Reflections on the pilot phase by Willie Bembe News
…restaurant is closed and we have to go out and get some food. DAY 3 We get into the car to go and find the first group we are to record Mwanzere Nyere wa Konde. Everyone is in high spirits as we get into the compound with old hats and set up the equipment. We get to see Andy in he’s real professional self. We learn a lot from him since now we can see how it is done in real time. The group is amazing. The father and son are very talented. DAY 3 I s…
Discovering music roots with SWP News
…xcept perhaps where some extra personnel may be required in future. The training aspect on this field trip was excellent. I don’t think it was the allure of a couple of cold beers at the end of each day that made the boys bring forth their best. Another beautiful occurrence at this stage of the project is that the Ketebul team laid its hands on new equipment that they were eager to be exposed to. I’ll take a back seat here (I come from the days of…
More Ketebul voices…Steve reports from the field News
…ith Ketebul Music engineers on the afternoon of March 27th. They had flown into Nairobi from London the previous evening. I must confess we started off on the wrong footing: all Ketebul engineers were late for the briefing..! Tabu was especially not pleased about that, and Jimmy kept reminding me that I wrote the itinerary and programme (which he said was well written), and should actually take some time to read it (bear in mind that I am the offi…
What we learned from the pilot phase News
…t 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 traditional East African music and ensuring that these traditions are kept alive in contemporary music. We needed to see if this was a worthwhile concept. 2. And, how did y…
Meet the team from Ketebul Music News
The Ketebul Music team is critical to supporting the Singing Wells project and proved their extraordinary capabilities during our March Pilot. Here’s the team: Tabu Osusa, Founder of Ketebul Music, on the Board of Singing Wells: Tabu will lead site selection and take overall ‘on the ground’ responsibility for the Singing Wells Project Paul Kelemba (Maddo): The Chairman of Ketebul Music will help with all the media aspects of Singging We…
Testing the mobile recording equipment News
…e using during the tour of the villages. And as I write this, it’s already in use in Brazil. Jimmy Allen and Mike Park (Abubilla percussionist) have paid a flying visit to Meninos do Morumbi, another project supported by The Abubilla Music Foundation. At the weekend, they recorded Samba percussion on the streets of Sao Paulo for the new, global version of the Abubilla Music song, 71 Hours to Monday. Check out Jimmy’s blog on their progress: Quick…
More on the launch of the Ketebul Music website News
…ite 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 were well plac…
Ketebul Music website launched News
Great news to report today. Initial funds to the Singing Wells project have been used to complete our first objective and we are delighted to report on the launch of the new Ketebul Music website. When Abubilla Music and Ketebul Music first came together we decided the most pressing need was for a dynamic website which would show the work of the Ketebul artists in their full glory and we think we’ve succeeded in our goal. Take a good look around…
SWP Launch Day News
Today is launch day – the day we go live with the brand new Singing Wells website. And it’s a very exciting prospect, as the project starts in earnest from here. It’s particularly appropriate that we should launch today, as this week Kenya celebrates the 47th anniversary of independence, which was granted on 12th December 1963. And yesterday, I was very honoured to be a guest at a reception for Kenya National Day hosted by the High Commissioner i…