Central and Eastern Kenya: Day 2 – Muranga to Kangema to Nkubu Story
…asters but adapted locally. Mwomboko, Peter Mwangi is the lead singer and plays the accordion. George Kinyua plays the Karing’aring’a (the metal ring). The group played 5 songs plus one magic moment: Mwomboko Ndongomothi Kariara Rumba Jeki Magic Moment: The group then focused on a minute of Wendire Mugunda Ndaiga Muchiri Ndaiga Muchiri was a founding member of Kangema Mwomboko Dancers. He started singing in 1943 and loves to entertain. He is a Kik…
Central and Eastern Kenya: Day 1 – Nairobi to Kiongwe to Muranga Story
…a tradition). They were formed in 1974. They use two drums called Kilumi, played by Makai King’ei and Koka Mbindyo. They played two songs: Itinga Levu At the end of the session, Ralph worked with three of the group leads on an influences song. A view more scenes from the Kiongwe Market: From the Kiongwe Market, we packed up and drove four more hours from Kitui to Kiongwe to Muranga on the Thika road, arriving at the Nokras Hotel in Muranga at abou…
Central Uganda: Day 7 – A Magic Day in Entebbe Story
…inspired from her time with us about hearing the sounds of African music. Last night, she and Andy played together, with Andy working out a guitar part. So first, we recorded the two of them. Then, we decided that if she was writing about hearing the sounds of African music, she should hear the sounds. So James worked with Jovah on a beautiful line, where she sang about the Batwa people being driven from the parks. Then Passy worked on a separate…
Central Uganda: Day 6: Kampala to Entebbe Story
…f his fingers. His friends eventually found out due to all the rumors circulating the palace. They tried to ask him about it but he kept denying that anything had happened. Albert leads the song with the bow harp: The bow harp, or Ennanga, which was played by Albert Junior is a new instrument for us and he is only one of 3 master players. It was played in solo performances and the Ennanga player was the advisor to the king, as people would bring h…
Interview: fusion band Ndoto Afrika News
…rom purely urban music to a traditional/ urban mix? The love for our motherland. There is a popular saying that ‘others call it the ‘Dark Continent’ but to us it’s just home’. A home we have known all our life. So, for us, it’s the pride we derive in the motherland that makes us focus our effort in restoring the almost-lost glory of our cultural music. We just want our great grandchildren to have an idea of what it was like in the days of their gr…
Central Uganda: Day 5 – Jinja to Kampala Story
…Haruna Walusimbi. They have 4-5 drummers depending on the song, 2-3 flute players, 2 tube fiddle players and 2 thumb pianos. They also have the traditional Ugandan Xylophone. All instrumentalists also sing and are supported by three ladies who sing and dance. The three core members are: Walusimbi Nsibambi Haruna: He the Founding Director of Nile Beat Artists. Walusimbi was once the Global Youth Earth Day Ambassador for Africa after winning the Glo…
Central Uganda: Day 4 – Jinja Story
…e vocalist in the group is Irene Nabirye. The group is made up of 6-7 Bigwala players and drummers, plus dancers and singers. They performed four songs and then we did a magic moment with their instruments; these were: Muwe Bwobona Asaba: When someone asks you kindly assist them Mperekera Omwana Womurembe: When you are walking and living with someone by your side, they are the special one and you don’t look at anyone else. Mwene Wamwenda: When you…
Before They Pass Away News
…to highlight the struggles these communities face: constant threats of displacement from their land, potentially deadly diseases brought by newcomers, and loss of the habitat on which they rely. It’s now more important than ever to understand, respect and celebrate the world’s indigenous cultures and remaining tribes, before it’s too late. To find out more information about Jimmy’s work visit http://www.beforethey.com/. Do you know of a music grou…
Central Uganda: Day 3 – From Mbale to Iganga to Jinja Story
…Robert felt we should invite him to Ugandan festivals. He’s the king in villages, playing at beer parties in villages, invited by the elders in traditional ‘rites of passage.’ Here is his music: The Journey to the Next Site We then packed up and said good bye to the Elgon Ngoma Troupe Centre. It was illustrative of their passion that they continue to perform in all corners of the field –they didn’t need cameras or microphones. We drove 117 kilomet…
Central Uganda: Day 2 – Kampala to Budaka Story
…the Omulere (flute) player and the Endingidi ( ‘tube fiddlers’) The flute player was George Wandela. The two Tube Fiddle players were Wilber Mutanse and Geoffrey Wamagaga. Here’s their music: While the dancing and percussion were fun, this was a beautiful singing troupe, with haunting harmonies. In contrast, group two was all energy, all drama – more of an acting troupe, with drummers, than a chorus. This didn’t mean the vocals weren’t good, but t…
Central Uganda: Day 1 – From Entebbe to Kidinda Story
…lometers into the fields, to a small village called Kidinda. The Recording Site: The village had one cement single story home, one stable (with a small and very loud cow tucked in the back) and one angry bull tethered to the middle of the grounds. Chickens hung about ready to provide backing vocals. Children began to gather as we un-loaded equipment. Most of them smile widely when our cameras turned toward them. Most came running to us to see thei…
Meeting Ketebul: an interview with Tabu News
…g across from me in his office in his bright yellow patterned t-shirt and flat cap he looked laid back as he sipped his cool beverage. His easy smile broke every time I said something that amused him. Here’s our interview: Who are the most exciting modern artists you’re currently working with, and why? Some of the most exciting artists we’re working with is Winyo, Makadem and Olith Ratego. They’re interesting and unique because they’re able to tak…
Our top 5 Singing Wells songs for March News
…hey were formed in 1974 and the two drums at the front are called Kilumi, played by Makai King’ei and Koka Mbindyo. 5. Ohalanga Drum Solo – Keith Moon Final favourite has to be the Ohalanga Drum Solo by Keith Moon, filmed in Singing Wells’ 2011 trip through Northern Kenya. 0.52 secs is my favourite moment, when Keith stands up and the dude behind him pulls his chair back – as if they both know he can’t stay sitting down when playing a rhythm that…
Singing Wells is on Bozza! News
…Wells. Head over to our Bozza page here. About Bozza “Bozza is a plug & play solution for musicians, poets, photographers & film makers to promote and sell their digital products to their fans throughout Africa. The platform is available to emerging and established artists from around the continent and can be easily accessed by visiting www.bozza.mobi from mobile phones and PCs.” Thabiso Mohare, Head of Brand & Marketing…
Music Depositories and Archives around the World News
…facility, it achieves this aim by allowing public access to the archive onsite and online. It states that the GMA tries to be inclusive, rather than exclusive, with material and will look at origin, idiom, transmission, and style of performance when debating whether it is relevant to their collection. It has 10 principal concerns – which can be found here – but the themes of preservation, digitisation and access seem to be three key goals that un…
Archiving Guidelines News
…d Preservation Strategy’ (IASA-TC 03). When researching guidelines for the online archiving of sound, the term metadata is often mentioned and this is the largest part of the edition that was revised for re-publication, stressing the importance of extra information being attached to the sound file, describing the location the sound was recorded, the artist, the date, etc and other technological information. Another issue often raised is the need f…