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…eating new fusions, what is a common thread tying all of these experiences together is the longing to remain true to their families, to their villages, to their ethnic communities. They are united in their desires to keep their music alive and relevant, echoing older generations, speaking to new generations. And, of course, they just loving making great music. We are privileged to have helped share songs and stories with millions of people across…
3. Background of the Naizungwe drums Story
…ded traditional value systems that had come with foreign civilization also took their toll, causing erosion of the traditions. Can you describe the style of this tradition? It is percussive. The central concept is polyrhythms interlocking. Drums play loudly. The louder the better because loud is power, strength. People who have a healthy life are energetic and they often express that through music and dance and more. How are the drums played? The…
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…
Recording Resources Page
…isit Management Audio Recording Protocol Field Visit Workflow We hope these are useful for other researchers in the field. Please do get in touch if you find these helpful!…
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…
Biluli Dutwa Group
…praise for the region. Bahuni ba ng’wanza: A song referring to local women of questionable virtues Balimi: A song about farming where the band brought up children from the village and taught 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…
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
…ups 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 recordings. The albums are available to download through our Bandcamp store in your choice of formats. The proceeds from the sale of our albums will be fed back to the musicians involved in the recordings, wherever possible. CDs may also be available in the future. Join the mailing list to find out when…
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….
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 1 – Saturday 1st July 2017 Story
…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 our fixer in the area. Son of late Okumu Orengo, a well‐known nyatiti master previously…
Day 9 – Sunday 9th July 2017 Story
…ing the instrument; etc. We also attempted to establish if there was any contact and exchange between neighbouring communities that would give birth to common tunes or influence instruments’ shapes and music styles, etc. 1. Source: Wikipedia 2. The 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…
Day Five: January 22, 2019 Mwanza Continued Story
…, Akafotho (hand whistling), Enganja: Clapper – two wooden ‘bricks’ struck together, and they wear Ebisheshe (grasses). We recorded four performances: Wachumba Walya: A song about someone who is too mean-spirited to support his community even though he has lots of money, it is about a man “who eats along, without his brother’ Ntelela Engoma: A song about living with respect to traditional ways Basigazi Fura Emyende: A song about overcoming all of…
Day 4 – Tuesday 4th July 2017 Story
…ad strings); All of the instrument’s components are fixed and left to dry together (resonators, skin, arms and head). Finally, he makes a clear difference between clients who are traditional and/or locally famous players, for whom he does a sacrifice upon completion of job, and outsiders, commercial clients for whom he does no such thing. Finally, we closed our day with an indoors interview at Namsagali hotel in Siaya. There we talked to Thadayo…
Richard Sewanyana Group
…o play the flute in the palace but he was aging and wanted a family member to continue to play. I tried to play with him all the time and learned a few songs. In 1966, I was taken to the palace as a servant boy. My father also wanted to play the flute and replace his father. But he tried to play and failed to learn. But he pretended to play at all performances, acting like he was blowing the flute while his band-mates played. My father was in the…
The Music of the Mijikenda Album
This album documents the first Singing Wells field recording trip – to record the music of the Mijikenda in March 2011. The albums begins as the trip did, and in fact the whole project – with the Nyerere Wa Konde Music Club, and Zaire Ndindingwara – both recorded in the village of Sila. The next day saw 4 groups – and all are included here. Chechemeko Raha and 4 the Mzinga, both captured in Kibarani village, further south from Sila, and then fu…