Day Four: January 21 2019 Mwanza Story
…king the streets with his instrument during the RECCE. We recorded five performances: Changamoto: This is about life’s challenges Mawazo Gakwira: About deep worries Nkewane nsanja: girlfriend got pregnant and came to singer for papers Tudumishe mila: about honouring our culture Raisi Ametamka: politicians must support education https://youtu.be/Hmp4zM3kSaM Sadly, we then got rained out and went back to hotel. We scheduled additional groups for sam…
Bigwala Cultural Group Group
…village of Bukoona and travelled to the Gately on the Nile Hotel in Jinja for the recording session. The Bigwala is the name of the trumpets they play. Song Meanings “Muwe Bwobona Asaba”: When someone asks you kindly assist them. “Mperekera Omwana Womurembe”: When you are walking with someone by your side they are the special one and you don’t look at anyone else. “Mwene Wamwenda”: When you love someone even if they are poor, lame, sick or blind,…
Pius Wafula Group
…group called “Webuye Jua Kali” up to 2009, when he founded his own group. Today the group counts 5 members who play the following instruments: LITUNGU – a 7-string traditional lyre; ISIRILI – a one-string fiddle; LUENGELE– a percussive idiophone, they use a wooden stool struck with wooden sticks; ENG’OMA – a generic term for drums, they use a plastic water container also struck with wooden sticks; CHISASI – shakers made out of gourds. We recorded…
Day Three: Bungoma Town to Kakamega Story
…yamba: shakers Likata: sticks Ikengele: Ring Chapuo: Big bass drum They performed six songs, with the sixth song finishing exactly when the rains came crashing down on us. While they had a couple of traditional songs, most of their performances were to allow students to feature specific instruments. Songs were: Mwana Wa Mbeli: famous Lua Song about first born child. Luseno: a song to feature the Shirili (which are these?) Pelele: A local beer, thi…
Day 5 – Wednesday 5th July 2017 Story
…me in Nyahera location, not far from Kisumu town, and conducted a long yet free of form type of interview. Although a Luo himself, Ayub had never learned how to play the nyatiti in a traditional setting. He picked it up later in his career and studied from a player/teacher at the national cultural centre of Bomas of Kenya in the 1980s. He remembers he had gone for 6 lessons (at a 100 shillings) only and then continued practicing and experimenting…
Matende Culture Isukuti Youth Group Group
…essions’ for different ceremonies, so we asked them to play a couple songs for each type of ceremony. They performed the following: Songs around a “Bull Fight” or Mayo Dance Woyo: The song you sing as you move to the venue to watch two bulls fight Ndulu Mumbo: The song you sing to celebrate the winning bull Songs around a funeral (Lwikhulu): Tsimbasi Tsia Mama: A song to console the mother who has lost a loved one. Mwoyo Kulimbila Mwikulu: After y…
Eridat Makwiri Group
…ould go complaining to the husband. The message in the song is to not wait for everything to be done for you. “Paulo Wawanyera”: This is someone’s name, meaning Paul, son of Wawanyera. Paul was a chief. He visited certain places and found they had made him party with lots of food and drink. He actually visited his brother in law who was jealous of him as a chief. So he decided to poison him. The singer is trying to warn Paul that his death is comi…
Nyota Ze Meremeta Group
…tel for over twenty years and teaches at the Dhow Countries Music Academy. For 50 years he’s taught music in Zanzibar and promotes other musicians. Other members of this group include: Ramadhan Muhidan (accordion), Ali Ibrahim Musa (Kanan or Qanun), Tatu Hamisi Amur (accordion), Asha Khemisi Amur (violin) and Malick Anas (fiddle). Malick is 75 and has played with the Professor since 1961. All songs were very Arab influenced by all the lyrics are S…
Watmon Cultural Group Group
…Eventually he had people coming to him asking to be a part of it, and from that point the group became an institution. In the fallout of the war against Idi Amin’s regime, many people were looking for an escape, and the troupe presented just such an opportunity. The group performed for President George Bush during a state visit to Uganda. They were also recorded in 2012 for the BBC’s World Routes album, presented by ethnomusicologist Lucy Duran. T…
Day Three: January 20th, 2019 Story
…gative thing, evoking witch doctors and snake oil salesmen. Simiyu: A song for praise for the region. Bahuni ba ng’wanza: A song referring to local women of questionable virtues Balimi: A song about farming where the band brought up children from the village and taught them about hoeing the soil to the song. Later we saw several videos of how this song is used in the fields to motivate farmers, who hoe to the beat. Throughout Tanzania, we saw sc…
Day Six: January 24, 2019 From Mwanza to Dodomo to Nzali to Nairobi Story
…he most extraordinary set of customs – human shakers! We recorded seven performances: Intro, Freestyle recording of their entrance. Masasi: the celebration song after circumcision completed Nindo: Song on social issues Muhene: Song during girl ceremony where she reaches puberty and now must be hidden from village for 40 days (song acts out how girl learns to reject the advances of men, represented by two men playing shakers) Muziki: A song to gain…
Otacho Young Stars Group
…na behind it that made the perfect stage for their upbeat and energetic performances. They performed five songs with us at the resort, including ‘Charles Manager’, a sincere song showing gratitude to the manager of a factory who has been doing a good job. We asked them to join us in the Ketebul studio in Nairobi to record this song, renamed Mr Manager, which you can listen to here. The percussion in this group is particularly impressive, with onge…
Biluli Dutwa Group
…gative thing, evoking witch doctors and snake oil salesmen. Simiyu: A song for praise for the region. Bahuni ba ng’wanza: A song referring to local women of questionable virtues Balimi: A song about farming where the band brought up children from the village and taught them about hoeing the soil to the song. Later we saw several videos of how this song is used in the fields to motivate farmers, who hoe to the beat. Throughout Tanzania, we saw scho…
Day Two: 8 March 2022 (Ilesi) Story
…rizon we decided not to take any chances of being rained on so we arranged for Spade to pick up the musicians from Malaba and bring them to Josephine Garden in Ilesi. Like the Omutibo Stars and the Super Phoenix Band that we recorded the previous day, we had worked with the Obasie Palnyang family band in 2018 while the patriarch and founder of the group, Obasie Palnyang, was still alive. By one o’clock the group arrived and our technical team went…
Bakuseka Majja Matta Group Group
…o is doing well will always laugh at one who is struggling. “Otabona Bukaire”: Even if I am old now, I’m still suitable for marriage….
Day Five: January 22, 2019 Mwanza Continued Story
…g and costume changes. Every song a new and wonderful outfit. We recorded six performances: Omusingero: A song about playing the drums and dancing Nchuma: A song about traditional music that the elders love to play Mrondogomo: A wedding song Kidedeya: A send off song, a marriage song Kidedeya: Freestyle Magic Moment: Omusingero again https://youtu.be/AtwkoD3sDFo From recording we then drove eight hours to Sigiir. We woke and spend January 23rd…