Bigilia Group Group
…as Unyago. Here is the group: They played 12 songs, including Magic Moments and Influences Sessions: Zakulola: You’ve come to see us play Wake Kwa Ume: Female to male Nataka kusema kasi naogopa: I would like to say something but I am afraid Umpati Ng’o: You’re never going to get them Magic Moment 1 Utalikologa Utalinywa: If you mix it, you’ll drink it. Tueheze Zembwela (local dialect) Bonanza Nataka Kusema: Includes a song with Leo, which is ‘I wa…
Stories Page
…ble people we have met. Music Read some of our articles and stories behind the Music of East Africa. Dive into musical genres, different instruments and the musicians keeping these traditions alive. Picture We manage to take some beautiful photos on our trip. Find out the stories behind some of our favourite pictures we have taken on the field. Community Get to know some of the inspiring communities we have met on our trips, as well as some of the…
Day Five: January 22, 2019 Mwanza Continued Story
…, Akafotho (hand whistling), Enganja: Clapper – two wooden ‘bricks’ struck together, and they wear Ebisheshe (grasses). We recorded four performances: Wachumba Walya: A song about someone who is too mean-spirited to support his community even though he has lots of money, it is about a man “who eats along, without his brother’ Ntelela Engoma: A song about living with respect to traditional ways Basigazi Fura Emyende: A song about overcoming all of…
Gacharaigu Gitiro Women Group Group
…ladies and their leg shakers (Kigamba) – we did this twice, once with and one without the ladies humming (they needed to hum to get the beat right)….
Day Three: January 20th, 2019 Story
…! We recorded five performances: Busumabuno Kulima: A song about farming Watoto wakalime Freestyle on Kulima Magic Moment Busumabudo, focus on percussion https://youtu.be/dHeTdA5m5gQ Group 3: Awilo: The group, which is a comedy circus act, is from Ikungu lya nkoma and performs in the Bununguli style. They are from the Sukuma community and were formed in 1981. They played the Ng’oma and entertained the kids with circus acts involving fire, razor bl…
Royal Entenga Drummers Group
Along with flutes, trumpets, strings and xylophones, the Entenga were part of a set of ‘royal instruments’ and much of the music was lost in 1966 when the palace of the Buganda Kingdom was attacked by government troops. The palace and instruments were destroyed, the King exiled, the royal musicians disbanded and much of the music forgotten. But in 2015 James discovered the sixty-something Musisi, possibly the last surviving drummer. Musisi was ju…
Makunga Group
…mances: 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 support of the people for the music and dance Muziki: Freestyle Muhongwa: ano…
Ayub Ogada Group
…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 by himself. It was equally interesting to hear his theory of the name nyatiti,…
Baseki Group
…chool kids walking to/from school with their hoes, where they often tend to small plots at the school. Serengeti: We are near the national park and this is a song in celebration to Tanzanian parks and wild life. Freestyle filming with song Balimi Magic Moment: Song Makule Magic moment again: Balimi…
Biluli Dutwa Group
…chool kids walking to/from school with their hoes, where they often tend to small plots at the school. Serengeti: We are near the national park and this is a song in celebration to Tanzanian parks and wild life. Freestyle filming with song Balimi Magic Moment: Song Makule Magic moment again: Balimi…
Day Two: 8 March 2022 (Ilesi) Story
…left out of the recordings of songs on different keys. Guest musicians Fiston, Ben and Gido also had to take a little time to play in sync with the polyrhythmic beats of the Iteso of Western Kenya. When the tuning session was finally figured out the actual recording started at about 17:00 hours. The three sisters and their two brothers have pleasantly matured musically and it was really encouraging to see them helping to keep their father’s legac…
The Kalenjin of Kenya Album
…he Embolet are both represented on the album. The final field day of the trip was spent recording the Tugen. The vocal harmonies of the performances have been captured well, with The Elimu Cultural Promoters and the Kewamoi Women Dancers both featured. The latter – a nice addition to the lineup, as the field day coincided with World Women’s Day. Eddie Grey was part of the team for the recordings, and he joined a number of groups to join them for I…
Day Four: January 21 2019 Mwanza Story
…d hard work – this song had an incredible beat. Ng’oma ya Asilia: a traditional song Ali Nilihali: A lady turned down Man 1 because he was poor and settled on Man 2 who was even poorer. Meanwhile Man 1 got rich and lady came back to him and the song asks, “So how did it end up?” Magic Moment on a song Ndono. They then did a lot of dances with ‘modern’ music on speakers. https://youtu.be/uRfFn7ZgUrU Group 2: Camera: Camera, who has been performing…
Day Six: January 24, 2019 From Mwanza to Dodomo to Nzali to Nairobi Story
…njere and Nema Uganga, a song against witchcraft Muheme: a song urging all to get up and dance. Muziki: Msunyunsho: both songs showcasing musical styles of similar names and instruments. Group 3: Ndagwa Msanga( a group comprising of young children): This 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 mus…
Global Influences Project: Artist Submissions Page
…and arpeggio and I was really happy with how the rest of the elements came together in this piece.” To hear more work from Ng’at Maler, you can follow him at @ngatmaler MAKOSSIRI X ALOKA OHANGLA We love this brilliant submission from Kenyan techno artist, Makossiri. Describing herself as “A true rebel from the outerworld who defies boundaries through her genre bending sound grounded in African rhythms with a futuristic twist”, we loved how she too…
The Revival of the Entongooli Page
…We are absolutely thrilled to be a part of supporting the revival of the Entongooli, an incredible stringed instrument that is on the brink of dying out. Our friend and colleague Professor James Isabirye, who has also headed up the revival of the Royal Entenga Drums and the Bigwala, has travelled to visit Mr Mukadisi, who is educating a group of children on how to build and play this instrument in the hopes of continuing it’s legacy. Below you wil…