of our music is available to download from our site. We have one album…
Page
…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 above and get in touch with us at info@singingwells.org…
Day 9 – Sunday 9th July 2017 Story
…e most widely used instruments classification system first devised in 1914 by musicologists Erich Moritz von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs; English version published much later in 1961; most current updated version: “Revision of the Hornbostel‐Sachs Classification of Musical Instruments by the MIMO Consortium” dates from 2011, published by Musical Instruments Museum….
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…