Page
…preservation of Ugandan cultural heritage through dance. The group is made up of up to 50 members, the youngest members being only seven years old. Matthew lived in Awedi until 1991, when he moved to Kampala, due to the rebel fighting. He started a small group of dancers, performing Acholi traditional dance which he had learnt when he was young, both from grandfather in his village and from watching dancers at village events. He went around his di…
Upendo Jazz Group
…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 pedal, so he could play all the drum…
Dodo Group feat. Ogoya Nengo Group
…Music of the Luo Rang’ala, Nyanza province, Western Kenya Lead Vocalist: Ogoya Nengo…
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…
The Luo of Kenya Album
…village – with The Sega Sega band led by Osumba Rateng, and then a Dodo group led by Ogoya Nengo. We next move to Aluny Village – with performances from The Joginda Boys, Otieno Aloka and the late Okumu K’Orengo and his Nyatiti Group. The Kochia Traditional Dancers gave a very visual performance, and one of their tracks, recorded on the shores of Lake Victoria at the Homa Bay Hotel is also included. The final day of recording on the trip saw us he…
Day Five: February 20, 2020 (DCMA) Story
…ul, dynamic fusion of Taarab, Traditional African rhythms and contemporary Western and African sounds. Performers: Tarajazz: Suleiman Makame (keyboard, director), Hassan Mahenge (Saxophone, 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. Kirundo: Lukoa Nenes (sticks), Joshua Muyumovela ( shakers), N…
The Sega Sega Band Group
…Music of the Luo Rang’ala, Nyanza province, Western Kenya Lead Vocalist: Osumba Rateng…
Day Four: 10 March 2022 (Rongo) Story
…Young Stars tag and are now simply Otacho Stars. For several years the group held regular shows at the Kamus bar in Ranen Centre before Covid 19 interrupted live shows, as in most places. Presently, they only perform on demand. On this live recording Dave Otieno played the guitar while Fiston Lusambo was on bass. Project Summary Upon completion of the ‘Travel to Stream’ tour, we were quite encouraged in seeing that most of the musicians we intera…
Day Three: 9 March 2022 (Kisumu) Story
…o his village in Siaya County. He came back to Nairobi two years later and signed up with Ketebul Music where he released the album osuga in 2003. Olith Ratego has performed in many European cities and collaborated with internationally acclaimed musicians such as the German composer Sven Kacirek and Cuban jazz pianist Omar Sosa. Olith Ratego again returned to his village in Asere to continue running his late father’s carpentry business and perform…
Day 1: Saturday, 2017 February 18th Story
…d, doing our best to record traditional groups, songs, and stories. All groups and songs mentioned here will eventually turn up on YouTube (see our current video collection here), as we prepare each of the videos. We will go back to these reports and provide hot links to all of these, but that will take a couple months or so, so please be patient. This is our first trip to Tanzania. For those of you that have followed Singing Wells, you will know…
The History Of Benga Music: A Report by Ketebul Music Story
…ruitment of Nelson Ochieng’ Orwa two years later, Ogara transformed his group into a three-piece acoustic and vocal group. Ochieng’ Orwa was a young and extremely talented guitarist who would come to be known by the stage name of Ochieng’ Nelly. He must be distinguished from another accomplished performer bearing a similar name, Ochieng Nelly Mengo, who was one of the founders of the 1970s Victoria Kings Band. Other pioneers and contemporaries of…
Latest Field Trip – Kenya 2018 News
…We’ve returned from our latest field trip, this time to western Kenya. Field reports coming soon….
Central and Eastern Kenya: Day 2 – Muranga to Kangema to Nkubu Story
…away. We recorded four groups. The Music Groups Gacharaigu Gitiro Women Group The group is led by Fidelia Nyambura Mwangi. They are from Munuga Village, Munuga sub location, Muguru Ward, Muguru Division, Kamgema District and was formed in 2006 and dedicated to self-help. Their style is Ndumo, an old women’s dance purely for entertainment and preservation of culture. For all their songs, the ladies used the Kigamba (leg shakers). The group played 6…
A Tanzanian Effort to Salvage the Music of the Past News
…r a few recording sessions of our own! Check out the Tanzania Heritage Project here. Here too are a few YouTube videos of their catchy music: Mziki wa dansi- Zilipendwa Sikinde- Shemeji Issa Mziki wa dansi – Zilipendwa – Super rainbow – Hidaya Mziki wa dansi – Zilipendwa – Kimulimuli – Chiku lala salama peponi Mziki wa dansi – Zilipendwa- Marijani- Fanya kazi Maestro king kiki – Maestro of Tanzania Rumba or Swahili Rumba kitambaa cheupe…
Kenya’s Amazing Musical Instruments News
…like a bass. We were treated to an impressive Nyangile performance by a group called The Young Stars in the village of Rongo, not far from Homa Bay in western Kenya. Watch them here: Burkandit The Burkandit is a type of home-made guitar that features in Kalenjin music. We saw one being played in 2012 by the masterful Ben Kisinja in Kapsokwony, not far from Kitale. At the time Ben was joined by a percussionist playing the karachimek, which is essen…
Rediscovering Afropop and its influences News
…p’, a contemporary music genre that combines traditional African music and Western popular music. Afropop influences The Sauti Sol band members have named a musician that influences them as Daudi Kabaka. Kabaka was a popular Kenyan artist whose songs include African Twist.The traditional Benga sound is about 60 years old with its formative years occurring between the late 1950s and the 1960s. Its roots run deep in age-old Luo musical instruments….