Kenya (Coast): Day 2 continued…. Story
…h and 6th groups… in an extraordinary setting on a river bank… The Village In the morning we had been in Malindi and gradually went back on the road to Mombasa to record in the morning in an other rural village. But now, we were much closer to Mombasa in a densely populated town, Junda. We drove into this very densely back ‘village’ going deeper and deeper into the urban jungle on very potted roads, packed with pedestrians, bikes and frankly, a lo…
Interview with Fifty Cows – fixer for Singing Wells News
…hon. She uses sport to woo the warriors away from fighting. She encourages using their strength and endurance in sport and not in violence. He stayed at the Seminary for four years but eventually decided this was not the way to bring peace. Even though he is a Christian he did not feel the tribes would be convinced to put down their weapons in the name of Jesus. It wouldn’t make sense to them to stop fighting because Jesus wouldn’t want it and the…
Kenya (Coast): Day 2 – recording in the village of Kibarani Story
…… The Music Groups Chechemeko Raha We recorded Chechemeko Raha first thing in the morning of March 30th. Led by Bahri wa katana, the group sang and danced in the Chechemeko style. Wonderful, pounding percussion, a great horn called the Gunda and massive kicking dancing called the mabumbu-mbu. Beautiful singing and dancing from the women and gracious leadership from Bahri wa Katana… Chechemeko raha Bahri Wa Katana The Gunda Player and High Kick Dan…
Day 1: The very first field recording day for Singing Wells Story
…s led by Fundi bin Kalale in the ndindingwa style. Wonderful percussionist using two shakers and a whistle (filimbi). https://youtu.be/cvpcFBTaoTo https://youtu.be/3bvGrAulYP4 The Fusion: In this first village we really confirmed the mission of Singing Wells. It is necessary, but not sufficient to arhive the performances of these amazing groups. We must also work to make the songs, the heritage, the culture relevant to today’s artists. Part of t…
On the eve of our very first field recording trip….. Story
…arranged at Sippers. The music was fantastic and brought to life what the Singing Wells Project is all about. Let’s focus on the music. After all, it is all about the music and the concert that Tabu organised to celebrate the best in East African Music. This was the concert (actually Tabu called it a ‘meeting’ to celebrate the partnership of Ketebul and Abubilla): Kothbiro: Ayub Ogado. This is the song everyone remembers from the Constant Gardner….
Nick Abonyo (the ‘clapper-man’) News
…bonyo who is working as an intern at Ketebul Music. This is Nick’s second Singing Wells field recording trip where he is learning how to use the mobile recording equipment whilst also acting as photographer. He is now officially in charge of the ‘clapperboard’ – a role he is relishing. All about Nick Nick was born in 1988 in the village of Mirogi at the Mirogi Mission Hospital. He is Luo and unlike most of the younger engineers and artists at…
The Kalenjin & Kenya’s elite athletes News
…lagat Lebo (Chela) who is making a documentary for Custom House Education Trust about Kenya’s elite athletes. An interview with Chela Lebo Chela was born and raised in Kitale, Kenya. She works with the Content House Education Trust to archive the history and progress of Kenyan runners. Chela has been working on the documentary project for the past four years. The programme follows two main runners – David Rudisha who won the 800m in the Beij…
Best of Singing Wells 2011 News
…ease get in touch and let us know what you think. Just send us an email – we’d love to hear from you. Email Victoria You can see and hear more on our YouTube channel : Singing Wells on YouTube or on Soundcloud: Singing Wells on Soundcloud SWP – The best of 2011 by singingwells …
Why “Singing Wells”? News
…itnessed an extraordinary sight while travelling in Kenya – the real-life singing wells of the Samburu tribes people. The singing wells of the Samburu During the dry season, Samburu herdsmen (and boys) draw much needed water for their cattle from deep wells which they have dug in the parched river bed. As they pull water from these wells they begin to sing, a different song eminating from each well. The animals appear from the bush, seeming to…
A Year in Review March 2011 – March 2012 News
…now approaching the start of our second full year of field visits for the Singing Wells Project. It seems like a good time to step back to review the goals of the project and our progress and learnings. For those of you who are new to our work, this is a good place to start. OVERVIEW OF THE FIRST YEAR OF ACTIVITY: By the end of March 2012, we will have completed the following sets of field visits: March 2011 in Malindi, Kenya: This was our our pil…
Sad News from Kenya News
Happy New Year to all of those keeping track with the Singing Wells project. Some sad news. Okumu K’Orengo, one of the musicians we recorded in Kenya as part of the Singing Wells trip, had passed away. He was a master of the Nyatiti and performed for us in the village of Aluny, his final track on the day being a funeral dirge. We send our sympathies and condolences to his family and friends at this sad time. Here is an audio excerpt and video fro…
AMF receive grant to fund Batwa recordings News
…Institute of International Education has approved a grant to support the Singing Wells trip to Uganda to record the music and dance of the Batwa people. We are delighted that our proposal was successful and that the IIE agreed with our rationale for taking the project to the Batwa to increase awareness of their unique music and dance traditions. In our proposal, we outlined our rationale as follows: “The overall aim of the Singing Wells project i…
Singing Wells Project News Update News
…OCTOBER 2011 NEWS: Here is the latest news and itinerary for Phase 4 – the Batwa and Luo music recording trip in November. Click on the image to download the PDF: …
Abubilla Music release fourth album News
…there’s a launch party on 2nd October in Richmond when The Saturday Morning Canasta Club will play tracks to a (hopefully) admiring audience – more news about that to follow. Click on the cover for a sneak preview – the track ‘Breathe’ performed by the Singing Wells Project’s very own Andy Patterson……. Importantly, the album also includes the global remix of an original Abubilla track ’71 Hours to Monday’ which has been rele…
AMF News Up-Date News
…There’s some exciting developments happening with all our projects and partners. Take a look at our news update here: …
May 2011 – Jimmy reports back on the pilot phase News
…as ZigiDigi Cultural Troup, led by Matano Mwachiti, in the Zigidigi style, using the Kivolti flute. Group 7: Zigi-Digi Cultural Troup Our final group was Muungano Kayamba, led by Futuma Ali Mwacheruve in the Kayamba style (same name as their percussion). They performed the Mavuno, or Harvest Dance. This involved lots of props, including a baby doll and some great percussion that inspired us to build a percussion archive along with the song archive…