The coolest dude at Homa Bay Story
…A wonderful picture of one of the Kochia Dancers who we recorded on the banks of Lake Victoria at Homa Bay, Kenya, in November 2011….
From African Twist to Benga News
…ddeling’ sound adapted by the Kikuyu musicians of the ’60s. We dedicated six days of studio time at Ketebul Music in Nairobi to record this set of legendary musical artistes, all of whom are now in their 60s and 70s and are critical to Kenyan music history. We are very proud of this unique album and hope you enjoy listening to the ‘old masters’. Our recordings are particularly poignant as Ochieng Nelly sadly passed away shortly after the making of…
From the streets of Kisoro Uganda to a professional recording session… Story
…Tiny Moses, backed by Winyo, plays guitar and sings in the Ketebul Studios in Nairobi. We discovered Tiny Moses during our visit to Kisoro Uganda to record the Batwa trips. Along with Francis and his wives and Jovah, we brought Tiny Moses and his team back to Nairobi to record them in a professional studio. Johnny and Bishop, on guitar and bass respectfully, joined Winyo to help Tiny Moses. Go here to listen to the result. …
The repatriation of Kenya’s music heritage News
Many hundreds of recordings by an early generation of Kenyan musicians are currently being returned to the communities in which these songs were made in the 1950s by English ethnomusicologist, Hugh Tracey. The repatriation of these recordings began in August, during a two-week pilot project in Kenya’s Rift Valley led by Prof Diane Thram, Director of the International Library of African Music (ILAM) in South Africa and the team from Ketebul Music,…
The lovely painted faces of the Marakwet tribes in the Rift Valley Story
…This is one of the beautiful singers from the Sagat Traditional Dancers; we recorded them on March 7, 2012 during our trip through the Rift Valley, Kenya. Her white dots represent the soil and the harvest; their beads are traditionally given to them after female circumcision. These dancers had walked over 50 kms the night before to make sure they arrived in time for the recording….
Ten More Singing Wells Stories News
…ple octaves, overwhelm you. So here are a few of our favourites: The Xylophone: One of the Royal Instruments. Here is a whole village dedicated to the music and dance of their instrument The Adungu: One of the most beautiful Ugandan instruments; here we show the video of a performance with one of our Influences artists, Jackie Akello The Likembe: The ‘Thumb Piano.’ This is the Macedonia Band, and their song Uganda Land of Freedom. Elsewhere, I’ve…
Current Leading Figures News
…ame of the ministry tells it all. where is culture? How much support would one expect?” Words that truly reinforce the crucial work of many of the individuals and organisations explored throughout this series, along with all the work that James does himself. His students at the university perform at carol services, annual university graduation ceremonies to a crowd of over 40,000 people, and perform every Wednesday to each other during a recital h…
Music Depositories and Archives around the World News
…listening to higher and further academic institutions, but this was then extended and now most of the material is made available for anyone to listen to, where copyright permits. Although a fantastic resource, its interface is quite dated; read Peter Cooke’s profile to hear his suggestions for updating the system, where his work is archived. 4. Smithsonian Folkways Smithsonian Folkways is a not for profit record label, set up by the Smithsonian…
A History of Recording East African Music News
…to manoeuvre the archive. It is intended mostly for scholars, however, anyone expressing an interest will be granted access Peter Cooke, b. 1930 Another teacher, Peter Cooke, began recording traditional African music when he began teaching at the Makerere College School in 1964. He was bereft of recordings of local music, and, at this time, only had the recordings that Hugh Tracey had made a few decades before, which were from all over Africa….
ILAM, Repatriation and Jimmie Rodgers/Chemirocha News
…e music of Cuba, demanding that we look further into the circles travelled between musicians between the Congo and Cuba, and we listen to Samba drumming and particularly the tambourin only to be reminded of the Watmon Cultural Group’s use of the Calabash. Our heads appropriately spin and we’re happy about that. The tribal music of East Africa is forever evolving. It is wonderful that Jimmie Rogers inspired a new song and it is amazing that the Ota…
James Isabirye and Tabu Osusa Discuss East African Music News
…hings. You don’t rediscover you heritage with a government policy. James: Exactly. One other issue. Part of the problem we have is our ‘everything now’ culture. 50 years ago, if you got a job, you knew that if you worked hard and stayed with the job and got promoted you could buy a home for your family, or a car. Or help your children to be educated. Once you got a job, you knew not to lose it. Now people work for a little bit and then quit and th…
Ketebul Music: A Year in Review News
…will be the main stand, talking about music through a set of panels. Everyone wants to be involved. One major project we still need to finish is Kenya at 50, both a documentary and coffee table book – which presents 50 years of music. We still need to finish this. A gentlemen named Andy Eisenberg, a Oxford Professor, gave us access to a collection of music and photos, from music promoter Peter Colmore. We are getting all the genres of Kenyan musi…
The Birara Batwa Community Story
…also share the knowledge on culture and pass on the knowledge to the young ones in order to promote and preserve the Batwa culture which includes music and dance.” Listen to the music of the Birara Dancers This is a song recorded for the Influences series – Francis singing Inanga Nyamunini accompanied by Jesse Bukinda from Ketebul Music on guitar This is the song ‘Uganda’ performed by the Batwa women and recorded in the Ketebul studios: How you ca…
Group of the Month – Otacho Young Stars News
…io with Jessie Bukindu. We recorded 5 tracks with the group in the field – one of which was ‘Charles Manager’ sung in English -about the arrival of a new manager to a sugar plantation. The irony being that they are thanking him, just for doing his job properly. This was one of the songs the group re-recorded at Ketebul studios – re-named Mr Manager and available on YouTube here: You can find links to the field reports below – along with a link to…
The Key to Sustainable Aid in Africa? Perhaps we should follow the music. News
…A Key Conduit to Sustainable Support for Africa is a Healthy Village Everyone who works and travels extensively in Africa knows the startling contrast between the beauty of a healthy village and the hideousness of the urban sprawl at the edges of African cities. And most leading thinkers concerned with African development, argue for efforts to maintain village life, to work with people in a village, with all the support that entails, rather than…
What people say about Singing Wells News
…Singing Wells here. Mark Totokwa via YouTube “This is good stuff – a good example of a sustainable project both in context and content. A big thank you to those behind this project and most importantly to the resourceful musicians. A job well done!” (Posted on YouTube here) Atesh Sonneborn, Associate Director, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings “Andy, It was a real pleasure to speak with you this morning. Your work is inspiring” Janet Topp Fargion, L…