Day 6: The Studio @ Traveller’s Rest Hotel, Kisoro Story
…the Gatera Community: https://youtu.be/ab4ZEqPNYpE https://youtu.be/yMq_r9XSXM0 https://youtu.be/lrowXUbwTSU https://youtu.be/lu1YXMKnJts https://youtu.be/BulZceL6gXs Kabahenda Batwa Community We now think we know where James Brown got “the act” from. You know the one – he dances and dances and pretends to be exhausted then falls to the floor. Handlers come over to get him and he shrugs them off only to dance some more. And this is repeated man…
Day 5 (much later): The Micyingo Group – guitar and bass! Story
…). Also, take a look at the shaker in his right hand – a tomato soup can that works as well as any we’ve seen. So, hats off to our wonderful guitarist and his fully home made guitar, with wire strings and frets. And a special thumbs up to the magic bass – a clay pot and a ‘beat boxer’ providing one of the coolest bass lines we’ve ever heard. Here they are in action… https://youtu.be/38uXVC1pEvQ https://youtu.be/-alDBT6_wJw https://youtu.be/5Zv_8A8…
Gary Barlow, Ayub Ogada & the Diamond Jubilee song News
…on the Radio 2 Breakfast Show (22nd March). Click here to listen: Gary Barlow speaking from Kenya on Radio 2 Kothbiro If you’ve never heard the song Kothbiro here it is – we think you’ll love it as we’re sure Gary Barlow does. Magical Kenya If you’re going to Kenya on holiday we recommend you visit the Magical Kenya website first – it’s a fantastic source of information about Kenya and has everything you need to know about planning a great trip….
Congratulations Singing Wells! News
…to be referred to the Singing Wells Project website. I’ve shared it with a lot of people because these sorts of collaborative efforts at recording, archiving and disseminating music ethically are so important. I met Tabu Osusa and Bill Odidi while doing some training on audiovisual archiving in Kenya as part of a British Library World Collections Programme initiative. It was a great pleasure and it is wonderful to see these fruits of their experti…
Day 5: Recording the Mperwa Dancers Story
…e… Here are the videos: https://youtu.be/zFjbdw9j1io https://youtu.be/W_VV8xEYziM https://youtu.be/t8Ui32w_NbI https://youtu.be/QHo5Eb2Az20 https://youtu.be/wxzzC5qcweU https://youtu.be/mhzNpJLsZFA https://youtu.be/h_mVjup7_6s https://youtu.be/1zjh68iNClw Jessie leads the first Influences session and Winyo accompanies the lead singer and drummer on another…… …and then serenades one of the women outside her hut! The children like to get involved in…
Day 4 (later): Recording for ‘Influences’ with the Birara Dancers Story
…store them in some museum. Our goal was to also bring that music to the next generation of artists and encourage them to incorporate the music traditions of East Africa into modern music. Winyo, one of Ketebul’s key artists, does this everyday with his music, which is why he is such an inspiration: But too many (most) East African musicians want to sound like 50 Cent or Justin Timberlake and too many East African radio stations sound like they ar…
Kenya’s Great Rift Valley & the Kalenjin tribes News
… Photos and music from the Singing Wells trip to Kenya’s Great Rift Valley to record the music of the Kalenjin tribes. To read more about the field recording trip click here. …
Day 4: UOBDU and the Birara Dancers Story
….be/u38YYaTQMIY https://youtu.be/uNeC4Dw4bu0 https://youtu.be/9FZeFgg4jKI https://youtu.be/VhR6f97o_6o https://youtu.be/ET41BPYiYXA https://youtu.be/aSxGwZ3k1eA…
Day 3: From Nairobi to Kigali to Kisoro Story
…came here before me.”. Fossey visited the hotel many, many times in the sixties, to do paperwork, to relax or to meet people. She defined the hotel as her “second home.” The photo shows us ‘on the road’ between Rwanda and Uganda, about to climb the second mountain range, just as the rains hit. We arrived safely, obviously, but hydro-planed a little too often, a little too close to 1,000 foot drops. We are now in the heart of gorilla country, surr…
Singing Wells DVDs a ‘big hit’ at Windsor Castle News
…ells DVDs were a big hit – they were all snapped up by guests visiting the Kenya Stand in the Cultural Pavilion. Cultural Pavilion Here’s the Kenya stand in the Cultural Pavilion – the Singing Wells DVDs are actually on the right hand side of the table! Tribal artefacts were also on display… And the Nairobi Chamber Chorus performed with some tribal music and dance groups…… …
Day 1 & 2: Preparing to leave for Kisoro, Uganda Story
…. Cable Bag/Headphones: This is full of all the jacks, mic connects, headphone extenders. There’s a lot of cables. Mega Tripod: This is the bag for Pado’s pride and joy, the mega tripod for Stationary Camera 1. Project Management: How do we now set ourselves up for audio-video recording on site? Again, based on lessons from both the March Pilot and Lake Turkana, here’s the set up: Overall Project Manager: This is the person in charge of the site v…
Diamond Jubilee Pageant at Windsor Castle News
…d Kikuyo tribes The Nairobi Chamber Chorus considered the topmost choir in Kenya today Cultural Pavilion At the entrance to Windsor Castle there will be a Cultural Pavilion which will contain a backdrop of graphic representations of all the countries that have had a role to play in the Queen’s reign. On the Kenya stand there will be Singing Wells DVDs freely available for guests. The DVD is from our ‘Best of Singing Wells 2011‘ and features mu…
Kenya (Coast): Day 4 – the road back to Nairobi Story
…made it clear I would only do it in a way that was for Africa and not some one off experience with no benefit except to ourselves. But we did a great job launching the new Ketebul website and designing Singing Wells. So we then booked the flights to visit the Ketebul team. We met with Guy in UK and then flew down My first time out of Europe. Ngadia met me at airport. I was very nervous and didn’t know what to expect. I could tell there was a lot o…
Kathy’s reflections on her Singing Wells experience News
…ople there and I wasn’t sure how I’d fit in. I need not have worried. Everyone was extremely welcoming and I could tell from the first day they were a professional group, had a common mission and were all dedicated. I enjoyed getting to know everyone and to hear what their views were on the music we were going to record. It certainly felt like an adventure and I was excited to get going. The next day we set off and travelled up to Kitale, Northwes…
Kenya (Coast): Day 3 – our final recording day Story
…water and spices. Some final shots at our last village. Enjoy…. Winyo and the kids… That’s enough for now. There’s 150 pictures more for every one we show, but the internet is too slow to keep posting Jimmy…
Kenya (Coast): Day 2 continued…. Story
…ly, a lot of suspicious folks somewhat unwelcoming of our two big trucks. None of us could imagine setting up recording equipment here and we weren’t sure how much we’d end up with if tried… But after a lot of false turns, we met our hosts who gradually led us through the town and down into a stunning river bank, surrounded by palm trees… Absolutely silent (except for the motorbikes that seemed to wait until we pressed record)… and very beautiful….