From Kisoro to Nairobi to Lake Victoria Story
…f the road.’ The drive back was beautiful, through the hills of Rwanda. We rushed because we wanted some time in Kigali to visit the Genocide Memorial Museum. We were able to spend about 90 minutes there before heading to the airport. To a person we found it was very well done and very sobering. We’re sure everyone knows more about the Rwandan genocide than we did, but here were some of our ‘we didn’t really know that’ conclusions: From launch to…
The Batwa Trail News
…f indigenous people, were suddenly evicted from the forest and forced to abandon their low-impact, nomadic lifestyle. Now landless, they work for local farmers. The only time they are permitted to re-enter their cherished forest is as tour guides on the Batwa Trail. A visit to the Batwa trail permits visitors to discover the magic of the indigenous people old home while partaking in nature walks and learning about the group’s cultural heritage. Du…
Day 6: The Studio @ Traveller’s Rest Hotel, Kisoro Story
…rmal photos (each woman with her baby either cradled or on her back). Tabu and one of our hosts from the hotel then join the group for the second shot. Now for a formal photo with Jesse, Jimmy, Francis and Tabu The ladies came to work on an ‘Influences’ session with Winyo. Here, they put down their track. Not at all phased by the use of headphones and mics, they take everything in there stride, performing a number of takes as the song develops. We…
Samba Mapangala & Orchestra Virunga News
Legendary East African music and friend of Abubilla Music and The Singing Wells project, Samba Mapangala and Orchestra Virunga are touring the UK later this month, in support of Samba’s new album Maisha Ni Matamu (Life Is Sweet) on Virunga Records. We first met Samba in Kenya, on a recording trip as part of The Singing Wells project. He sang as part of a ‘Welcome’ concert put together by our friends at Ketebul, along with Winyo and Ayub Ogada. We…
Gary Barlow, Ayub Ogada and our very own global song News
…again. The global remix of the song features musicians from Sao Paulo to London to Nairobi, with lyrics in both English and Swahili. Musical styles are mixed – from the violins in London to Brazilian drums to the Kenyan nyatiti courtesy of Ayub Ogada. You can read all about the making of the global remix of ’71 hours’ here but in the meantime, have a look at the video which tells the story and was released for the launch of the Singing Wells proj…
Day 5 (much later): The Micyingo Group – guitar and bass! Story
…fe is for the Batwa today – a very hard life, but a life full of spirited song and dance… and this lady is their wonderful lead vocalist… https://youtu.be/pZzgr2PXZ3s https://youtu.be/gt4_CaZNN2c Then the guitar and bass took to the stage….if you are wondering where the bass is, the plastic bag turn out to be significant. We were bemused by this magic plastic bag, but it turns out it was covering a clay pot that supplied the song. The musician s…
Day 5 (PM): The ‘Togetherness Group’ from Kanyabukunga Story
…as a delightfully empty field. The purpose of the field is as a UN evacuation and refugee centre if there are troubles in Rwanda or the Congo. The fact that it has no tents, has no refugees, is a wonderful thing and we felt it was a great location to record Kanyabukunga Twifatanye (‘Togetherness Group”) from the village of Kanyabukunga. They are led by Gadensia Kampire. The SWP crew poses next to the road sign with the empty field behind. Soon, ho…
Day 5: Recording the Mperwa Dancers Story
…rnoon rain, then the power goes out. Then the locusts attack. But let’s focus on the morning. This morning we recorded the Mperwa Dancers – the lead singer had a beautiful voice and we did an ‘Influences’ sessions with her. Until the music is ready, with think this village is best described through pictures: We arrived, greeted by lots of men and boys going back and forth to market, including this chap (later we’ll write on a blog on all the thing…
Day 4 (later): Recording for ‘Influences’ with the Birara Dancers Story
…to clap. Often they are asked not to dance while they sing. We do it to focus on sound quality, but we are fully aware that we are putting these fantastic musicians into an alien environment. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. With the Birara Dancers over the three days we worked with them it worked very well. Here they are on the first night. One thing to remember, which will become clear on subsequent videos – every time you see them sing…
Day 4: UOBDU and the Birara Dancers Story
DAY 4: After 3 days of travel (at least for those of us leaving from London), we were ready to record. And we rewarded with a great day of recording, starting in the morning with the Birara Dancers, led by the legendary Batwa artist, Francis Sembagare. We woke up early and were greeted with this wonderful view from the garden of the Traveller’s Rest Guesthouse: After breakfast our first stop was the office of the United Organisation for Batwa Dev…
Day 3: From Nairobi to Kigali to Kisoro Story
…nd, or Wales in Great Britian and has a population of 11.4 million. It’s econony was devasted by the genocide but is recovering; a major source of its recovery is the tourist industry, centred on the famed mountain gorillas. Uganda: Known as the ‘pearl of Africa’ – it too is covered with hills and lakes. Like Rwanda it has the mountain gorillas. It is a completely land locked country. It shares Lake Victoria with Kenya and Tanzania. Crossing the B…
Day 1 & 2: Preparing to leave for Kisoro, Uganda Story
…on the new version of the song we originally prepared in Abubilla Music’s London Studio. Winyo then added a third verse, changing the song from a Londoner pining for Spain, to a Kenyan longing to return to Africa. The full Singing Wells team was in the studio. It is worth re-introducing everyone again, as we will be discussing them throughout the trip: From Ketebul Music Tabu Osusa, Founder Steve, Project Manger Jesse, Chief Sound Engineer Willi…
Diamond Jubilee Pageant at Windsor Castle News
…om the Masai, Samburu, Luo, Kamba and 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…
News from the Batwa in Kisoro News
…owing another one and said, See this one, you can not know that he is the husband of Nkumbuye, he is very smart in the photos I have got this photo,now I’m Happy UOBDU needs to be supported so that it can continue bringing more friends like Singing Wells. This helps the Batwa get more exposed and the people who do not know us will see us at least from these photos. This is an indication that Singing Wells can deliver, if Singing Wells can send pho…
Photos from the pilot phase Story
…We promised a final set of pictures and some further reflections. And we deliver. …
Kenya (Coast): Day 4 – the road back to Nairobi Story
…knew an Indian singer who had a project with a temple. She wanted to do a fusion between Indian and Kenyan music. A common friend brought her to the studio. She liked what we were doing and she told us about Tabu Osusa. There was a function that Tabu attended and I went as well to me. I brought a demo CD and he listened to it . This was a Friday and on Monday I went to Ketebul and was hired. Told Tabu that I didn’t have experience but wanted to be…