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…no better than the other Batwa so I thank you for choosing me. I am happy 1000 times over. My message represents the rest of the Batwa people. I listened to the recording of my song – it was so nice, so sweet.’ The day ended with her joyfully dancing to her own record, with her newborn baby in her arms. It was a moment that made so much of the work put in by the entire team completely worth it. And it has inspired us to continue searching for more…
Gacharaigu Gitiro Women Group Group
…ocation, Muguru Ward, Muguru Division, Kamgema District and was formed in 2006 and dedicated to self-help. Its style is Ndumo, an old women’s dance purely for entertainment and preservation of culture. For all their songs, the ladies used the Kigamba (leg shakers) The group played 6 songs: Ndumo: sung by Wambui Mwangi. Ngucu: sung by Charity Muthoni and Grace Njuguini Muthuo: sung by Mary Wambui Kimunya: sung by Grace Njuguini Gitiro: sung by Mary…
Day Zero: February 15, 2020 – Assemble in Zanzibar Story
…in Arabic as ‘having joy with music.’ Taarab’s origins are in the late 1800s. Mohamed Ibrahim, studied music in Egypt, where he learned to play the Qanun and returned to Zanzibar to form the Zanzibar Taarab orchestra. Of course, there are a variety of musical styles in Zanzibar, including (every use of quotes in this post are direct quotes from the DCMA): Ngoma: “Ngoma literally translated means drum and is a term to encompass all local tra…
FAQ’s Page
…ideo has a donation button associated with it and you can donate £1, £5, £10,£20 or £50 to help support a music group you particularly like. Find us on YouTube here. If I support you where will the money go? How do I know it will be well spent? Donations to Singing Wells can be made through The Abubilla Music Foundation. Your donation will be restricted for use in East Africa to support the project goals. You can specify just how much you would li…
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…ovative and exciting this music is. With that in mind, as we approach our 10 year anniversary, we want to truly combine these two missions and celebrate how music in the modern age can transcend global barriers. Alongside our partners, London record label, Abubilla Music, and Kenyan music studios, Ketebul Music, we are launching our Global Influences Project. We have curated a series of musical loops, taken from our field recordings across East Af…
Support Singing Wells Page
…red charity which funds the Singing Wells project Sponsor a Recording Day£3000 Your Gift to Us Your money will be used to support a complete day of recording traditional music for the Singing Wells project. Your donation will be spent in East Africa, funding the recording sessions in the field. There may be as many as six different music groups performing on one day and your donation will mean that every music group is able to perform and their so…
Day Three: February 18, 2020 (Stonetown, Mpendae, Maungani) Story
…rom Zanzibar) with Singeli (a new tribal rhythm). Taarab came from early 1800’s as Egyptian music. In Zanzibar the Mother of Taarab, Siti Binti Saad, made Taarab more popular in the 1920’s to 1950’s. We spoke to Hassan Mahenge, the assistant director of this band. He is a teacher at the DCMA. He teaches the Oud and plays the saxophone. All the students at the DCMA study traditional music such as Taarab as well as Western music. Members of the grou…
Day Four: 10 March 2022 (Rongo) Story
…at he has become, gave an exemplary performance without any re-takes. By 7:00pm his session was completed and he was on his way back to Kisii County. The next group was Otacho Young Stars who began their performance at 8:00pm. Otacho Young Stars were also no strangers since we recorded them in 2011 as part of the Singing Wells project. These musicians are now in their 30s and no longer answer to the name Young Stars and are appropriately simply kn…
Tarajazz Group
…the Mother of Taarab, Siti Binti Saad, made Taarab more popular in the 1920’s to 1950’s. We spoke to Hassan Mahenge, the assistant director of this band. He is a teacher at the DCMA. He teaches the Oud and plays the saxophone. All the students at the DCMA study traditional music such as Taarab as well as Western music. Members of the group: Suleiman Makame (keyboard, director), Hassan Mahenge (Saxaphone, assistant director), Mahsin Basalama (cont…
Day One: January 18, 2019. Assemble in Tanzania Story
…in villages. On average, we do one field visit a year, recording roughly 20-25 groups, and a 100-125 performances. We have roughly 1,000 videos online. Our general setup for a recording is: a) Steve is in charge of audio and we typically have two general mics for the group and 5-6 specific microphones for singers and musicians, b) we have three video cameras operating – one wide shot for full performance, one close up to capture details of instru…
Kochia Traditional Dancers Group
…ll need to entertain) and monkey fur. They are accompanied by drumming, and the Tung’, the Luo horn. You can contact the Kagan Kochia group for bookings on +254 700 600881 Sources: www.hivisasa.com www.allafrica.com Homa Bay, Kenya Leader: William Odero Ondiek…
Day Three: Bungoma Town to Kakamega Story
…told us the history of the band. The band, Bungoma Roots Band, started in 2005 when all the members were young men at the Kumugui Secondary School, in the Michimeru Village. Wilbert and his school friends formed a band and competed with other school bands. They were quite good and had all their school fees paid for. During breaks from playing at the school they took up ‘Marketing’ and showed up at any events that were being held. After graduation,…
Elgon Ngoma Troupe Group
…the local mountain) Ngoma (generic term for drums) Troupe and starting in 2009 played all sorts of functions that would bring money in to support the band members, all of which live on the premises. Shortly after, a friend of Julius’s donated some brass instruments and Julius started a brass band, called the Elgon Hero Brass Band. When you combine the two bands, the traditional and the new brass sound, Julius says, they blew audiences’ minds. As t…
Ayub Ogada Group
…Bomas of Kenya in the 1980s. He remembers he had gone for 6 lessons (at a 100 shillings) only and then continued practicing and experimenting by himself. It was equally interesting to hear his theory of the name nyatiti, which he translated from the Luo word nyar as queen and titi, making it “the queen of the clan”. The most interesting points Ayub had made were on the difference between playing at home, in an informal or traditional setting and p…
Day 5 – Wednesday 5th July 2017 Story
…Bomas of Kenya in the 1980s. He remembers he had gone for 6 lessons (at a 100 shillings) only and then continued practicing and experimenting by himself. It was equally interesting to hear his theory of the name nyatiti, which he translated from the Luo word nyar as queen and titi, making it “the queen of the clan”. The most interesting points Ayub had made were on the difference between playing at home, in an informal or traditional setting and p…
Day 2 – Sunday 2nd July 2017 Story
…rtunately feeling unwell and could only explain the instrument fabrication without detailed demonstration. Nevertheless, we were able to confirm the different stages of the nyatiti making process; learn additional details on sizes and measurements for resonators as well as for the arms and the head; note vernacular names of tools used for making a nyatiti (patas, pel, etc.); learn details on choice and procurement of nyatiti skin for the resonator…