Central & Eastern Uganda: Day 3, Part 1- Drum Making and Palace Players Story
…ield we focused on two things: 1) Understanding better how the royal drums of the Buganda Kingdom are made 2) Interviewing other surviving musicians from the Buganda Palace Here’s our summary of part one: Part One: Drum Making The Singing Wells team was joined by James Isabirye today as we travelled to Mukono, to visit Ssebengwa Drum Makers (P.O. Box Mukono near Colline Hotel, Jinja Highway, opposite the Pork Joint). The shop is run by Abass Mirim…
Central and Eastern Uganda: Day 2 – Kampala to Jinja Story
December 1, 2015: Checking the progress of the Bigwala trumpets Today, we travelled 3 hours from Kampala to Jinja, to the village of Bukakaire, to listen to the Bukakaire Bigwala Players, led by the last surviving trumpeter from the Busoga Kingdom, James Lugolole. A woman playing the Bigwala First, why are we here? Well, there’s the obvious: at Singing Wells, we record and share the great music of East African villages. But, there’s another, equa…
Singing Wells Youtube Channel hits 2.5Million views News
…to know that we have the support of such an engaged audience. Here’s a few of the highlights from our channel. First place on the view count – at 272,000 views, goes to our awesome session with Otieno Aloka in his Luo village. Performing with a traditional band, this video of the famous singer of ‘Kanungo Eteko’ is a great example of the Singing Wells project in action; a modern artist connecting to his musical heritage as he plays the traditional…
Musisi’s Story, Part 1: The Fall of the Buganda Kingdom Story
…ded on camera telling his story We are in Uganda to revive the Royal Drums of the Buganda Kingdom, the Entenga. This project was the result of the work of a very large team, but at its center is Musisi, the last surviving drummer that we know of. Here is his story, in roughly his words: “My father was the leader of the flutes at the Buganda Kingdom, and as his son, I was trained to play the flutes and eventually joined him in the palace. When I ar…
Rediscovering the lost Royal Drums of the Buganda Kingdom: Day 1, Uganda Story
…rt Ssempeke in 2013, we talked about reviving the Entenga, the Royal Drums of the Buganda Kingdom. Along with flutes, trumpets, strings and xylophones, the Entenga were part of a set of ‘royal instruments’ and much of the music was lost in 1966 when the palace of the Buganda Kingdom was attacked by government troops. The palace and instruments were destroyed, the King exiled, the royal musicians disbanded and much of the music forgotten. In 2013,…
The Entenga Drums: Part 1 Story
The Entenga Drums were part of a set of royal instruments of the Buganda Kingdom. We know from Musisi, the last surviving drummer who played in the palace, that the King in the early 1960’s loved the Entenga drums so much that he asked the drummers to play every morning at 3AM. He felt that the drums were so perfect, that this was the only time of the day when it was quiet enough to appreciate them fully. Hugh Tracey, the great ethnomusicologist…
Central and Eastern Kenya: Days 5-11:An Interview with Gregg Story
…additional to be a development expert, was also a keen expert on the music of the Central and Eastern region of Kenya. He was in charge of interviews on the trip and did a fantastic job. We had the opportunity to interview him during our days recording in Nairobi. SW: What was the most surprising thing about the trip? GT: To know that this tribal music is available out in the villages. There were people singing and dancing to preserve the music –…
The History Of Benga Music: A Report by Ketebul Music Story
…ge entertainment to a national and regional music genre, this is the story of the making of benga music. Setting the Background A characteristic of popular music the world over is the element of mystery surrounding the origins of the genre and sometimes also, the real meaning of its name. Great icons of jazz, blues, R’n’B, reggae, rumba and even the much revered Western country music are famous for performing in their respective genres rather than…
Central and Eastern Kenya: Days 5-11: Ketebul Studios, Nairobi Story
…irobi. Ketebul and Abubilla Music personnel joined together to record some of the most important ‘bridge’ artists in Kenya – a group of musicians that build a connection between the music of their villages and modern music. These were the founders of Benga, the African Twist, ‘Luhya Omutibo’ and the ‘Yoodle sound’ and represent the Luo, Luhya and Kikuyu ethnic communities. We dedicated six days of studio time at Ketebul Music to record a set of le…
Central and Eastern Kenya: Day 4 – Nkubu to Mukuuni to Nairobi Story
…order and departed for Mukuuni: We arrived on the site, the playing fields of the Mukuuni High School. We’re here to record one band, the Original Chuka Drummers, led by Eustace Mjuki Bundi. They are 30 males who all play drums except for their banner waver. They were formed in 1930 and have spawned so many imitations that they had to add the word ‘original’ to their name. They are Ameru, of Tharakanithi County. The group plays on all occasions, d…
Central and Eastern Kenya: Day 3 – Nkubu to Mariene to Murungurune to Nkubu Story
…formers in four separate locations. On the way, we learned a lot of detail of the boys’ rite of passage through circumcision. After breakfast (each of us coming at separate times), we travelled an hour to Mariene, to record our first group on the grounds of the New Apostolic Church. This was our route: It was a lovely location, deep in the trees, with the performance area nestled between the church and a small stream. The Music Groups Mariene Trad…
Central and Eastern Kenya: Day 2 – Muranga to Kangema to Nkubu Story
…esting video moments, trying to keep the camera steady, while large chunks of your lower leg were being carted away. We recorded four groups. The Music Groups Gacharaigu Gitiro Women Group The group is led by Fidelia Nyambura Mwangi. They are from Munuga Village, Munuga sub location, Muguru Ward, Muguru Division, Kamgema District and was formed in 2006 and dedicated to self-help. Their style is Ndumo, an old women’s dance purely for entertainment…
Central and Eastern Kenya: Day 1 – Nairobi to Kiongwe to Muranga Story
…stuck into the blue skies. We were here to record 4 separate women groups of the Kamba ethnic community, from the same villiage of Kiongwe, each of which would do 3-4 performances. Most of the groups performed with a Ileve (tin shaker) and Vilingi (tin whistle). The final group also introduced us to the Kilumi (drums). The Music Groups Twone Mbee The group is led by Christine Kisove, using the Itheke dance styles (Mwen-yenyo, Mutundo). The group…
Central and Eastern Kenya: Day 0 – London/Nairobi Story
…mas Owiyo, Ketebul’s driver, who drove us to the Fairview. We settled down about 1:30AM, with alarm clocks set for 4:30AM. Let’s remind you of the Abubilla Music team: JIMMY ALLEN ANDY PATTERSON…
A Tanzanian Effort to Salvage the Music of the Past News
…80s, which has been literally rotting for decades in the moulding archives of the Tanzanian Broadcasting Corporation. Some has already deteriorated to the point where it’s unplayable, and the rest will suffer the same fate if nothing is done. The music they’re trying to save, called muziki wa dansi (“dance music” in Swahili), is not just catchy and danceable (although it certainly is); it’s also an essential part of the country’s cultural history….
Central Uganda: Day 7 – A Magic Day in Entebbe Story
…ters. This is noisy. We had to shift recording at that point to inside one of the rooms. Hot but quiet. We are also joined by bird noises (loud, but surprisingly they often keep the beat) and an occasional hotel guests that finds it surprising that there is musical recording happening next to their room. We thank them now for their patience with us. It is also important to say that today will be more unstructured. We have one formal new group, whi…