Winyo Staff Profile
…ience. Winyo is also a professional photographer, actor and a TV producer. He is currently the executive video producer for a Kenyan media company called Big Foot productions, which has produced several local TV shows. His goal is to take African music all over the world and enliven people to dance and sing to the sweet and melodic sounds of African songs and music. Winyo is a valued member of the Singing Wells team as one of our artists on the ‘I…
Day Four: 10 March 2022 (Rongo) Story
…f improving their performances. Most of them were ready to experiment with new ways of playing their traditional musical instruments, as well trying to devise standard tuning for them. Furthermore, we appreciated the fact that our intentions were well received and that the musicians did not consider us to be some arrogant city slickers trying to teach them their own cultures and traditions. Our goal was to build resilience by trying to restructure…
Day Two: February 17, 2020 (Stonetown) Story
…leader, on violin, Kheri Mizaka Aliy on African Bass, Makame Ali Juma on drum, Buruhami Makame Haji on 2nd drum, Mgeni Seleiman Makame on sticks, Said Ame Othman on shakers, Aikazija Abdala Ame -dancer, Mirianaharus Juma Hamis – dancer. All sang but Mohamed Othman Faki was lead singer. Sanduku , the bass, was a homemade bass made of a large box with a small hole cut out in the front. It had a large stick which the player held perpendicular to th…
Buganda Music Ensemble Group
…ything had happened. Albert leads the song with the bow harp or Ennanga, a new instrument for us. Albert 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 him messages for the king that he would turn to song. “Mulirwana”: it means neighbour and the song is about people who don’t trust their neighbours and they believe that anyone that doesn’t trust their ne…
FAQ’s Page
…n and wherever possible royalties will be paid to the original performers. New Influences material is jointly owned by Ketebul Music and Abubilla Music. Profits arising from the sale of Influences material will be used to support the artists and music projects and aspiring musicians in East Africa. Can I help in some way? We’d love it if you could help – be in in drumming up publicity for our cause or offering to perform some post production of ou…
Group 8: Abutazi Story
…on vocals and inanga, with Samy on percussion. The style of singing is a Burundian style of singing from the back of the throat, sounding almost like a whisper at times. very mesmeric. The song is about visitors who come and stay the whole night. Inanga solo – this is exactly what it says on the tin, we lost the drums and hiphop and Nkubana let the inanga do the talking. It was beautiful. Recording order Agahinda and Inanga Agahinda and Inanga tak…
Group 3: Makanyaga Abdul Story
…u – singer Lutagengwa Francoise – singer and dancer Songs we heard today: Urukundo rurambuye – meaning Endless Love, a love song Garuka Susanna – meaning Come back Susanna, also a love song about a lost love, Susanna. Gikundiro – meaning Someone Loved Hashize Iminsi – about lost love. It’s been a long time looking for and waiting for my love but never seeing her. Ngwino Mukunzi – meaning Come my Love Nagera Muri Bari – meaning When I get to the Ba…
Day Two: January 19, 2019 From Tarime to Buturi to Bariadi Story
…, but set up Western Style on a steel rack and they leaned one large bass drum against the rack. The drummer then built a separate wooden kick pedal, so he could play all the drums with his hands and kick with his feet. We had not seen this before and it meant the group has a very traditional sound but a very modern feel, with contemporary beats. We recorded six songs with them: Omweko (about a drought that caused great hunger in the village in 20…
Liwambwe Group
…irly new group, having played off and on for three years. They had unique drums, including small drums with wooden spikes on bottom to be embedded in sand, called the Siganga. They also had a pair of drums called the Likuti and a long drum called the Msondo, and a very long thin drum called a Neya. In the dance they had a character in a mask called a Lipiko, who wore a vest called a Mjuga. They played five songs: Malala Kujunga: Essentially means…
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Tarajazz Group
…of Christopher Weston on Cajon and High Hat Magic Moment of singer Regina singing Kasha Magic Moment of singer Regina and Hassan on Sax performing Kasha. We really enjoyed this group. The drummer, Christopher, had to improvise on the Cajon because he didn’t have a complete drum kit. He played beautifully. Hassan also had a great solo on sax….
Day One: January 18, 2019. Assemble in Tanzania Story
…tyles and background, instruments and songs. In almost every village, we struggle with spellings of songs and instruments as these can differ by village and by band. We fully recognize that there are multiple spellings out there, but we defer to the band leader in almost all cases. During a recording session, we will also capture alternative takes; these are called: ‘Freestyle’: We work hard to give our groups the space and freedom to sing and dan…
Day 2 – Sunday 2nd July 2017 Story
…ct that younger traditional players do not (or only exceptionally) compose new tunes, but replicate existing old ones. Within the nyatiti tradition, tunes remain the same, whereas the lyrics can change, evolve. They are the fruit of a specific player’s imagination and can be adapted to the occasion and/or to tell the praise of a different person. The fact that Meshack picked up the instrument only once his father had passed away brought about seve…
Group 4: Urugangaze Ballet Story
…st female dancers that honoured the beauty of women and the power of men (drums and vocals) Gira Amararo (“Have Shelter”) – a song with just female dancers about home and belonging (drums and vocals) Mpundu (“Mothers Giving Birth”) – a song with just male dancers that was an ode to mothers giving birth (drums and vocals) Intwatwa (Intwatwa Dance) – as we saw with the Inganzo Ngari group two days ago, Intwatwa is a popular traditional dance that pa…
Recording, archiving and sharing the traditional music of East Africa Page
…audiences and become a source of inspiration for new musicians. Here for Research? Click here! Whether you are a Musicologist, a student or just interested in the field, head this way to see more of our detailed field reports, group biographies and in-depth information regarding the various different instruments and styles of music we have encountered on our field trips. Here for the Music? Click here! Want to just enjoy some beautiful East Africa…
Group 5: Ababeramuco Group Story
…s Ayirwanda Godfried Rusatsi Gerard, playing the Umuduri, but switches instruments Motabaruka Sylvane, playing the Ininguri, but switches instruments The songs done by Team Mushabizi (whole group): Candali – Written by Mushabizi. This song is about cows, why they are important to society, where the came from, the milk they provide to the people and how they are used. Sung like a story. Nyirabisabo (a kind of beer)- Traditional song used at parties…