May 2011 – Jimmy reports back on the pilot phase News
…s available on national days in stadia, at “boring” spots such as Bomas of Kenya and at traditional weddings or circumcision fetes deep in rural areas. I’d love to see big name entertainment spots in major towns across Kenya where one can easily be entertained by traditional troupes – who shall be reasonably remunerated for their efforts (and not depend on handouts from politicians who use them to spread their own skewed policies or lack of them i…
Lake Turkana Cultural Festival 2011 News
…ich is hosted by the German Embassy in Nairobi and the National Museums of Kenya, is to ‘overcome tribalism in the region and to promote peace and reconciliation among the local communities around Lake Turkana by giving them an opportunity for cross-cultural cooperation and exchange, both in the preparation and in the course of the Festival. During the three days Festival, representatives of the Rendille, El Molo, Pokot, Samburu, Turkana, Gabbra,…
Discovering music roots with SWP News
…ch 2011 Revolution”. We covered over 1, 500 kilometers (some 980 miles) on Kenya’s narrow roads. I duly informed our partners that, once on a Kenyan “highway”, life expectancy drops by 25%. But Jimmy seemed to enjoy it all, counting how many “near misses” we encountered on the entire trip (luckily, he was in the Tabu-powered utility Land Cruiser while I crawled in its more sisterly version, the Prado, with the rest of the crew). Back in the capita…
More Ketebul voices…Steve reports from the field News
…’. This is the juice from almost ripe coconuts, a delicacy in the coast of Kenya. Then it was back to Malindi after a touching farewell from Mzee Nyere wa Konde. We made another stop at the fuel station in Watamu to get the flat tyre fixed. Maddo and I stayed behind to wait for the wheel to be fixed while the rest of the lads jumped into a tuk tuk (3 wheeled motorbike taxi) and headed to the hotel. Steve with Coconuts Day 4: Recording Day 02 – Kil…
What we learned from the pilot phase News
…Campo Limpo Sao Paolo, but we had been in a city relying on city power. In Kenya, we would be truly in the field, without power, with dirt/dust, with the constant threat of storms, with concerns about theft, etc… Test the Team: We would be training the Ketebul team on the new equipment and we would be seeing how we all did in the field in terms of logistics and audio and video capture. Test the Concept: Singing Wells is about the archiving of trad…
Testing the mobile recording equipment News
…is prolific in these communities and features superb drumming and athletic dancing. Katana Bin Kalama is a contemporary Giriama musician and his song ‘Nilipata Mzungu’ is featured on Ketebul Music’s Spotlight on Kenyan Music Vol.4. It’s a great example of the fusion of traditional tribal sounds and rhythms, in this case the Mijikenda, and contemporary Kenyan music. Click on the album cover to have a listen….
Ketebul Music website launched News
…how Ketebul Music is working to combine the traditional sounds of East African tribal music with the best of contemporary artists. And through Bandcamp, listen to or download the inspirational music of Kenya from artists such as Ontiri Bikundo and Makadem, or the 4 piece women’s group Bismillahi Gargar, whose aim is to remind people of their traditional culture through song. …
SWP Launch Day News
…1963. And yesterday, I was very honoured to be a guest at a reception for Kenya National Day hosted by the High Commissioner in London, Mr Ephraim Ngare. It was a wonderful occasion, with a motivating speech from Mr Ngare about Kenya’s progress and the special relationship it shares with the UK. It made me feel very positive about the Singing Wells project and the connection we are making between London and Nairobi through music. So a big thank y…