Central Uganda: Day 6: Kampala to Entebbe Story
…song. Mulirwana: it means neighbor and the song is about people who don’t trust their neighbors and they believe that anyone that doesn’t trust their neighbors is a witch. Ssewaswa: This is about twins Wasswa and Kato and praising twins. Anamwinganga: This was apiece composed by his father in 1945 and recorded in the 1960’s. It talks about who will attack the king. He has all the security and people are there to protect him so he should be safe. N…
Interview: fusion band Ndoto Afrika News
…tional and modern sounds to create a unique blend of catchy fusion music (trust me, you will be humming their Window Shopping tune all day). We interviewed them to find out more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeRj9BrTT20 Hi Holly. Tell us about yourself and Ndoto Afrika – what’s your story? They say stories live forever and one famous Kenyan writer keeps saying that a story is good, until another is told. We are here to share with the world how…
Central Uganda: Day 5 – Jinja to Kampala Story
…ighted to find a English football match on the TV (Arsenal vs. Southampton). And we were greeted by Air Conditioning which is most welcome by those of us from the North but feared and mistrusted by those of us from Nairobi. We look forward to recording tomorrow in Kampala. Apparently there is a marathon. We shall provide the soundtrack….
Discussions with Peter Cooke: ethnomusicologist and Ugandan music expert News
…ording East African music summary, in our post about music archives across the world, when reflecting on the importance of archiving traditional music and, most recently, in our posts about our journey to discover and record the Royal Drums. It was James Isabirye, a lecturer at Kyambogo University and expert in traditional Ugandan music, who first introduced us to Peter. We learned that he had taught at Kyambogo University himself from 1965 to 196…
Before They Pass Away News
…camera at these people, Nelson had to get to know them and to gain their trust. When he met the Chukchi people, the elders told him: “You cannot photograph us. You have to wait, you have to wait until you get to know us, you have to wait until you understand us.” Jimmy managed to gain this trust, spending weeks or months immersing himself in the tribe’s way of life. In Papua New Guinea, for example, Jimmy met with the Kalam tribe who decorate the…
Central Uganda: Day 3 – From Mbale to Iganga to Jinja Story
…Elgon Hero Brass Band. When you combine the two bands, the traditional and the new brass sound, Julius says, they blew audiences’ minds. As the bands have grown there are roughly 160 total members of his group, of which 100 are performers. They are roughly divided between the two bands. For income, they do performances and also work four acres of land to feed themselves. Many of the members also do arts and crafts or a skilled trade – Julius’s dre…
Central Uganda: Day 2 – Kampala to Budaka Story
…all energy, all drama – more of an acting troupe, with drummers, than a chorus. This didn’t mean the vocals weren’t good, but to say they were not central to the performance. At the center, were the group’s stories, their actors and drama. James Isabirye said of the Busolwe Post Test Club , “They are a meeting point between formal education and village music. Although they perform traditional music, they also will also work in different formats, a…
Happy new year from Singing Wells News
…cut up a tree and shape the wood, soak and cut cow hide to size and string the drum – ensuring it’s in tune. Here’s how it’s done. 5. We visited the Ketebul team in Nairobi and interviewed Tabu In early 2015, one of our team members moved to Nairobi and so went to visit the Ketebul studios and meet the team. Harriet interviewed Tabu, who talked about some of the most exciting upcoming artists in Nairobi who are using traditional music to influence…
Central Uganda: Day 1 – From Entebbe to Kidinda Story
…e of the flute players was with one of the girls at the King’s Palace. Because the king possesses everyone at the palace this is a terrible crime and his ears would be cut off if caught. So the flute players were collectively hiding from the king to avoid the punishment. Later, we hear another version of this song and the consequences were slightly worse than ‘cut ears.’ Nandi Kulamudde: This is the story of the older, dead king, talking to the ne…
We’re discovering the lost music of the Ugandan Kingdoms News
…rding the lost music of the Ugandan Kingdoms. Our journey so far has taken us to the capital of Uganda – Kampala, over to Jinja in the east and back in search of musicians who haven’t played in the royal palaces since they were children. We’ve been posting regular updates about our journey which you can read on our Field Reports section. Including: Some background and the beginning of our journey to discover the lost royal drums of the Buganda Kin…
Singing Wells surpasses 500,000 YouTube hits! News
…where we’ve found an extra-special artist on our journeys and recorded their work. To celebrate our 500,000th YouTube hit, we’ve put together a selection of our most popular videos. We hope you enjoy, and please keep visiting our channel and sharing the traditional music of East Africa with the world. Recording Nyerere Wa Konde Music Club perform in Gede, Kilifi, Kenya on our Singing Wells Pilot trip in 2011. A brief collage of the story of the r…
Rediscovering Afropop and its influences News
…’ artists in Kenya – a group of people who have built a connection between the music of their villages and modern music. These were the founders of Benga, among other genres. Just as Daudi Kabaka’s Benga music influenced Sauti Sol, our hope is that by recording and preserving this music it can continue to inform, inspire and influence a new generation of artists to carry the traditional music of East Africa into their songs. Listen to our bridge a…
Meeting Ketebul: an interview with Tabu News
…ith is Winyo, Makadem and Olith Ratego. They’re interesting and unique because they’re able to take traditional music and make it current and contemporary. Our problem with artists in Kenya is that they lack that identity. Being good is one thing but being unique is another. We see a lot of copycats, so when someone comes along that has a genuinely unique sound that is influenced by traditional roots we get very excited. What kind of challenges do…
Our top 5 Singing Wells songs for March News
…ls team first encountered the Otacho Young Stars group on a trip to record the music of the Luo in Western Kenya in December 2011. They were later invited to Ketebul Studios in Nairobi to form part of our influences series. I love this song because it’s cheery and upbeat. It’s the kind of song everyone should listen to when they wake up to start the day with positive vibes. 2. Ochieng Nelly – Osare I’ll admit, a few weeks ago I knew very little ab…
The repatriation of Kenya’s music heritage News
…supported and funded by The Abubilla Music Foundation as part of the Singing Wells project. Read Bill Odidi’s article about the August project here….
Singing Wells is on Bozza! News
…new way for audiences to discover and listen to traditional East African musicians and music groups recorded by Singing Wells. Head over to our Bozza page here. About Bozza “Bozza is a plug & play solution for musicians, poets, photographers & film makers to promote and sell their digital products to their fans throughout Africa. The platform is available to emerging and established artists from around the continent and can be easily accessed by…