Day 4: UOBDU and the Birara Dancers Story
…erracotta and green. These are the predominate colours of this trip. The dance site itself was no less beautiful: We then set up the ‘studio’ ready to record the Birara Dancers: The key sound engineers do a final check before we begin: Steve, Andy and Jesse do a final sound check before we begin. https://youtu.be/l-1IG790EOs https://youtu.be/u38YYaTQMIY https://youtu.be/uNeC4Dw4bu0 https://youtu.be/9FZeFgg4jKI https://youtu.be/VhR6f97o_6o https:…
Day 3: From Nairobi to Kigali to Kisoro Story
…pital of Rwanda, population roughly a million. We were met by our drivers Arun and John and drove through heavy rains to the Rwanda-Uganda border crossing near Kisoro. After a rather lengthy crossing, we then drove on to our final desitination – the Traveller’s Rest in Kisoro. Five quick things: Rwanda: Beautiful country known positively for its gorillas, green hills and beautiful lakes. What strikes you immediately is the deep terracotta of the s…
Diamond Jubilee Pageant at Windsor Castle News
…Representing Kenya, the show will feature: Performers from 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 f…
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…
News from the Batwa in Kisoro News
…lers who inhabited the mountainous regions across the borders of Uganda, Rwanda and DRC. They are now a largely marginalised group of people since a conservation programme to protect the mountain gorillas of the region caused their eviction from their traditional forest homes. You can read all about our trip to Uganda and hear the music of the Batwa here: Field Reports An email from UOBDU Following our trip to Kisoro last year we sent a parcel t…
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
…he evening we went to slippers to watch Winyo. We pumped some Tuskers into Andy and then relaxed a bit. He opened up more and we liked him. Andy now jumps in with a little more detail… AP: To be clear, that was the first time I’d been out of Europe and I was definitely nervous. The first night in the hotel, I practically curled myself up in the corner with a chair barring the door! I’m from the North and came south in 2001 and spend four years at…
Kathy’s reflections on her Singing Wells experience News
…the driving in his blogs. The country side was beautiful with mostly farm land, small villages and quite hilly. I feel I had the best job on the trip because I got to interview all the groups about where they were from, what their clothing and adornment meant, what songs they sang and what they meant. I took advice from Victoria and spent quite a bit of time getting to know the people in the groups as well as the people in the Singing Wells group….
Kenya (Coast): Day 3 – our final recording day Story
…tu.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 kids… That’s enough…
Kenya (Coast): Day 2 continued…. Story
…nd 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 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 be…
Interview with Fifty Cows – fixer for Singing Wells News
…negotiation run by the Tegla Lorupe Foundation. Tegla Lorupe is a marathon runner and has won the London Marathon. She uses sport to woo the warriors away from fighting. She encourages using their strength and endurance in sport and not in violence. He stayed at the Seminary for four years but eventually decided this was not the way to bring peace. Even though he is a Christian he did not feel the tribes would be convinced to put down their weapon…
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…
Nick Abonyo (the ‘clapper-man’) News
…ur and politeness. They respect their elders, always greet an older person and stand up when they walk nearby. Nick likes going back home to visit because it’s much simpler, clean and safe. He graduated from High School in 2006 from Mirogi Boys High School and then went to University at the MOI Southern Nyanza Campus, graduating in 2010 in Information Technology. In 2008, he moved down to Nairobi and therefore had to travel back and forth over nex…
The Kalenjin & Kenya’s elite athletes News
…production company where she helped make programmes for Discovery Channel and National Geographic where she developed a passion for film. Four years after university Jackie went to Johns Hopkins University in Maryland and Washington DC to gain her MA in creative writing. She thoroughly enjoyed this programme and her education in the US. She feels that in Kenya children are taught well to memorise and take exams but not taught as well about to thi…