‘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….
Meet our ‘Influences’ artists News
…ich is a Luo word (a tribe from the Lake Victoria region of Western Kenya) for “a bird”. The reason for this becomes apparent once you hear him sing. His voice has been likened to that of a singing bird. He is a singer/songwriter of great sensitivity and an acoustic guitar player, backed by his 5-piece band of accomplished musicians. Winyo derives his music and musical strength from his fore fathers whose African music was rich in melody and tradi…
Day 8: Entebbe to Nairobi and Ketebul Studios Story
…ative side, clearly there is not enough money going into supporting music. Uganda music is known for its elaborate costumes and yet in every village, hide-covered shields aren’t even wood, they are made of plastic. Beautiful ostrich feathers have been replaced by chicken feathers. Traditional axesa are now cheap wooden replicas. This is not the performers fault – the traditional costumes are expensive and hard to access sustainably. This requires…
Akello sings ‘Influences’ songs for Singing Wells News
…translator when we visited the Acholi communities in the area, but also performed some of her songs for the Influences series, accompanied by the local music groups. ‘Wan Wilobo’ performed with the Rubanga Kingom Awach Boys With just a few minutes to practice, Akello performed this song backed by the Rubanga Kingom Awach Boys playing the ‘likembe’ – a thumb piano. ‘Awinyo’ performed with the Adungu Cultural Troupe ‘Amari’ performed with th…
Promotion of Batwa cultural music: UOBDU report March 2013 News
…l Music Since April 2012, UOBDU started implementing a project responsible for promotion of Batwa cultural heritage, supporting the performance of music and drama to local audience and to allow UOBDU to monitor and update the performance of the groups visited by The Abubilla Music Foundation. During the visit the members met six Batwa dancing groups from different communities which includes among others Birara, Mperwa, Kanyabukungu. Mikingo, Gater…
Day 7 (pm): Recording at the Airport Guesthouse, Entebbe Story
…ing soldiers they were taken to Gulu Children of War Rehabilitation Centre for 6 months before going home, partly to make sure the rebels couldn’t find you in your home village but also to help the returning soldiers adjust back into normal life. He said even though he never became one of them, being surrounded by people of that mindset for that length of time left him in search of the meaning of right and wrong. Odika has two other brothers: Okot…
Day 7 (am) – back to Kampala: Naguru to Entebbe Story
…ader of his group, which he started in 1991. The members are from all over Uganda, but generally perform music in the style of Acholi, as Watmon is originally from Kitikum, not far from Gulu up in Northern Uganda, and moved down to Kampala during the war. We love the instrument they played, the Nanga (below) so much we asked if they would join us in Entebbe to record more songs with Akello. We asked them to come with us to our next stop: our hotel…
Hannah interviews Evelyn Ojok – Acet, Northern Uganda News
…struments and better equipment to keep authenticity. Why do you like to perform? I am a woman’s leader for a local parish and my work has now spread to four different parishes, this gives me strength and hope. Working in this group has influenced women, they now have guidance and work to earn money for themselves. It is not only a musical group but a community for women to grow. The reason we love it is because the music helps us heal and forget a…
An Evening with Mserego Mwatela Group News
…They shouldn’t be jealous or worried – he remains part of the village, but others need to hear his music. It is now almost midnight and we’ve recorded some fantastic music. The hotel restaurants are closed again, so we will be taking this group out for some food and then open up the studio tomorrow for the last day of this trip. We have asked the leader and his grandson back tomorrow for more discussions given they represent exactly what Singing…
Northern Uganda: Day 6 – Soroti to Kampala (a driving story) Story
…ght routines, we can learn more and more from each trip and get better and better. For the March Pilot in 2011, simply getting audio equipment to work in the field was the most important routine. Don’t underestimate the learning required to set up 8 mic recording session in the dirt, surrounded by cows. By Kisoro and the recording of the Batwa, audio was fully sorted and the team could set up and breakdown in about 20 minutes and record flawlessly…
How music archives can help communities News
…had ‘sat beside kings’. Chris Kidd is now working as a Project Officer in Uganda for the Forest Peoples Programme. View of Virunga Volcanoes where Batwa once lived Another inspirational example of how properly archived recordings can help communities comes from the work of Samuel Kahunde, a Ugandan student whose doctoral thesis centred on issues of preservation and musical change. Kahunde accessed the recordings of Klaus Wachsmann which had been…
Northern Uganda: Day 6 – Soroti to Obuell-Lira to Soroti Story
…mes. https://youtu.be/VRBYf6d8dp4 We loved the song so much we had them perform a ‘Magic Moment’ around the phrase ‘Uganda will be alright’. Lovely. And then we played footie… The second half of the day was, well, not so good. We needed to leave at 13:00 to get to Kampala before nightfall. No night driving is a Singing Wells rule given how scary the roads are. We actually left at 12:45 and got about 20 minutes outside of Soroti only to have a car…
Northern Uganda: Day 5 – from Pakwach to Soroti (a road trip) Story
…king on new thatched roofs or those needing repairs. A thatched roof lasts for between five and ten years. Then there are the charcoal makers and sellers. The thatch ladies ensure that the roads are dotted with thatch pillars. The charcoal makers burn the charcoal and then fill five foot high white bags of charcoal that line the roads in groups of 4-5. We often mistake them for nuns walking along the road in their beautiful white dresses. The whit…
Northern Uganda: Day 4 – night recording at Fort Murchison Story
…the fire light, and the flickering flames add mystery and drama to the performance. For some of the music, and we thought about Oramba yesterday, the song are fireside songs. Oramba is a hunter and the song is about the village wondering whether he will come back with a kill. Oramba is fierce, running around with a spear, lunging at the audience. Think about what that would be like for the children as Oramba drifts into the shadows only to fly ou…
Northern Uganda: Day 4 – Pakwach to Widiang’a, Nebbi Story
…Omiya Charles playing Mbeta. We loved these musicians the fun of the traditional dances. You got mad at the stubborn girl, you got scared when the hunter returned and you celebrated for the new chief. On the way to Fort Murchison where we were staying, we saw some spectacular stormy scenes as we crossed the River Nile:…
Reporting back on recording trip to Kisoro, SW Uganda News
…For a full report of the Singing Wells Batwa music recordings please click here: SWP report from Kisoro, Uganda Mperwa Dancers perform for the Singing Wells project …