Aynu Traditional Group Group
…r current name perhaps came to be used after the intrusion of the Khartoum Arab slaves in the second half of the 19th century. Their origins are described in relation to their belief in mythology: with God’s creation of Meme and the universe. The first two human beings Gboro-Gboro (male) and Meme (female) are said to have been superhuman. Some traditions only speak of Meme, whose womb God filled with the living things in the world. Customs: They a…
Day Four: February 19, 2020 (Maruhabi Palace) Story
…irst group there. Sekimbuke – traditional singing and dancing with some Taarab influence. They sing for weddings, celebations and the harvest. They use traditional Zanzibar drums: Vumi – a tall, narrow, large drum based on the floor, Kinganga – a short medium sized drum, a Bati – a high hat, a Chapuo – a long narrow drum held under the arm, a Dutu – a smaller version of the Chapuo and Masewe – shakers worn on the legs. The most notable instrument…
Field Recording Report by Kahithe Kiiru Story
…In Nabongo location of Mumias sub-county (Kakamega County), we met Mumias United Group led by Francisca Oduor. Established in 1997, Mumias United is a folk group that presents traditional music and dances of the Wanga. The Wanga (AbaWanga) are a sub-group of the Luhya people famous for their historical Kingdom. The Wanga Kingdom was the most highly developed and centralised kingdom in Kenya’s history before the arrival of the British and the colo…
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…style (a chain-smoking rebel!). She followed Siti Binti Saad as a major Taarab vocalist and was considered queen of Taarab and Unyago music and died at 103 in 2013. Amina Abdalla still performs in her house, which is called Raha Leo, and people will travel from all over to watch her perform. Tausi Women’s Taarab The group is from Rahaleo and normally they have 28 members but brought 9 for the performance. The group leader’s name is Mariam Hamdian…
Day Three: Bungoma Town to Kakamega Story
…ias, we travelled about 10 kilometers to another village to record Matungu United. Matungu United was founded by Richard Ometi, who is a Head Teacher of a local school, teaching sciences and also teaches students in traditional African instruments. The band was filled with various students, each learning to dance, sing and/or play a traditional instrument, including on the day: Fimuka: Shakers Lidungu: stringed instrument Isiriri: Single string in…
Central & Eastern Uganda: Day 4, Part 1 – Reflections Story
…ediscover the xylophone and we are fairly sure it is not on the endangered list. Contemporary Ugandan musicians are incorporating the xylophone into contemporary songs. We do need to record the best village players and make sure others can find them, but there is probably a ‘market.’ Bigwala trumpets At the other extreme, the Bigwala horns of the Busoga kingdom or the trumpets of the Buganda kingdom are unlikely to enter the musical mainstream. Th…
Singing Wells Youtube Channel hits 2.5Million views News
…wn contemporary style. https://youtu.be/gPaBQwODTtU Also at the top of the list is the legend of Mwanzele, Nyerere Wa Konde, performing with his family as the Nyerere Wa Konde Music Club. This was filmed back in 2011, on the very first day of the Singing Wells pilot trip to Kenya. Seeing the generations of Nyerere’s family performing together was a special moment (his son Mr Bado is also a musician). We captured a great fusion of old and new http…
Rediscovering the lost Royal Drums of the Buganda Kingdom: Day 1, Uganda Story
…died. The drums were gone. We had old recordings, but no drummers. We were listening to lost songbooks. We were listening to the full drums together for the first time in almost 50 years. Musisi told us he never thought he’d hear the music again, and his only goal in life now is to teach the teachers so the drums will live. Albert Ssempeke couldn’t believe they were back. And the drummers loved it, telling us this is the most sophisticated, compli…
The Return of Bigwala News
…restore knowledge of the instrument, receiving help from UNESCO, on their List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, to preserve the instrument. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ai9y5pkl6E According to Atlas Obscura, this support has allowed the seeds of this unique gourd, which were thought to have been lost, to be rediscovered and grown. Now over 100 students have been trained in building the instruments, and have play…
Central and Eastern Kenya: Day 2 – Muranga to Kangema to Nkubu Story
…cording The interview team then gives the gives ‘Mr Clapperboard’ the song list and introduce the group to the audio/video team. Mr Clapperboard then confirms each song with the group leader, writes down all group/song/take information, and kicks of song. In order, audio, then Video 1, 2 and 3 confirm they are ‘speeding’. Mr Clapperboard then announces song/take and ‘claps’ us all in. We keep audio/video rolling for entire take – this makes file m…
Discussions with Peter Cooke: ethnomusicologist and Ugandan music expert News
…rd the King’s musicians of the Buganda Kingdom in the 60s and 80s. You can listen to some of those recordings here. Here, too, is a full list of Peter’s work on African music. We asked Peter to tell us a little more about his time working with Musisi in the 60s. “In 1967, as head of Music at Kyambogo and at the suggestion of the wonderful young musician Bulasio Busuulwa, one of the former royal flute players, who was already working with me at Kya…
Music Depositories and Archives around the World News
…9, the British Library was able to make over 50,000 of these available for listening online. The first phase of the project only enabled online listening to higher and further academic institutions, but this was then extended and now most of the material is made available for anyone to listen to, where copyright permits. Although a fantastic resource, its interface is quite dated; read Peter Cooke’s profile to hear his suggestions for updating the…
The Birara Batwa Community Story
…owledge on culture and pass on the knowledge to the young ones in order to promote and preserve the Batwa culture which includes music and dance.” Listen to the music of the Birara Dancers This is a song recorded for the Influences series – Francis singing Inanga Nyamunini accompanied by Jesse Bukinda from Ketebul Music on guitar This is the song ‘Uganda’ performed by the Batwa women and recorded in the Ketebul studios: How you can help the Birara…
The Batwa Community Story
…their communities and help them reclaim their traditional way of life. The United Organisation for Bawta Development (UOBDU) was founded in 2000 to address land problems and develop sustainable livelihoods. UOBDU has identified four key areas of support: land & housing; education and adult literacy; income generation and forest access & benefit-sharing. By way of example, the Batwa Cultural Trail is a recent initiative launched by the Uganda Wildl…
The Key to Sustainable Aid in Africa? Perhaps we should follow the music. News
…to reverse the rural–urban drift. Let’s bring this to life for you. As you listen to the Macedonia band, look at the Ugandan village behind it – how clean it is, how fresh the air, how tight the community: Or in Kenya, as you listen to the Sega Sega Band, look at the wonderful Luo Village, with its vast support network: We are not naive – providing sustainable support for villages in Africa is not easy – and there are a lot of folks trying (see he…
A recording studio which fits into the back of an SUV Story
…of the remote villages we are heading for. We are adding to our equipment lists all the time as we refine our methods, learn new techniques and face new challenges. For our next field recording trip to Uganda (November 2013), this is the list of everything we will be taking with us: 2 Apple MacBook Pro 2 MOTU Traveler MK3 Audio Interface 4 Headphone amps 8 Sony MDR-V600 headphones 2 Shure mics & stands 2 Rode Lavalier omni-directional mics 2 Rode…