FAQ’s Page
…recording visits we also benefit from the voluntary help of the Abubilla Music Foundation trustees and UK Project Managers. How long have you been working on the project? We made our first field recording on the Kenyan coast in March 2011. The Abubilla Music Foundation was granted charitable status in June 2011.We are currently preparing for our 10 year anniversary, and are doing a countdown of our Top 20 Singing Wells moments here. How do you di…
2. Naizungwe Drums – progress report 1 Story
…4 drums of big, small, medium and small sizes. We decided to make many because we would like to have enough drums for training a new generation of players. However, the basic number includes: 1 large Uganda drum (played with short heavy beaters) 3 smaller drums (played with long curved sticks) 1 medium drum (played with sticks) 1 long drum (ngalabi – hand-beaten) All together, 6 drums. Therefore, we are making four sets of naizungwe drums mainly t…
Day 3: Monday, 2017 February 20th Story
…son and has been our Influences Artist for this trip. He was raised in a musical household, but Henry did not want Leo to become a musician. In fact, it was Leo’s cousin Isaac Vledi, who first tried to teach an 8 year old Leo some of Henry’s riffs, because Henry refused. Isaac used to pull down Henry’s acoustic guitar from the rafters of his hut in their southern village Makua while he was travelling. It was only when Henry heard a 12 year old Le…
Day 2: Sunday, 2017 February 19th Story
…were singing along to all the songs. In addition to being a professional musician, Leo also teaches music to school children so he is a natural with kids. On all the songs that he did, he had the whole village singing and laughing. We learned about the Bi Kidude and Unyago style. Throughout this trip we will encounter multiple stories about ‘women for women’ songs. In this case, the women in the village have a special dance that is performed by w…
Day 1: Saturday, 2017 February 18th Story
…drums of Mzee Morris Nyunyusa” is the purpose of this trip, so before discussing today’s music, let’s now give you a bit of background. Mzee Morris is Tanzania’s most famous drummer. The ‘Mzee’ in front of his name is a sign of respect – think, ‘Old Man Morris’. He was born in 1920. At two years old, he lost his sight as a result of a bout of small pox. He died in 1999. Throughout his long life he drummed. Here’s Leo Mkanyia , our 2017 Influenc…
Our journey to the Royal Drums: in the words of James Isabirye Story
…oncern for me in roughly 2008, when I started studying the specific royal music. The Busoga King, Henry Muloki Wako, died. I was watching the age of the musicians at his funeral, and I thought: man, we’re running out of time. My first step was to meet with James Lugolole, one of the oldest survivors of the Bigwala, the trumpets for the Busoga King. We talked about the problems: no one played the music, no new musicians knew the trumpets, farmers h…
Central & Eastern Uganda: Day 3, Part 2 – Interviews with Musicians of Uganda’s Royal Palaces Story
…dn’t go back. But in 1967 they brought us back to pay some wages and thank us for service I think. I am worried that they aren’t training the next generation and the music will be lost. But I also know if you play the music the children will come. I know if you set up a xylophone in a village and play good music, the children will come. We can’t blame them for not liking the music – they don’t hear it. When they hear it, they come and dance. Kopol…
Central and Eastern Kenya: Days 5-11:An Interview with Gregg Story
…he government is focused on politics and big money items like tourism and business is focused on marketing which demands immediate return. So on one hand, our government investing in messages that say ‘see our animals not our people.’ And business is looking for big numbers which means popular things, which sadly means easy to digest, disposable pop culture. The whole drive to “marketing” is killing our culture. If the numbers don’t come in on som…
The History Of Benga Music: A Report by Ketebul Music Story
…old hits every time they are in Nairobi. Melodica has also received numerous musicians eager to experiment with Kenyan styles and Western-based researchers anxious to locate a local music archive. Melodica produced Juma Odundo, Adams Nyahone and Ochieng’ Kabaselleh, a Luo pop artist who occasionally teamed up with Laban Juma Toto, formerly of the Hodi Boys band, to produce some of the best rumba melodies sang in the Luo language. Kabaselleh’s lov…
Central and Eastern Kenya: Day 1 – Nairobi to Kiongwe to Muranga Story
…ve (tin shaker) and Vilingi (tin whistle). The final group also introduced us to the Kilumi (drums). The Music Groups Twone Mbee The group is led by Christine Kisove, using the Itheke dance styles (Mwen-yenyo, Mutundo). The group is part of the Kamba ethnic community (Ukama wa Kitui), from the village of Kiongwe, Ngungi Sub-Location, Thua Location, Nzambani District. They performed three songs: Asyai: they use the Ileve (Tin Shaker) and Vilingi (W…
A Tanzanian Effort to Salvage the Music of the Past News
…is done. The music they’re trying to save, called muziki wa dansi (“dance music” in Swahili), is not just catchy and danceable (although it certainly is); it’s also an essential part of the country’s cultural history. When Tanzanian independence leader Julius Nyerere took over from the British in 1961, he worked hard to foster a local musical style that the new country could call its own. We spoke to Rebecca Corey, who started the project in 2010…
Central Uganda: Day 5 – Jinja to Kampala Story
…ghted 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….
Central Uganda: Day 4 – Jinja Story
…the legendary performer (yes, as Tabu said we had two legends of Ugandan music visit us today) – Natha Matta Nyende performing for us with his band the Bakuseka Majja Matta Group. Nathan is 76 years old and has been blind since 1956. He formed his group in 1952. They play in the Kisoga style and are from Kasokoso in Iganga District. They are four members. Nathan plays the Endongo, which is the local name for the small thumb piano. Kirunda Awali s…
Discussions with Peter Cooke: ethnomusicologist and Ugandan music expert News
…usic students and to music teachers who came for in-service courses. Like Musisi, Busuulwa had not found conditions good for him at the palace and after the attack on the palace and the flight of the Kabaka (King) into exile in London, Musisi no longer had a patron so they were both enthusiastic about working at Kyambogo. Sadly Bulasio Busuulwa died during that awful period of turmoil under the dictatorship of Amin and Obote, but Musisi continued…
Central Uganda: Day 3 – From Mbale to Iganga to Jinja Story
…cautioned not to break the plants as we found a quiet place to talk to Julius. Julius has an amazing story. He was orphaned in 1995 at 9 years old. He struggled through his teens with no support, but found his way gradually as a musical performer, working with the National Theatre and various troupes around Mbale. He was always extremely proud of his tribe, the Bagisu, and always wanted to do something musically building off his own culture. He al…
Current Leading Figures News
…teaching Ugandans values, and allowing them to value themselves, through music; music teaches people “values, patriotism, humanism, love, hope, faith, hard work, discipline, science, leadership…. teach them all. The best place to preserve values, and music does this, is in the hearts of people.” When asked how large a problem is getting funding for music related/cultural projects? Do you feel people generally in Uganda understand the importance o…