Why “Singing Wells”? News
…ditions and help the herdsmen keep a steady rhythm while they lower and raise their buckets. The singing wells illustrate the importance of traditional songs in the life of the Samburu tribes people. We think that ‘Singing Wells’ is a very good name for our project which aims to preserve, celebrate and share the unique music traditions and heritage of East Africa. More on Kenya’s singing wells BBC World Service video on how the singing wells in…
A Year in Review March 2011 – March 2012 News
…, we knew the critical importance of capturing the cultural legacy of East Africa with tribal music, before it was lost to all of us forever. We were reminded of the importance of this in December, when one of the most extraordinary musicians we’ve recorded, Okumu K’Orengo, died only weeks after our visit. Ironically, his last recording with us was a funeral song that our team at Ketebul Music felt was the best version they’d ever heard sung. Here…
Guy Morley – No Nation News
…Guy Morley is music programmer for the Big Chill festival – one of the highlights of the UK’s cultural calendar, and is the founder of No Nation, an independent arts programming, production and promotion company. No Nation has developed links across East Africa and has recently worked on a project for Sound and Music looking at the influence of early American country music in Africa. …
AMF receive grant to fund Batwa recordings News
…of new income as each of the music groups will receive a gratuity payment for their performances. The lasting benefit will be the preservation, awareness and appreciation of the Batwa people and their cultural music heritage. The SWP will literally put the Batwa back on the map as we add their music and dance to the ‘Discover the Music’ map on the Singing Wells website. We will make the recordings available to other NGOs and ethnomusicologists an…
Recording music & dance of the Batwa News
…of new income as each of the music groups will receive a gratuity payment for their performances. The lasting benefit will be the preservation, awareness and appreciation of the Batwa people and their cultural music heritage. The SWP will literally put the Batwa back on the map as we add their music and dance to the ‘Discover the Music’ map on the Singing Wells website. We will make the recordings available to other NGOs and ethnomusicologists an…
May 2011 – Jimmy reports back on the pilot phase News
…e 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 in the music industry).” To achieve this mission, we are committed to six specific objectives: Record village music in the villages, ensuring that the groups are able to perform as a whole, in their local environment, supported by their families an…
Reflections on the pilot phase by Pato News
…perform live and they did not disappoint. Later they were joined by Winyo for a performance which in simple words was icing on the cake The second group of the day was Zaire Ndidigwa led by Fundi bin Kalale. Their group had fewer members but their music was good and we enjoyed it. Just as we were winding up my friend Bado asked if he could do some of his own music. Backed by his dad and Winyo, the song they came up with was simply amazing. We wer…
Discovering music roots with SWP News
…e 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 in the music industry). It would be with absolute satisfaction to watch these groups outside their tourist hotel runs as occurs with the groups we covered in the pilot phase of the Singing Wells Project at the Kenyan coast. So, when Abubilla Music…
More Ketebul voices…Steve reports from the field News
…The cold tusker s we picked in Voi also helped to while away the hours. Unfortunately for The Leader and The Guide, he was the designated driver, and could only enjoy the sight and sounds of us downing the tuskers. We finally made it to Mombasa a little after 7pm and it was unanimously decided we proceed straight to Malindi, our third and final leg of the trip. Tabu in car number 01 had the pedal to the metal and was almost 45 minutes ahead of us…
Meet the team from Ketebul Music News
…is a Ketebul Sound Engineer who will assist on field and studio recordings for Singing Wells. Willie: Sound Engineer for Field and Studio Projects Polycarb Onyango (Winyo): Winyo is one of two Ketebul artists that will be heavily involved in the first phases. Winyo doubles as photographer, but led the ‘fusion’ work in our Pilot Phase and will lead our ‘Influences’ project’. Winyo will lead ‘Influences’ This is an extraordinary team, wi…
More on the launch of the Ketebul Music website News
…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 were…