How to Map 2: The Map Outline News
…ap and select Cancel – you want to create a new map rather than opening an existing one. This will give you the completely blank ArcMap screen. Before we do anything else, we’re going to save our map. Like all your other GIS files it needs to be saved on the C: drive. It’s also a good idea to put it in a folder of its own because it will start to collect lots of other bits that go with it and it’s always good to keep things tidy. I have entitled t…
How To (Arc)Map News
…follow along (and that includes members of the Singing Wells team itself). Watch this space for future posts, and if you’re interested in ArcMap, you can find out more here. You can also check out their non-profit organisations’ scheme, which allows registered charities access to software for free. CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE FIRST POST…
From Kisoro to Nairobi to Lake Victoria Story
…land’ to the Rwandan side, leaving the cars to come through separately. We check in with police and then go to Rwanda passport control to enter. This is now 7:20 or so and a big crowd is forming but luckily, as we were so early arriving,we got through okay. By about 7:40 we were done, but the cars were not yet allowed to pass, as the Uganda exit border had not yet opened for vehicles. By about 7:55 it opened and we climbed in our cars and were off…
Day 4: UOBDU and the Birara Dancers Story
…bloom, so we faced a beautiful patchwork of terracotta and green. These are the predominate colours of this trip. The dance site itself was no less beautiful: We then set up the ‘studio’ ready to record the Birara Dancers: The key sound engineers do a final check before we begin: Steve, Andy and Jesse do a final sound check before we begin. https://youtu.be/l-1IG790EOs https://youtu.be/u38YYaTQMIY https://youtu.be/uNeC4Dw4bu0 https://youtu.be/9F…
Day 3: From Nairobi to Kigali to Kisoro Story
…r equipment (we really wanted to return with it all!). We then took Kenyan Airlines (new plane with movies!) to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, population roughly a million. We were met by our drivers Arun and John and drove through heavy rains to the Rwanda-Uganda border crossing near Kisoro. After a rather lengthy crossing, we then drove on to our final desitination – the Traveller’s Rest in Kisoro. Five quick things: Rwanda: Beautiful country kn…
Day 1: The very first field recording day for Singing Wells Story
…n music. Bado’s music is great, propelled by his wonderful voice, but it’s American-sounding and could have been produced in LA. We asked him to do a song and he started singing one of his about a guy essentially asking a girl to be his… very urban hip hop and something you’d find in most major cities. Tabu suggested that his dad join him and in traditional voice act as the girl’s father warning her of the danger of seduction. Winyo joined to cont…
Nick Abonyo (the ‘clapper-man’) News
…ist (we recorded him on a Singing Wells visit to Nyanza). Paul told him to check out Ketebul. He applied for an internship and in May 2011 was hired. He loves the professionalism, equipment and teamwork of Ketebul and its mission. In the words of CNN, he says, “I like that we ‘go beyond borders’ to discover real music.” Nick’s favourite Singing Wells moment was the welcome we received at the home of Ogoyo Nengo in Rang’ala, Nyanza province. “She i…
Guy Morley – No Nation News
…Guy Morley is music programmer for the Big Chill festival – one of the highlights of the UK’s cultural calendar, and is the founder of No Nation, an independent arts programming, production and promotion company. No Nation has developed links across East Africa and has recently worked on a project for Sound and Music looking at the influence of early American country music in Africa. …
Reflections on the pilot phase by Pato News
…ravel with us arrived just as we were about to leave. I quickly helped him check in and off we were to Watamu where we were picking our fixer for the project called Deche. We had sent him on the ground earlier so as to identify the groups we were going to record. After meeting up with Deche we stopped again to pick up Bado the son to Mzee Nyerere wa Konde, singer and group leader of Mwanzele Nyere wa Konde Music Club. It was nice to see Bado we ha…
Discovering music roots with SWP News
…t music performers to welcome them and also accord them the opportunity to check if their hi-tech equipment would work well south of the Equator. Blow by blow accounts of the field recordings starting Tuesday March 29 to Thursday March 31 are available elsewhere at this site, so I will just fling you here and there instead (see graphic below). For the material-gathering first step on the Singing Wells Project, which shall eventually cover the whol…
More Ketebul voices…Steve reports from the field News
…d Andy. Pato and I then drove Winyo to hospital in Diani to have his tooth checked. He had knocked himself on the bed the previous evening, and his tooth was hurting. It was a long wait for the dentist at the hospital; he had gone for the day and had to be called back. When he came back, he referred Winyo for treatment in Nairobi seeing as there was no time for him to do a full procedure. Andy lays down guitar for Footprints Winyoj lays down cover…
What we learned from the pilot phase News
…Winyo, Bado and his father took a Bado composition (yes, sounding like any American group) and turned it into something truly amazing by combining the best of old and new. The Magic Moment on Day 1 when it all seemed worth it. We took a simple (very American sounding song) from Bado and blended it with his Dad’s styles to make something really special 3. And Lessons? What Need to Improve? We were glad we did the pilot because we did learn a lo…
Meet the team from Ketebul Music News
…he media aspects of Singging Wells, as well as join the team in the field. Check out his website: click here. The Chairman Steve Kivutia: Project Manager for Singing Wells. Steve will be the day to day project manager for Singing Wells, coordinating audio-video capture and preparation of CD’s, DVD’s and Archives: Our ‘Throat to Choke’ on the project – Steve is responsible for day to day management. Jessie Bukindu: Senior Sound Engineer a…
Testing the mobile recording equipment News
…or the new, global version of the Abubilla Music song, 71 Hours to Monday. Check out Jimmy’s blog on their progress: Quick report from Sao Paulo Next stop, Kenya. In March, Jimmy and Andy are taking the recording equipment to Nairobi, teaming up with Ketebul Music to fully test everything in the field in advance of the village tour in November. Tabu Osusa is putting together the itinerary and the plan is to travel to the coast, near Mombasa, to re…