Biluli Dutwa Group
…he band brought up children from the village and taught them about hoeing the soil to the song. Later we saw several videos of how this song is used in the fields to motivate farmers, who hoe to the beat. Throughout Tanzania, we saw school 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. Frees…
Richard Sewanyana Group
…o play the flute in the palace but he was aging and wanted a family member to continue to play. I tried to play with him all the time and learned a few songs. In 1966, I was taken to the palace as a servant boy. My father also wanted to play the flute and replace his father. But he tried to play and failed to learn. But he pretended to play at all performances, acting like he was blowing the flute while his band-mates played. My father was in the…
Umoja Wa Kusini Group
…s a very experienced dance troupe of the Mdomdu style. They are originally from the village of Msanga and the Wanyamwezi. All the dancers where a necklace called Simbi, made of cowry shells and a ‘skirt’ around the waist called a Kibwaya. Their smaller drums are Dali Dali and larger drums are Mapipa. They also use the marimba. They played 9 songs, 5 regular performances and four ‘magic moments’: Mkwaju Ngoma: actually four songs in one. About a ch…
Nile Beat Artists Group
…r of the band was Seby Ntege, who left Uganda in the early 2000s and moved to the UK, keen to evolve his sound. He plays the Kora, and much of his writing combines West African instruments with an East African writing style. Song Meanings “Ikobo Kobo”: It is a type of herb. It is a song about a girl who is very bitter because her mother will not let her play with her friends freely. The mother explains to her that she was barren but the spirits he…
Ekhunjwe Musical Group Group
…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 jewellery making for exhibition and sale. Th…
Jackie Akinyi Group
…n 1998, she started singing with Jambo Star Band of Mwanza Town, and while with them, she composed her song known as “Wawili Wawili” in the year 2000. After this song did very well on the Kenyan market, she decided to move to Kenya. It was during the years 2004 and 2005 that she met Tabu Osusa (a music producer), who invited her to Ketebul Studios, where she recorded her first album titled KUNDI, featuring 8 tracks….
Bungoma Roots Band Group
…were being held. The band members held day jobs, mostly in construction, and then would gig in the evening, often in clubs filled with drunkards. However, after years of hard work and managing to record multiple records, they needed to bring in other musicians to form a much bigger band. They then produced their third CD in 2013, Namusia, again with Soundcheck in Kisumu. They started performing all over Kenya. They are now very well established w…
Day Five: February 20, 2020 (DCMA) Story
…them all to come to the hotel unexpectedly today. After this we drove back to Stonetown to record at the DCMA and the Culture Musical Club. The three groups: Kithara – This group was formed by Rajab Suleiman. They have played together for 20 years and all live in the same neighborhood. They play for weddings and festivals in a traditional Taarab style. It was good to see them again on the grounds of the Ngalawa hotel. Performers: Rajab Suleiman…
Mchele Mchele Sanaa Group Group
…This group, from the Sukuma community, was formed in 2010 and performs with a number of styles: Bukomia Lume, Buchheye, Wigashe. Their instruments are: Ng’oma (Drums), Pembe (animal horns, large impala), Firimbi (flute), and Njuga (shakers). …
The Batwa of Kisoro Album
…so taken by the music we heard, we then invited some of the musicians back to Nairobi to record more of their music at the Ketebul Studios. The album begins in the village of the Birara Community – with the village leader Francis taking the main role on the performance. The Mperwa dancers are included, whose leader Jovah stunned us with her voice during the recordings in their village – featured on the album cover. Our trip to the UN refugee camp…
Tarajazz Group
…iti Binti Saad, made Taarab more popular in the 1920’s to 1950’s. We spoke to Hassan Mahenge, the assistant director of this band. He is a teacher at the DCMA. He teaches the Oud and plays the saxophone. All the students at the DCMA study traditional 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 We…
Watmon Cultural Group Group
…upe, and was met with a positive reaction. Eventually he had people coming to him asking to be a part of it, and from that point the group became an institution. In the fallout of the war against Idi Amin’s regime, many people were looking for an escape, and the troupe presented just such an opportunity. The group performed for President George Bush during a state visit to Uganda. They were also recorded in 2012 for the BBC’s World Routes album, p…
Twone Mbee Group
…tempting the position because it is already taken by the one they are praising. ‘Nzembanie na ivinda’: (Chasing After Time). This song talks about the President’s call to stop corruption. The call to chase after time comes from the society that won’t condone these malpractices….
Chibite Group
…he Gogo style of music which relies on the Zeze (stringed instruments made from gourds) and Ilimba (a lamellophone, or modified thumb piano). We will spend a lot of time with Chibite over the next two days and meet many different family members. For this first recording in Boma, the line-up was Ndahani Bwani, the older brother, his sister Ndekwa and two daughters Grace and Leah. They played 4 songs: Dunia Nigahira Samamba: St…
Serengeti Group Group
…white.’ The dancers were performing a ‘head nodding’ dance which was mesmerizing and was extremely unique. The athleticism of these dances were very similar to what we’ve seen in Uganda and very special. …
Otieno Aloka Group
…ka is a musician best known in Kenya for his hit song ‘Kanungo Eteko’. In our session with the Ohangla group he plays the orutu, the second major instrument of Luo music. The orutu consists of a hollow wooden box that has monitor lizard skin stretched over one side. The string used to be made from fibers of the sisal plants but is now made from a variety of repurposed materials, including bicycle brake cables. When played with a bow, orutu creates…