Our Sponsors Page
…undcloud for their continued support in the Singing Wells project. You can sign up for a free Soundcloud account which will give you the ability to comment on our recordings. To find out more about Soundcloud, go to: http://www.soundcloud.com Nebulo Strata Type of sponsorship: discounted services Nebulo Strata have been on board from the start of The Singing Wells project, helping to design and put into practice our ideas for our website. Our we…
Conclusion: Challenges and Recomendations Story
…ers to questions, give more space to each individual, as well as allow the central instrument to maintain its centrality, a fact crucial for the story. In editing, we can then draw lines of comparison between instrument 2 and 3 as well. In this exercise, I believe, it is not necessary to involve more than 3 additional instruments in comparison to the central one. Finally, yet perhaps mostly importantly, I believe the Masters series should put more…
What We Do Page
…community appears to be directly related to the quality of their music groups. We are committed to supporting traditional music performance in rural East Africa as we believe that this not only serves to promote and preserve the cultural heritage of a community but is also a key indicator of the sustainability of that community. “While fragile, intangible cultural heritage is an important factor in maintaining cultural diversity in the face of gr…
Field Recording Report by Kahithe Kiiru Story
…th common focus on using music as a tool for community development. The group promotes traditional African values and acts in both education and local economy. Members also engage in traditional crafts like basket weaving and jewellery making for exhibition and sale. Their chairman, Mr. Bwire, also chairs the County Culture Committee and says he is “biased towards ethnomusicology” because “that’s where the beauty of the music lies”. Our recording…
Tabu Osusa Staff Profile
…tee of the “Spotlight on Kenyan Music“ project which seeks to discover and promote young talent, performing a blend of African music. The Kenyan government through its Ministry of National Heritage and Culture also supports this project. Tabu is also the Project Coordinator of Ketebul Music’s Retracing Series. Supported by the Ford Foundation Office of Eastern Africa, the Retracing Series is a research based documentary project whose main objectiv…
Tarajazz Group
…aditional music such as Taarab as well as Western music. Members of the group: Suleiman Makame (keyboard, director), Hassan Mahenge (Saxaphone, assistant director), Mahsin Basalama (contra base), Christopher Weston (Cajon and high hat), Regina Juma (singer). There was supposed to be a violin player but unfortunately he couldn’t make it. Songs: Alamina Dura – The orbit of the Gods Pakistan – written by Siti Binti Saad who loved Pakistan when she vi…
Ndagwa Msanga Group
…re a group of young girls are from Msanga and the Wagogo community. The group was formed in 1994 to encourage the young of the Wagogo tribe to embrace and appreciate their culture. Their style of music makes up all the musical styles of the Wagogo community. Their instruments are all about percussion: Ngoma (Drums) and Kayamba (Shakers). These young performers are amazing and if they are a sign, then the future of Tanzanian music is alive and well…
3. Background of the Naizungwe drums Story
…the eleven chiefdoms that later united to form Busoga [kingdom]. When the central government abolished kingdoms in 1967, the bigger administrative structures were weakened. Clans remained because they represent people’s birth, life and death. The larger more political structures [ie. the eleven chiefdoms] were demonized by the central government and all meetings at that level stopped. When the top structures died, the clan structures also weakene…
Fanuel Amimo Group
…Amunga as producer, in a studio owned by Andre Crawford and Betty Tete. His second record was produced by Sammy Osere for Lamore record label, while his third song led to his fall out with Polygram records in 1974. After that, he started producing himself and established his own label entitled African Beat. We recorded five of Amimo’s well known songs: “Safari ya Magadi”; “Ndeshera Omwana”; “Harusi ya Leah”; “Omwana Yenyanga Nyina’ and “Rosa Nokh…
Kiplagat Edwin Kwambai aka Fifty Cows Staff Profile
…enjin, which was the focus area for the Singing Wells project at the time. Fifty Cows went on to be the main contact person and “fixer” for the project. In 2014, the Singing Wells again called on Fifty Cows for the first Repatriation Project by the International Library of African Music, which was supported by the Singing Wells. This repatriation project involved retracing and locating surviving musicians who had been recorded and their music arch…
Upendo Jazz Group
…is from the Murangi Village in the Mara Region and their community is Wajita and their style is Vidogori. They were founded in 1999. Their instruments included: Ngoma za Budogori (drums, with a kick) and Njiga (shakers from gourds). It is worth taking a minute on the drums. They were typical African drums, but set up Western Style on a steel rack and they leaned one large bass drum against the rack. The drummer then built a separate wooden kick p…
Mission Page
…we aim to: Preserve the rich music heritage of East Africa Introduce East African tribal music to a new generation of musicians and music fans Offer tangible and lasting benefits to the musicians and village communities we visit Encourage the development of village music groups, particularly within the young community, and demonstrate that preserving cultural music heritage will help sustain a vibrant and successful community Forge partnerships w…
Ketebul Music Group
…sicians themselves, their families, industry players such as producers and promoters, media personalities and the market audience. Memorable archiving is achieved through intensive academic research reports released along with a market-friendly package from each phase of research. The package comprises of a shorter, but succinct, popular version of the academic report and is contained in an attractively designed booklet. To reinforce it is an audi…
Guy Morley Staff Profile
…d worked with a host of artists in the UK, Nigeria, Tanzania and Kenya. …
Introduction: Project overview and objectives Story
…ing and documenting master players and instrument makers of various Kenyan/African instruments as they: a) Make their respective instruments;b) Tune the said instruments;c) Give master classes to other musicians of those particular instruments;d) Give short brief direction/instructions on how they approach basic training for beginners interested in learning their particular instruments. Thus, the focal areas for research and filming are instrum…
Ekhunjwe Musical Group Group
…nd by the group’s secretary Wilhemina Oduor, this is a very organized group of twenty eight (28) members coming from the different administrative areas of Samia district. Ekhunjwe ya Abasamiawas formed in April 2008 with common focus on using music as a tool for community development. The group promotes traditional African values and acts in both education and local economy. Members also engage in traditional crafts like basket weaving and jewelle…