Day 3: From Nairobi to Kigali to Kisoro Story
…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, surrounded by trekkers who have come to see the beautiful silver back males. But we are here to record the Batwa tribes, who were displaced fro…
Day 1 & 2: Preparing to leave for Kisoro, Uganda Story
…team in the studios for a day . Day 1: 11.11.19, Flight to Nairobi: Jimmy and Andy, Founder and Sound Engineer of Abubilla Music respectively, set out to Nairobi on Saturday for Nairobi. All good with flights, visas, bags and customs and we were greated by Tabu Osusa. Checked into Fairview, had the obligatory fries in a chip basket and crashed. Day 2: 11.11.20 Day in Ketebul Studio: Jimmy and Andy meet the SWP team at Ketebul Studios to coordinat…
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
…ng. There’s a complete disconnect in East Africa between traditional music and new music. And this is going to kill our traditions. In South Africa and West Africa, the best modern artists are completely rooted in the heritage of their country. Their music is fresh and relevant, but the traditions are completely built into the song. You can hear the instruments, the rhythms, the harmonies, the melodies. Our young artists want to sound like 50 Cent…
Kenya (Coast): Day 3 – our final recording day Story
…zaveOB7SA https://youtu.be/N14zZK0dMQA Muungano Kayamba The groups is led by Futuma Ali Mwacheruve, dancing and singing in the Kayamba style (which is also the name of the wonderful percussion). It was our first ‘harvest dance’ (Mavuno), which celebrated the harvest and the arrival of the new baby. Lots of ‘props’ including a baby doll, hay stack and lots of bowls of water and spices. Some final shots at our last village. Enjoy…. Winyo and the…
Kenya (Coast): Day 2 continued…. Story
…d town, Junda. We drove into this very densely back ‘village’ going deeper and deeper into the urban jungle on very potted roads, packed with pedestrians, bikes and frankly, 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…
Kenya (Coast): Day 2 – recording in the village of Kibarani Story
…then start the first song and by the end of the session we are generally surrounded by 50-100 kids… Behind the Scenes We have good routines now: We set up our little tent (right) We set up mic stands We set up mics and while folks are setting up, Pato interviews the group leaders That’s it. We’ll follow up with this afternoon’s action in the next blog… Jimmy…
Day 1: The very first field recording day for Singing Wells Story
…There are about 7 houses, two cows, lots of chickens, groves of pea trees and lots and lots of children. All smiling all the time. The Music Groups We arrived and set up our tent, our two tables, our recording kit and our six mics. Andy ran the desk, supported by Jessie, Steve and Willie. Jimmy and Pato handled video, Winyo did a lot of photography and Tabu and Maddo watched (having retired after driving 10 hours the day before). Mwenzele – Nyere…
On the eve of our very first field recording trip….. Story
…tures: Winyo warms up with the Swiss Bone Guitar The Legendary Ayub Ogado …and his legendary goatee …and his legendary Nyatiti From left to right, Joyce, Alfred and Tabu. Joyce is from the Ford Foundation and supports Ketebul. Alfred helped introduce Ketebul and Abubilla This was an evening to represent everything Ketebul is about – bringing new East African artists to the world, but rooting them in the generations of music that came before. This…
A Year in Review March 2011 – March 2012 News
…It seems like a good time to step back to review the goals of the project and our progress and learnings. For those of you who are new to our work, this is a good place to start. OVERVIEW OF THE FIRST YEAR OF ACTIVITY: By the end of March 2012, we will have completed the following sets of field visits: March 2011 in Malindi, Kenya: This was our our pilot project, working our way across the Malindi coast recording 8 separate musical groups. Our ma…
A message from Henry Neza at UOBDU News
…s visit to Kisoro there was an opportunity for some of the Batwa to experience life outside their community when they visited the Ketebul Music studios in Nairobi for more recordings. During this trip they were able to interact with the Ford Foundation and benefit from new clothes and shoes, which improved their social status among the dominant tribes here. This gave them confidence and changed their behaviour. Now the non Batwa community agree th…
Sad News from Kenya News
…the musicians we recorded in Kenya as part of the Singing Wells trip, had passed away. He was a master of the Nyatiti and performed for us in the village of Aluny, his final track on the day being a funeral dirge. We send our sympathies and condolences to his family and friends at this sad time. Here is an audio excerpt and video from his performance in Aluny. The news of his passing is painful indicator of how important The Singing Wells project…
AMF receive grant to fund Batwa recordings News
…overall aim of the Singing Wells project is to identify, record, preserve and promote the cultural music heritage of East Africa. In taking the project to Uganda to document and record the traditional music and dance of the Batwa, we can help to stem the tide which is threatening to obscure the music traditions of this ethnic group. The SWP will ensure that the unique sights and sounds of the Batwa are fully and professionally documented, preserv…
Recording music & dance of the Batwa News
…overall aim of the Singing Wells project is to identify, record, preserve and promote the cultural music heritage of East Africa. In taking the project to Uganda to document and record the traditional music and dance of the Batwa, we can help to stem the tide which is threatening to obscure the music traditions of this ethnic group. The SWP will ensure that the unique sights and sounds of the Batwa are fully and professionally documented, preserv…
May 2011 – Jimmy reports back on the pilot phase News
…sound and video engineers, complete the recording of 24-32 village groups and 4-5 new ‘Influences’ sessions. Phase Five: January-March 2012: Goal to complete an addition 3 CD’s, 3 DVD’s and a fuller archive of audio-video recordings and produce 5 ‘Influences’ songs. At the end of Phase Five, we will have developed two full on the ground audio-visual mobile recording units, trained ten Kenyan sound and video engineers in their use, recording ove…
Lake Turkana Cultural Festival 2011 News
…and the National Museums of Kenya, is to ‘overcome tribalism in the region and to promote peace and reconciliation among the local communities around Lake Turkana by giving them an opportunity for cross-cultural cooperation and exchange, both in the preparation and in the course of the Festival. During the three days Festival, representatives of the Rendille, El Molo, Pokot, Samburu, Turkana, Gabbra, Dassanech and Borana present their respective c…