Intro
From the Batwa, to the Nilotic, from the Nilotic to the Bantu:
We are very excited to confirm that we are returning to Uganda to continue tribal recording in the Autumn 2013. We’ve had extraordinary trips to Kisoro to record the Batwa and Northern Uganda to record the Nilotic tribes (Alur, Acholi, Iteso, Langi and Lugbara). For this upcoming trip we will focus on Central and Eastern Uganda which is home of the Bantu tribes (the Baganda, the Basoga, the Bagisu and the Banyoro to mention a few).
Here’s an example of Basoga music – as always with Uganda music, amazing energy, exotic instruments and wonderful dance:
Our Love of Ugandan Music and The Pearl of Africa
While our mission is to record the music of all of East Africa, we are continually drawn back to Uganda. This will be our third trip and we are convinced we will return again and again. While it is always hard to capture a million images and sounds in a single blog, we’ll try to summarize what keeps bringing us back…
- The individual voices
- The collective voices
- The exotic instruments
- The extraordinary dance, youth and energy
- The inspiration
A performance or two for each of these…
1. The Individual Voices: Who can forget Francis, the lead of the Batwa musical community, singing with Jessie in the grounds of our hotel. Everyone stopped to listen and it remains one of our most inspiring tracks…
Or the leader singer of the Rubanga Kingom Awach boys of Northern Uganda, Wokorach Walter. Have you ever heard anything like this?
2. The Collective Voices: We will never forget Jovah and Winyo, singing with the Mperwa Dancers in Kisoro.
3. The Exotic Instruments: You’ve heard the Likembe, but what about the Adungu from Kampala?
Or the Nanga and other instruments from the Watmon Cultural Troupe.
4. Extraordinary Dance: Uniquely in our experience to date, Ugandan music is still performed by the young and they bring with it amazing energy. Let’s start with the Oramba dance by the Alur Kingdom
And provide one of our ‘Magic Moments’ with a dancer that captured the hearts of a few of our female film crew! This is Ker Kal Kwaro.
5. Inspiration: And, of course, this music inspires our younger artists and motivates them to try new and different styles. Here’s Akello with Amari (featuring the Watmon Cultural Troupe):
That’s it. We just wanted to drop you a note to say we’re coming back and to thank you for your support. If you’re interested in Ugandan music and want to support us on the next phase, do let us know!
Jimmy