Day 3: Homa Bay and the Kochia Dancers Story
…dy to do their stuff… The Kochia Dancers Today is all about dances, so our videos will be much better than still photographs. Let us introduce you to the dancers; here in full glory are the Kochia Dancers who dance in the Ramogi style of dance (ref: for a great article on the Ramogi dance of the Luo, by Helen Odwar, click here): https://youtu.be/_qVuMFLJ9-M https://youtu.be/pwVlHnpw8Io https://youtu.be/B_M_OFRzDoU https://youtu.be/6AjxDKLPLkg http…
Where the hell is Matt? 2012 News
…Matt Harding’s new video is an inspiration – he’s done something very special to bring people together through music and dance and show that, despite our many differences, dancing is something that brings happiness to everyone. If you haven’t seen it already, here’s the wonderful new video….. Where the Hell is Matt? 2012…
Day 2: Focus on the Nyatiti, Orutu and DRUMS! Story
…n far right, tent protecting recording equipment far left against back of truck, video guys in middle). And a view from the field showing Jimmy on Camera 2 filming Organda Joginda: Andy resting after setting up microphones: And Steve working as chief engineer on this session (Macbook Pro and two Motu audio interfaces on top of our trusted Pelicase, which acts as storage for all equipment, chair and table….in the back of the truck that will see us…
Christine Kamau – “The Jazzist” News
A message of support from Afro-Jazz trumpeter and composer, Christine Kamau….. Hello Victoria! Thanks for getting in touch! I have checked out you project…it’s great that you are dedicated to keeping indigenous music alive..#very best wishes and I hope we can keep in touch. Christine BBC Africa Beats: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17831507 Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thejazzist Reverbnation: https://www.reverbnation.com…
Day 1: The music of the Luo – starting at Rang’ala Village Story
…s sounds of the Nytati to form something more bluesy; it morphs later into Rumba, which combines Benga and also Congolese music which is in turn heavily influenced by Cuban music. The big guy in Luo Benga was Daniel Owino Misiani who developed the style in the 60’s. A big reason to return to Luo-lands is to trace back to the origins of Benga, understanding in more detail the core instruments. Here, we almost start at the end, recording Osumba Rate…
From Kisoro to Nairobi to Lake Victoria Story
…isumu Sunday we were off again. Jamming our Pelicases in the back of the van and heading to the studio where Winyo was doing his Michael Jackson impression: Once the equipment was loaded, the Ketebul guys got the big truck… In terms of the trip to Kisumu, a picture is worth a thousand words… we will say no more on the topic: Tomorrow we get back to recording. That is a very good thing. The Singing Wells Team 27 November 2011…
The Batwa Trail News
…the Singing Wells project is spreading far and wide! Ivy has made a great video about the Batwa Trail in Kisoro, Uganda. When the Singing Wells team visited Kisoro last year to record the music of the Batwa (click here to go to our field reports), we didn’t have enough time to do the Batwa Trail but we heard about how it is helping the Batwa people tell the story of their cultural heritage and, in doing so, provide an income for this impoverished…
Samba Mapangala & Orchestra Virunga News
…nth, in support of Samba’s new album Maisha Ni Matamu (Life Is Sweet) on Virunga Records. We first met Samba in Kenya, on a recording trip as part of The Singing Wells project. He sang as part of a ‘Welcome’ concert put together by our friends at Ketebul, along with Winyo and Ayub Ogada. We’ll bring more news on his new album as we have it, but until then you can view his tour dates on the Abubilla Music events calendar – just click here For a pro…
Day 6: The Studio @ Traveller’s Rest Hotel, Kisoro Story
…to the floor from the principal dancers, only to be revived again by the drummers. Simply amazing. Their drums were the key to their style – reviving them each time they fell from ‘James Brown’ exhaustion: https://youtu.be/1et4E7lKojA https://youtu.be/1BvCwhX2ctM The Kabahena Group had arrived with the Gatera Group and due to the former’s extended performance, they had to wait quite a time to get ‘on stage’. This did not appear to be a problem…
Gary Barlow, Ayub Ogada and our very own global song News
…different musical styles, instruments and vocalists – you could call it a truly global song. And talking of truly global songs, here’s one of our very own… The track is called 71 Hours to Monday, an original song from Abubilla Music which tells the story of a girl who hates her job and counts down the hours from Friday evening until the dreaded Monday comes round again. The global remix of the song features musicians from Sao Paulo to London to Na…
Day 5 (much later): The Micyingo Group – guitar and bass! Story
…ntre stage. For us, he symbolised the essence of how life is for the Batwa today – a very hard life, but a life full of spirited song and dance… and this lady is their wonderful lead vocalist… https://youtu.be/pZzgr2PXZ3s https://youtu.be/gt4_CaZNN2c Then the guitar and bass took to the stage….if you are wondering where the bass is, the plastic bag turn out to be significant. We were bemused by this magic plastic bag, but it turns out it was cov…
Gary Barlow, Ayub Ogada & the Diamond Jubilee song News
…have added a feature about Singing Wells in their Magical Kenya March 2012 newsletter but the headline article is about Gary Barlow’s visit to Kenya to find musicians from the Commonwealth countries to perform on his song for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. We have to admit to playing a small but hopefully significant part in Gary’s search for talented Kenyan musicians. We were asked by Gary’s production team for some advice about Kenyan music and ou…
Day 5: Recording the Mperwa Dancers Story
…tators from every generation take a seat for the performance… Here are the videos: https://youtu.be/zFjbdw9j1io https://youtu.be/W_VV8xEYziM https://youtu.be/t8Ui32w_NbI https://youtu.be/QHo5Eb2Az20 https://youtu.be/wxzzC5qcweU https://youtu.be/mhzNpJLsZFA https://youtu.be/h_mVjup7_6s https://youtu.be/1zjh68iNClw Jessie leads the first Influences session and Winyo accompanies the lead singer and drummer on another…… …and then serenades one of the…
Day 4 (later): Recording for ‘Influences’ with the Birara Dancers Story
…cary to the tribal artists. They have to wear headphones to hear other instruments we recorded earlier. They have to sing into a mic. Often they are asked not to clap. Often they are asked not to dance while they sing. We do it to focus on sound quality, but we are fully aware that we are putting these fantastic musicians into an alien environment. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. With the Birara Dancers over the three days we worked with…
Day 3: From Nairobi to Kigali to Kisoro Story
…isions. Kisoro: Located in the Mufumbiro Mountains which are part of the Virunga Mountain range. This range holds all the mountain gorillas and has the national parks Parc Des Volcans and Parc Des Virunga. This becomes important because so many of the Batwa songs are about the ‘Parcs.’ Kisoro is quite a small town, population 12,000. On a map we are about as far west and south in Uganda as you can go. Traveller’s Rest: We stayed at the Traveller’s…
Day 1 & 2: Preparing to leave for Kisoro, Uganda Story
…lot and Lake Turkana Cultural Festival was that we had under-estimated the video requirements for a shoot. In this round of fund raising, we purchased additional video recording equipment for the Singing Wells Project (SW3) and also brought Abubilla Music’s own video kit (AM2. For the record, AM1, is a similar remote recording kit). Mic Stands/Tripod. We have a big rolling bag for all mic stands, computer shades and microphones. This also carries…