Day 4: UOBDU and the Birara Dancers Story
…st stop was the office of the United Organisation for Batwa Development in Uganda (UOBDU), where we met Henry Neza, the Capacity Development Co-ordinator, and Alice Nyamihanda, Tourism Officer and the first University graduate amongst the Batwa communities. They are to be our hosts and translators for the two days – we were lucky to be joined by Precious as well, Alice’s five month old daughter. Patrick photographs Alice and Precious with Winyo an…
A Batwa song in celebration of Uganda News
During our field trip to Uganda in November 2011 we recorded the music of six communities in the Kisoro district. One of our favourite songs was one about Uganda – a song of the Batwa sung in celebration of their cherished county. When we invited some of the Batwa to Nairobi to record in the Ketebul Music studios, we asked them to perform a version of the song for our Influences series, accompanied by Jesse Bukinda on guitar and Winyo on vocals….
Day 3: From Nairobi to Kigali to Kisoro Story
…ia. Crossing the Border: Rwanda was colinised by the Germans and Belgians, Uganda by the British. The result? As you cross the border between the two countries you switch sides of the road. Our drivers had left hand side drive, which was fine in Uganda, but meant that those in the passager side were left in the ‘middle of the road’ driving around Rwanda. Everyone seems to keep it straight, as we had no head on collisions. Kisoro: Located in the Mu…
Day 1 & 2: Preparing to leave for Kisoro, Uganda Story
…, mic stands on right. That’s all we need for full field recording So, that’s the team and the kit. Tomorrow we head for Kisoro, Uganda. The Singing Wells Team …
News from the Batwa in Kisoro News
…performances we recorded. We also printed some leaflets about the Batwa in Uganda and their traditional music and dance which we hope will help to promote their standing in the community in Kisoro and beyond. Zaninka Penninah from UOBDU sent us this message: Dear Victoria, Greetings Batwa community members. Please find the attached photos taken while the Batwa are viewing photos from the Albums. The Batwa were so happy – I think you can even see i…
Kathy’s reflections on her Singing Wells experience News
…erful to see the fusion of old tribal music with contemporary music in the field and in the studio in Nairobi. The one thing that I learned on this trip was how important it is to talk to the tribes to get their histories but also to make them feel welcome and at ease. It would also be useful to have a debrief afterwards to see how they felt it went and if they have any comments. I hope to go back to other areas of East Africa to hear their storie…
Nick Abonyo (the ‘clapper-man’) News
…rs’ 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 record the Kalenjin……when the rains came. In his typical wordy style Nick reported, ‘I was wet.’ When asked who from the team bos…
Best of Singing Wells 2011 News
In 2011 we completed three field recording trips in Kenya and Uganda and also took the mobile recording studio to the Lake Turkana Cultural Festival. We’ve recorded 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 sma…
A Year in Review March 2011 – March 2012 News
…bal dance. Read more about the Festival here. The Batwa Project in Kisoro, Uganda: This visit was partially funded by the Institute for International Education (read more by clicking here). We recorded music from 6 Batwa communities from the Kisoro district and subsequently invited 10 musicians back to Nairobi to record them in the Ketebul Music studios with professional musicians. Below we’ve included three separate videos. The first is a recordi…
A message from Henry Neza at UOBDU News
…Neza from UOBDU sent us after the Singing Wells recording trip to Kisoro, Uganda: The Batwa of Kisoro, as a result of your visit felt an international belonging and recognition. Through the generation of money by the Abubilla team for the performance of their cultural dance, the Batwa managed to aquire things like goats, clothes, seeds, utensils, bedding and tarpaulins to cover their leaking houses…… Eating good food among the Batwa families was…
AMF receive grant to fund Batwa recordings News
…rall aim of the Singing Wells project is to identify, record, preserve and promote the cultural music heritage of East Africa. In taking the project to Uganda to document and record the traditional music and dance of the Batwa, we can help to stem the tide which is threatening to obscure the music traditions of this ethnic group. The SWP will ensure that the unique sights and sounds of the Batwa are fully and professionally documented, preserved f…
Recording music & dance of the Batwa News
…uly, 2011 by Dina Buck for the United Organsation for Batwa Development in Uganda. Rationale for taking the Singing Wells project to Kisoro, Uganda The overall aim of the Singing Wells project is to identify, record, preserve and promote the cultural music heritage of East Africa. In taking the project to Uganda to document and record the traditional music and dance of the Batwa, we can help to stem the tide which is threatening to obscure the…
Reflections on the pilot phase by Pato News
…took us to his village called Sita in Gede. On arrival we received a warm welcome and Bado’s family was really happy to see me again and like wise. We got down to business and set up quickly and the first group was Mwanzele Nyerere wa Konde Music Club. I was excited because this would be my first time to see Mzee Nyerere wa Konde perform live and they did not disappoint. Later they were joined by Winyo for a performance which in simple words was…
Discovering music roots with SWP News
…in a unique way, different from the grainy footage of government “tourist promotional” documentaries dating from the 1960s. I was born in Nairobi 48 years ago. At 14, my future music career came to a crashing halt when I was kicked out of the school choir for miming. I wouldn’t dare sing; my voice is just a notch better than a toad’s. My attempt to learn guitar was also thwarted when my finger tips formed that kind of stuff you find on your heels…
More Ketebul voices…Steve reports from the field News
…rmance by Samba mapangala, Winyo, and Ayub Ogada, that he had organized to welcome our friends from Abubilla. We all joined them later, and I couldn’t believe how late it was when we finally left to go home. Jimmy made a point to check with me whether I knew when we were to depart from Nairobi according to my itinerary. Yes, Jimmy can be a funny guy. Day 2: The Road Trip to Malindi On the day of departure, I made a point to make it to the studio…
More on the launch of the Ketebul Music website News
…vered a great site right on brief and within a tight budget which is a big bonus for the Singing Wells funds. Here are a few words from Wesley Burden about the challenge we gave them…… “Ketebul Music required a website design that delivered a strong sense of the colourful music of East Africa and the traditions that their non-profit organisation aims to help preserve. Using our experience from working with Abubilla Music and Sideways Recordings we…