Kenya (Coast): Day 4 – the road back to Nairobi Story
…certain sounds so that we can really capture individual vocalists and instruments. We did an amazing job of archiving the full performance, in video and audio way. Going forward, we should work to use our second studio to capture individual sounds. On the video side, we need a main crew focused on the performance and a secondary crew focused on Selling Wells, archiving the stories of the music and the artists. TO: The pilot was a success and prov…
Diamond Jubilee Pageant at Windsor Castle News
…om the Masai, Samburu, Luo, Kamba and Kikuyo tribes The Nairobi Chamber Chorus considered the topmost choir in Kenya today Cultural Pavilion At the entrance to Windsor Castle there will be a Cultural Pavilion which will contain a backdrop of graphic representations of all the countries that have had a role to play in the Queen’s reign. On the Kenya stand there will be Singing Wells DVDs freely available for guests. The DVD is from our ‘Best of…
News from the Batwa in Kisoro News
…We received a lovely email from our friends at the Organisation for Batwa Development in Uganda (UOBDU) this week. Just to re-cap, we visited Kisoro in southern Uganda in November 2011 to record the music and dance of the Batwa people….
Kathy’s reflections on her Singing Wells experience News
…mcision. They are also used as a way of passing on information and telling stories about the history of the tribes. Some songs were influenced by the Christian missionaries and had a gospel quality. Some of the stories in the songs were quite funny and I wish I could have understood all of the songs in more detail. The one singer who told his songs in detail was Ben Kisinja. For example his song about Sigerer, the bull, was actually more about how…
Nick Abonyo (the ‘clapper-man’) News
…professionalism, equipment and teamwork of Ketebul and its mission. In the words of CNN, he says, “I like that we ‘go beyond borders’ to discover real music.” Nick’s favourite Singing Wells moment was the welcome we received at the home of Ogoyo Nengo in Rang’ala, Nyanza province. “She is a great artist and for her to welcome us to her home was a great honour. I felt so proud.” His worst moment was during the first day of recording on this trip to…
The Kalenjin & Kenya’s elite athletes News
…ocumentary project for the past four years. The programme follows two main runners – David Rudisha who won the 800m in the Beijing Olympics and Edna Kiplagat who is the world cross country champion. They are focusing mainly on their coaching and what it takes to get to the Olympics. Both athletes will be running at London 2012. Most Kenyan runners come from the Rift Valley, in particular the town of Itan where there is a strong culture of running….
Best of Singing Wells 2011 News
…corded over 150 songs from more than 25 local music groups and uploaded 36 videos of these performances to YouTube (so far). Every performance was unique and special – we loved them all – so picking just 10 songs for a ‘Best of’ album was not easy. Here are our final choices….it’s just a small reflection of what was an extraordinary year of recording music in East Africa. We hope you enjoy listening. Please get in touch and let us know what you th…
Why “Singing Wells”? News
…erdsmen climb from their wells and disappear into the bush. The songs tell stories of Samburu traditions and help the herdsmen keep a steady rhythm while they lower and raise their buckets. The singing wells illustrate the importance of traditional songs in the life of the Samburu tribes people. We think that ‘Singing Wells’ is a very good name for our project which aims to preserve, celebrate and share the unique music traditions and heritage of…
A Year in Review March 2011 – March 2012 News
…, you will discover the Otacho Young Stars, with their modern take on the Orutu. But then watch the magic of the Nyatiti and Luo drums in two ‘magic minute’ sessions: The Kalenjin project, Great Rift Valley, Kenya: Scheduled for March 2012, we will be travelling to the Great Rift Valley to record the music of the Kalenjin tribes. The majority the world famous Kenyan athletes are from this tribe and we will be capturing the traditional musi…
Sad News from Kenya News
…ear to all of those keeping track with the Singing Wells project. Some sad news. Okumu K’Orengo, one of the musicians we recorded in Kenya as part of the Singing Wells trip, had passed away. He was a master of the Nyatiti and performed for us in the village of Aluny, his final track on the day being a funeral dirge. We send our sympathies and condolences to his family and friends at this sad time. Here is an audio excerpt and video from his perfor…
AMF receive grant to fund Batwa recordings News
We have just heard the good news that the Institute of International Education has approved a grant to support the Singing Wells trip to Uganda to record the music and dance of the Batwa people. We are delighted that our proposal was successful and that the IIE agreed with our rationale for taking the project to the Batwa to increase awareness of their unique music and dance traditions. In our proposal, we outlined our rationale as follows: “The…
Singing Wells Project News Update News
…OCTOBER 2011 NEWS: Here is the latest news and itinerary for Phase 4 – the Batwa and Luo music recording trip in November. Click on the image to download the PDF: …
Abubilla Music release fourth album News
…ng Canasta Club will play tracks to a (hopefully) admiring audience – more news about that to follow. Click on the cover for a sneak preview – the track ‘Breathe’ performed by the Singing Wells Project’s very own Andy Patterson……. Importantly, the album also includes the global remix of an original Abubilla track ’71 Hours to Monday’ which has been released to promote the Singing Wells project and help raise funds for the 201…
AMF News Up-Date News
…There’s some exciting developments happening with all our projects and partners. Take a look at our news update here: …
May 2011 – Jimmy reports back on the pilot phase News
…ly “the nine clans”) also employ the use of a vast array of impressive instrumentation such as kayambas, marimbas, flutes, horns, various cow-hide drums and shakers. I often point out to the “misuse” of the synthesizer in generation of drums beats and percussion in modern recordings. However, modern technology can greatly enhance these acoustic sources of music if one chooses to start from there. Imagine the sound of the Chechemeko Raha group with…
Lake Turkana Cultural Festival 2011 News
…ed a perfect fit with the objectives of the Singing Wells project and the trustees were happy to approve a grant to cover the costs of travelling to the Festival with the new mobile recording equipment. The main purpose for the Festival, which is hosted by the German Embassy in Nairobi and the National Museums of Kenya, is to ‘overcome tribalism in the region and to promote peace and reconciliation among the local communities around Lake Turkana b…