The Key to Sustainable Aid in Africa? Perhaps we should follow the music. News
…th of a village is a strong, vibrant and young musical troupe… We have now travelled to over 50 villages throughout Kenya and Uganda recording over 7 hours of songs that have been mixed, mastered and posted for all to hear. And while we have not done any scientific investigation of this, our strong view is that the following: the stronger and younger the musical group, the stronger the village. Let us be clear – this does not mean that the better…
What people say about Singing Wells News
…My name is Daria, I’m the co-author of the RideThePlanet project – we as a group of friends make short videos on travelling and action sport, in various landscapes around the world. I’m also the music editor for our films and now while searching for tracks for our Ugandan film. I’ve found your website – lots of respect for this work!” Josh Courter, Director, The Last Hunger Season “Hi Victoria, a friend, of a friend, of a friend, brought the Singi…
The New Singing Wells website News
…odcasts are now displayed with the full track lineup and listen, watch and group links where they are available. Click here to listen. Featured Content At the bottom of each post and story you’ll find a list of related posts so if you find something you are interested in then it’s easy to read more about it. Instruments Library We have been collecting East African instruments since our first trip to the Kenya coast in 2011. Click here to read abou…
The biggest smile Story
…ddress issues facing women in northern Uganda such as inequality, HIV/AIDS, gender based violence and food security. In December 2012 we recorded the group for the Singing Wells project – click here to Discover the Music. …
Group of the Month – Watmon Cultural Group News
…, interviews, and other content we have gathered in East Africa. Our first group of the month is the Watmon Cultural Group. We have videos from our Uganda 2012 trip, as well as recordings made in both Naguru and at the Entebbe Airport Guesthouse, where due to the generosity and patience of the manager Jan Willem and the other guests, we set up a recording studio in the garden. You can join us on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/singingwells…
Alice’s story Story
…nt Relief Agency (ADRA), an NGO supporting the Batwa, decided to sponsor a group of Batwa children to study at Mabuyemeru School. Alice was chosen as one of those children. ADRA then continued to sponsor her through her first year at secondary school. Another NGO, the Bwindi and Mgahinga Impenetrable Forest Conservation Trust, then supported Alice to the end of Senior 4. During her A Level studies she was supported initially by UOBDU and then ADRA…
The Beat of Kenya News
…relationship that forms between immigrants and their receiving society, and how newcomers adapt and negotiate their way, as individuals and as a group, through the changes they encounter in their new lives. …
A quick summary of the Singing Wells Project News
…re a joint project sponsored by Ketebul Music and Abubilla Music. We are a group of sound and video engineers who travel to villages with no electricity and running water and record their music with 12 microphones and 3 digital cameras. We are a website that makes all this music available. We are Winyo. We are Akello. We are dozens of African musicians determined to keep this music alive. We are Andy and Vicki that raise the funds and produce the…
73,603 views on YouTube News
…ls YouTube channel……73,603 views and still counting! It’s not a meaningful number in itself (like a nice round 100,000 – our next target) but it does mean more and more people are finding us and enjoying what we are all about – bringing the more traditional sounds of East Africa to an enthusiastic audience. Thanks for watching! Our top 3 video hits In third place, this is the Nyerere Wa Konde Music Club from Sita Village, Gede in Kenya’s Malindi…
A new type of city Story
…hat the capital would be like; this image speaks a lot about the city. The number of ‘proper’ buildings were few and in only the small centre. It was hilly and most of the roads were not built for vehicles. The shops were small shacks mostly and at night stayed open, lit by candle light. There were animals everywhere and make-shift houses, which starkly contrasted to the taller office buildings you could see in the distance. Despite this unconvent…
Victoria’s reflections on field trip to Northern Uganda News
…istory and dance us your life In musical words where your heritage lies We travel a road of music discovery The map and the route to cultural recovery We witness your history, your stories unfurl We capture your memories to share with the world You travel a road and must keep on walking And peddling the wheels that keep your world turning Years distance the pain of the conflict and strife Your music your saviour, it once saved your life So sing us…
The Boy with the Headphones Story
…hen we travelled to the Mperwa Batwa community. Consisting of just a small number of families, the Mperwa have settled on a small area of borrowed land just a few kilometres from the town. At first glance the setting appeared to be spectacular, with the lush valley and terraced hills of local farms as a backdrop and the magnificent Virunga volcanos in the distance. But we were quickly struck by the impoverishment of this small community. As we a…
Listen to more ‘Influences’ tracks from Singing Wells News
…s. (Click here for blog post) During our field visit to Northern Uganda we travelled with Akello, a singer/songwriter originally from an Acholi village near Gulu and now living in Kampala. Here she is performing her own song ‘Amari’ accompanied by the wonderful Watmon Cultural Group. (Click here for blog post) And here is Akello with another of her songs, this time accompanied by the Adungu Cultural Troupe who are based in Kampala (Click here for…
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…
The First Singing Wells Influences Session Story
…with his father on one of the son’s tracks. This was a new concept for the group. Bado had always sung in the family music group – and in doing this had sung the songs of his family and heritage, but now they were collaborating on one of Bado’s songs. Bado sang the main line of the song ‘Love Is’ and his father sang between the lines, and the rhythm began to take hold. I also at this point learnt my forth Swahili word (Asante, Jambo and Sawa – Tha…
The origins of Singing Wells Story
…project on Kenya’s Coastal Region around Malindi and Mombasa and have now travelled across the country recording 30 musicians and traditional music groups representing three major tribes: the Mijikenda, the Luo and the Kalenjin. We have also travelled to Uganda to record the amazing musicians of the Batwa tribes, bringing many of them back to Nairobi to record them in Ketebul Music studios. We have designed two mobile recording units which can be…