The Boy with the Headphones Story
This photo was taken during the field visit to Kisoro in SW Uganda where we recorded the music and dance of the Batwa people. The story of the Batwa can be read in detail by following the featured link below, but for now we will tell you about this little boy with the headphones. It was on our second day in Kisoro when we travelled to the Mperwa Batwa community. Consisting of just a small number of families, the Mperwa have settled on a small…
The Influences Series from Singing Wells News
…ll refresh the origins of East African music and make it discoverable to a new generation of music fans. Newly released Influences song – Missing March 2013 saw the release of an original track from Abubilla Music, re-mixed for the Influences series. The song is called (The only thing that’s) Missing and it was first recorded for the Abubilla Music album Misery Marmalade and other Spanish Jams. Here is the video of the new ‘Influences’ version, fe…
Listen to more ‘Influences’ tracks from Singing Wells News
…als. This track was recorded live at the Traveller’s Rest Hotel in Kisoro, Uganda. This is a track from ‘Tiny Moses’ who is also a Batwa from the Micyingo community living near Kisoro. Tiny Moses plays a small, hand made guitar and here he performs with Winyo at the Ketebul Music studios. Read more here. This is an Influences track performed on location in the field during our visit to Kenya in march 2012 to record the music of the Kajenjin tribes…
The First Singing Wells Influences Session Story
…ps went well. After Nyerere Wa Konde Music Club, we moved the set through 90 degrees and recorded Zaire Ndindingwara. We managed to capture special performances from both groups and went on to sample their percussion. One of the members of the Nyerere Wa Konde Music club then played us some of the music he had created in a project studio he has, away from the village, towards the coast road. It was from this, that Tabu suggested that the member, M…
Music of the Batwa: video playlist News
In November 2011 the Singing Wells team travelled to Kisoro in SW Uganda to record the music of the Batwa, a marginalised group whose music and dance tells the story of their history, culture and the problems they face today. To read the daily field reports from this trip, click here. Video playlist The trip was facilitated by the generous support of donors to our charity the Abubilla Music Foundation, including a grant from the Institute of In…
Music of Northern Uganda: video playlist News
…In December 2012 the Singing Wells team travelled to Uganda to record the music of the northern tribes, including the Alur, Acholi, Iteso and Langi. To read the daily field reports from this trip, click here. The trip was facilitated by the generous support of donors to our charity the Abubilla Music Foundation. Video playlist…
Hannah interviews Sabina – Acet, Northern Uganda News
…ur first song, ‘Welo Obino’ is sung to welcome visitors, a celebration for new comers in the village. That is why we sang it for you first. We then sang ‘Dug Gang’ which is to celebrate the end of war, to call the people over to tell them we are in peace. ‘Alocaloca’ was our final song: it is all about change. It is mainly sung to mark the end of a dispute or a war. These songs now mean more to us as the hardship in Northern Uganda is slowly comin…
The origins of Singing Wells Story
…ic labels on two separate continents. Tabu Osusa founded Ketebul Music in 2007 with a goal to record and promote traditional East African music. Tabu laments the fact that the music heritage of the region is being eroded. He says, ‘For reasons I can’t fully explain, contemporary East African music has lost touch with its tribal roots. Our most popular musicians find far more inspiration in western music than they do with East African music. I worr…
Returning to Uganda in Autumn 2013 Story
…hat we are returning to Uganda to continue tribal recording in the Autumn 2013. We’ve had extraordinary trips to Kisoro to record the Batwa and Northern Uganda to record the Nilotic tribes (Alur, Acholi, Iteso, Langi and Lugbara). For this upcoming trip we will focus on Central and Eastern Uganda which is home of the Bantu tribes (the Baganda, the Basoga, the Bagisu and the Banyoro to mention a few). Here’s an example of Basoga music – as always w…
Winyo performs with Batwa musicians for ‘Influences’ News
…studios in Nairobi. For more about this story click here. …
‘Missing’ – Singing Wells fundraising song for 2013 News
…March 2013 saw the release of an original track from Abubilla Music, re-mixed for the Influences series. The song is called (The only thing that’s) Missing and it was first recorded for the Abubilla Music album Misery Marmalade and other Spanish Jams. Here is the video of the new ‘Influences’ version, featuring musicians from Kenya, Uganda and the UK collaborating in this a unique song to celebrate and support Singing Wells….
Day 10: File Management at Ketebul Studios Story
…driving at night, and b) all travel plans must assume an average speed of 50 kph. It is simply impossible for two vans and 10 people to travel faster. Keep a running table of groups, songs and audio takes and camera times. This worked very well this trip and by circulating the table to everyone we could keep making corrections to everything as we went. The person who drives the clapper board should control the ‘final spelling’ of all and then work…
Day 9 (AM): Ketebul Studio – Influences session for Cheri Story
…em. Their musicality is amazing and the lead was able to introduce a whole new melody over Stanley’s song and deliver it as Bishop reported with pitch/timing perfect. By this time Nyerere Wa Konde wrote a new part requiring a different bass and guitar for part of the song. They rushed into the control booth to offer something (remember, the leader is someone we discovered in the coast and recorded for the first time in March 2011 and now he is re-…
Meet our ‘Influences’ artists News
…hich she chooses to call “Hybrid”, a simple cross between urban sounds and local tunes back home. Akello joined the Singing Wells team on the recording trip to Northern Uganda in December 2012. Akello with Adungu Cultural Troupe Find Akello and the Amari Band on Facebook here. …
Akello sings ‘Influences’ songs for Singing Wells News
…nd urban music performer who sings in most popular languages like Acholi, Luganda, Swahili and English..After years of working with a few of Uganda’s leading contemporary and world music greats such as Kaweesa, Susan Kerunen, Myko Ouma, Tshila and Kinobe Herbert..she is indeed a rare talent with a rich textured organic voice. Akello begins a new journey of performing her own music compositions that she chooses to call “Hybrid” a simple cross betwe…
Day 8: Entebbe to Nairobi and Ketebul Studios Story
…emember that next time it might be you we sing about. Binihare had made the band leader promise to sing in his funeral. Thanks to Bado, the son, for working with his father to give the background; here’s Bado, with Patrick, who we’ve known since the founding of Singing Wells: At about 1900, Tabu broke away with Hannah and Andy to go to a concert while Jimmy remained with the core group to continue recording. The recording group stayed until abou…