Field Recording Report by Kahithe Kiiru Story
…. He founded Omutibo Benga in 1979 and ever since has not stopped playing. Today the group consists of 8 elderly members. They refer to the Bunyore folk music they play as sebo music. They use two acoustic guitars and combine them with other instruments blending traditional Luhya music influences and the popular Luhya guitar genre omutibo. These include: EFANDA – an empty Fanta bottle scraped on with a metal stick; EKENGELE – metal ring struck wit…
Day Three: Bungoma Town to Kakamega Story
…they agreed they would pool all their day job money and gigging money and between them over two years saved 50,000 shillings. They were too young to open an account at bank so saved their money under their pillows. Wilbert then travelled to Nairobi to find someone to record their first songs. They went to Sawa Studios and in 2009 recorded their first album, Khabere Wefwe (these were songs dedicated to their heroes). They turned these recordings i…
Pius Wafula Group
…group called “Webuye Jua Kali” up to 2009, when he founded his own group. Today the group counts 5 members who play the following instruments: LITUNGU – a 7-string traditional lyre; ISIRILI – a one-string fiddle; LUENGELE– a percussive idiophone, they use a wooden stool struck with wooden sticks; ENG’OMA – a generic term for drums, they use a plastic water container also struck with wooden sticks; CHISASI – shakers made out of gourds. We recorded…
Singing Wells Stories Page
…isten to a sample of the music that the Singing Wells project has recorded between 2011 and 2013, then please click here. Tiny Moses We met Tiny Moses during our field trip to record the music of the Batwa in southern Uganda in late 2011. He arrived at the Travellers Rest hotel with the other members of the Micyingo community. He turned up to record with his home made guitar in his hand. We recorded him playing a few tracks with his and then we re…
Here for Research? Page
…n and celebrate the extraordinary cultural music heritage of the region and to help make this legacy relevant and fresh to today’s audiences.”…
Day Five: February 20, 2020 (DCMA) Story
…oise. It was great we could get them all to come to the hotel unexpectedly today. After this we drove back to Stonetown to record at the DCMA and the Culture Musical Club. The three groups: Kithara – This group was formed by Rajab Suleiman. They have played together for 20 years and all live in the same neighborhood. They play for weddings and festivals in a traditional Taarab style. It was good to see them again on the grounds of the Ngalawa ho…
Recording, archiving and sharing the traditional music of East Africa Page
…heritage of the region and to help make this legacy relevant and fresh to today’s audiences. As a group of sound and video engineers, producers and musicians, we set out on this mission not to become ‘fossil collectors’ and store the recordings in inaccessible archives. We work with musicians to make sure their music traditions continue to be practiced, can be shared amongst the widest audiences and become a source of inspiration for new musician…
Zam Zam Group
…, in Rahaleo. All male group ranging from age 7 up to 40, ten all together today. They sing Islamic and secular songs for weddings and celebrations. It was mainly an acapello performance with one flute made out of a bamboo stick. The singers included: Ibrahim Ali Hassan (lead singer, flute ), Issa Ali Hassan (lead singer), Mlenge Ali Hassan, Othman Mlenge Ali, Afann Mlenge Ali, Iddi Abdallah Mohd, Abdillah Salum Juma (lead singer), Fesal Sleiman M…
Day One: January 18, 2019. Assemble in Tanzania Story
Today is a travel day. The main Ketebul crew (Steve, Patrick, Drix) left Nairobi early to drive to Kisumu, while Tabu flew with Jimmy and Hunter to Kisumu (Jimmy and Hunter arrived from London on the 17th. We all met at the Kenya/Nairobi border and after two hours, cleared the border and drove to Tarime, where we met Jackline Odhiambo Aringo (Jackie Akinyi), a Tanzanian musician who helped organize our trip (see our interview with Jackie here). W…
Influences songs from Singing Wells Group
…a new generation of musicians and fans who might not consider it relevant today. So, we have developed the Influences series – a fusion of traditional and contemporary styles. Each time the Singing Wells team embarks on a field recording visit we are joined by a talented musician who works with us on ‘Influences’ songs. They work with us in the field and also in the Ketebul Music studios in Nairobi to produce this new material. We believe our Inf…
Day Zero: February 15, 2020 – Assemble in Zanzibar Story
…s a trailblazer who revolutionized taarab music in a way the is still felt today…Whereas her predecessors were all male and sang predominately in Arabic, she was the first woman to perform in Swahili…She was born in 1880 in the Fumba village in Zanzibar…She left her home village and met Al Muhsin of Nadilkhwani Safa, a taarab group indebted to the Sultan at that time. Muhsin…decided to teach her…at the time it was considered immoral for women to…
The Revival of the Entongooli Page
…generation and there is no living player of the Entongooli in this region today. Instead, he has worked to learn and teach as much as he can in the hope he can start a new generation of skilled players and builders of the Entongooli. Finding the Materials Finding the correct materials is half of the battle of reviving such a unique and rare instrument. The beginning of the Entongooli building process begins with forming the bowl shaped base, the…
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…nd songwriters to show how this “traditional” music is still relevant into today’s modern world. Below you will find links to the musical loops we have selected that are available to download for the project, If you are interested in joining the Global Influences Project, you can download the project brief here or get in touch with us with any questions you may have. SUBMISSIONS FOR THIS PROJECT ARE NOW CLOSED. Click here to access the Global In…
Day Two: February 17, 2020 (Stonetown) Story
…, in Rahaleo. All male group ranging from age 7 up to 40, ten all together today. They sing Islamic and secular songs for weddings and celebrations. Today was mainly an acapello performance with one flute made out of a bamboo stick. The singers included: Ibrahim Ali Hassan (lead singer, flute ), Issa Ali Hassan (lead singer), Mlenge Ali Hassan, Othman Mlenge Ali, Afann Mlenge Ali, Iddi Abdallah Mohd, Abdillah Salum Juma (lead singer), Fesal Sleima…
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…s a trailblazer who revolutionized taarab music in a way the is still felt today…Whereas her predecessors were all male and sang predominately in Arabic, she was the first woman to perform in Swahili…She was born in 1880 in the Fumba village in Zanzibar…She left her home village and met Al Muhsin of Nadilkhwani Safa, a taarab group indebted to the Sultan at that time. Muhsin…decided to teach her…at the time it was considered immoral for women to j…
What We Do Page
…w generation of musicians and listeners who might not consider it relevant today. So we have developed the Influences series: new compositions comprising a fusion of traditional and contemporary styles, themes, harmonies and instruments. Influences is led by musicians from Ketebul Music or singer/songwriters from the areas we are travelling to during our field visits. “Singing Wells can’t be just about archiving. We can’t be fossil collectors. We…