Central and Eastern Kenya: Day 2 – Muranga to Kangema to Nkubu Story
…nyua plays the Karing’aring’a (the metal ring). The group played 5 songs plus one magic moment: Mwomboko Ndongomothi Kariara Rumba Jeki Magic Moment: The group then focused on a minute of Wendire Mugunda Ndaiga Muchiri Ndaiga Muchiri was a founding member of Kangema Mwomboko Dancers. He started singing in 1943 and loves to entertain. He is a Kikuyu and plays Mwomboko wa 40’s style. Mwomboko: a traditional song where he plays the Karing’aring’a (th…
Entenga: Performing twice for the king of Buganda News
…nd the rest of the Entenga players performed for the second time at the coronation anniversary of King Ronald Mutebi. https://youtu.be/HgKF14j5LrM We were first introduced to the Entenga drums in 2015 and have since been supporting James in an initiative to revive the drums and teach younger musicians how to play them (read the field reports here or watch our documentary for more information of this project). The Entenga players were mentioned i…
Central and Eastern Kenya: Day 1 – Nairobi to Kiongwe to Muranga Story
…orruption. The call to chase after time comes from the society that won’t condone these malpractices. Kaniini Kaseo The group is led by Mumbi Wambua, in Kyolo style. The group is also from Kamba ethnic community (ukambani wa kitui) and also from the village of Kiongwe. They have 16 members and were formed in 1980. They performed 3 songs, all of which use the Ileve (tin shaker, played by Mumbi Wambua) and Vilingi (whistle): Mutambo wa iiu: This mea…
Central Uganda: Day 7 – A Magic Day in Entebbe Story
…ribe below, but we have also invited artists from two of our trips to join us and create new music. For part of the session we were joined by Brad Gibbs from The Mara Group, who had sponsored part of this trip and wanted to see how things were going. Brad was joined by a colleague, Nicolas Farah, who was also very supportive of Singing Wells and in exchange for a copy of our Sampler CD gave a personal donation to the project. It was great to see t…
A Tanzanian Effort to Salvage the Music of the Past News
…“So to fill up that airtime they would send out recording safaris to various rural villages to record these ngoma dances and drumming sessions.” This traditional village music was combined by state-funded bands with the Cuban-flavored rhumba coming in from the Congo. The resulting mélange, she said, “is characterised by these high guitar riffs, and then a lot of African polyrhythmic drumming in the background, and even featuring horn sections.” T…
Kenya’s Amazing Musical Instruments News
…home to the wonderful Nyerere wa Konde Music Club. The club included a percussion trio playing the Lungo and the Ndema, as well as two shakers and a Filimbi (a type of whistle). Listen here: Nyatiti The Nyatiti is a stringed Luo instrument which, in the hands of the masters, serves as a bass, drum and rhythm guitar combined. One of the most famous Nyatiti players of all time is Ayub Ogada, seen here playing “Kothbiro”: We were lucky enough to meet…
Central Uganda: Day 5 – Jinja to Kampala Story
…ighted to find a English football match on the TV (Arsenal vs. Southampton). And we were greeted by Air Conditioning which is most welcome by those of us from the North but feared and mistrusted by those of us from Nairobi. We look forward to recording tomorrow in Kampala. Apparently there is a marathon. We shall provide the soundtrack….
Interview: fusion band Ndoto Afrika News
…tional and modern sounds to create a unique blend of catchy fusion music (trust me, you will be humming their Window Shopping tune all day). We interviewed them to find out more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeRj9BrTT20 Hi Holly. Tell us about yourself and Ndoto Afrika – what’s your story? They say stories live forever and one famous Kenyan writer keeps saying that a story is good, until another is told. We are here to share with the world how…
Central Uganda: Day 4 – Jinja Story
…you are walking and living with someone by your side, they are the special one and you don’t look at anyone else. Mwene Wamwenda: When you love someone even if they are poor or lame or sick or blind you just stay with them. Wandyaku Vooto (Dindu) Followed by a Magic Moment with Trumpet and Drums James Isabirye said of this group, “These are my darlings. They are trying to reconstitute a group that will lead the savior of the trumpets. There are tw…
Central Uganda: Day 2 – Kampala to Budaka Story
…all energy, all drama – more of an acting troupe, with drummers, than a chorus. This didn’t mean the vocals weren’t good, but to say they were not central to the performance. At the center, were the group’s stories, their actors and drama. James Isabirye said of the Busolwe Post Test Club , “They are a meeting point between formal education and village music. Although they perform traditional music, they also will also work in different formats, a…
Happy new year from Singing Wells News
…15 we travelled between Kampala and Jinja in Uganda in search of the lost music and musicians of the royal palaces. We posted regular updates about our journey and the incredible people we met along the way. You can read them on our Field Reports section. Here’s some further background written the beginning of our journey to discover the lost royal drums of the Buganda Kingdom. 2. We met Musisi and heard his story Musisi is one of the last remaini…
We’re discovering the lost music of the Ugandan Kingdoms News
…und and the beginning of our journey to discover the lost royal drums of the Buganda Kingdom Context on the Entenga royal drums we’ve been searching for The story of Musisi – a drummer from the royal palaces and the fall of the Buganda Kingdom Some information on the progress of the Bigwala trumpets – an instrument we restored on a previous field trip Interviews with the palace players and a great deal of information on the art of drum making You…
Singing Wells surpasses 500,000 YouTube hits! News
…world. Recording Nyerere Wa Konde Music Club perform in Gede, Kilifi, Kenya on our Singing Wells Pilot trip in 2011. A brief collage of the story of the recording of the music of The Batwa in Uganda and then back in Nairobi at Ketebul Studios. The Watmon Cultural Group, recorded in December 2012. The Elgon Ngoma Troupe sing about the circumcision ritual….
Meeting Ketebul: an interview with Tabu News
…worst Singing Wells moment? The worst was the day when Jimmy poured water on Andy. He was trying to get something from the tent and somehow, I’m not sure how it happened, he ended up soaking Andy. Actually, thinking about it now it wasn’t the worst, it was pretty funny! The worst was driving from Mombasa to Malindi at night, it was dangerous. The road was narrow, unmarked and I didn’t like it. We said after this we wouldn’t do it again. Now we ha…
The repatriation of Kenya’s music heritage News
…Prof Diane Thram, Director of the International Library of African Music (ILAM) in South Africa and the team from Ketebul Music, supported and funded by The Abubilla Music Foundation as part of the Singing Wells project. Read Bill Odidi’s article about the August project here….
Ten More Singing Wells Stories News
…well-intentioned actions to protect an animal species have marginalised thousands of forest people who have lost their homes, their culture, their livelihoods… We recorded them in their villages and invited them back to our studios in Nairobi to work with some of Kenya’s best musicians. We maintain a great relationship with our Batwa friends and recently invited Jovah to meet us last year in Entebbe to record with additional Ugandan artists (see l…