What We Do Page
…s, in the first instance, identifying traditional, region music styles and groups in the area we are travelling to. Once we have the final itinerary, the Singing Wells team sets out by road with the mobile recording studio and spends up to a week in the field recording the local music groups we have discovered. Click here to read about a typical day in the field by Andy Patterson, our Abubilla Music sound engineer. The first field visit was in Mar…
Nyerere wa Konde Music Club Group
…Music of the Mijikenda The Nyerere Wa Konde music club is located in Gede, Malindi District, Kenya. It is a family group led by legendary mwanzele singer Nyerere Wa Konde. The group also includes Nyerere’s son, contemporary musician Mr Bado. Group Leader: Nyerere Wa Konde; performers: Nyerere Junior, Mr Bado, Mbebaji, Mablue, Muguwa, Amina Kombe, Hawe Josi …
Kangema Mwomboko Dancers Group
…nce style, inspired by colonial masters 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…
Day Three: 9 March 2022 (Kisumu) Story
…group to be recorded was the newly formed Asego Ensemble. These musicians travelled all the way from the southern side of the lake and had to wait for the whole day for their turn to record. By the time they came on stage at 8:00pm, they were rather fatigued but started their show with cover songs of other established groups and switched to their own compositions at our request. With a little encouragement from a few fans who were attracted to th…
Wendo Group
…The group also uses the Vilingi (whistle). They performed 4 songs: Kiuluni Kui Landeni (going to London) Mbovoi Kisanga…
Kika Boys Cultural Troupe Group
…oup comes from Masaka Nyendo and have been performing together since 2007. Group Leader: Dumba Charles, other performers include: Nassonko Passy (lead vocals),Waswa Cosmas, Ssembusi Huzairuh, Kalema Frank, Katongole Hakim, Nalwadda Shadia Style of Music: Nganda from Buganda Song meanings Mbidde (A medley): The Mbidde is the banana plant that makes the local brew and the song talks through each step to make the brew that locals consume: Butuuse: Th…
Makunga Group
…into Tanzania. The group was formed in 2018, but was built on a much older group. They perform in the Wuyina style. Their instruments/costumes include the: Ndulele (Horn), the Nindo (Shakers), the Mbega: (Animal Skins), the Muheme (Drums), the Kabati (Shakers), the Kalimba (Thumb Piano), the Zeze (Orutu), the Izeze (5 string large instrument), and the Muhongwa (Wooden water troughs, played on ground like calabash, which was used in last song). The…
Pius Wafula Group
…s local group called “Webuye Jua Kali” up to 2009, when he founded his own group. Today the group counts 5 members who play the following instruments: LITUNGU – a 7-string traditional lyre; ISIRILI – a one-string fiddle; LUENGELE– a percussive idiophone, they use a wooden stool struck with wooden sticks; ENG’OMA – a generic term for drums, they use a plastic water container also struck with wooden sticks; CHISASI – shakers made out of gourds. We r…
Day Five: February 20, 2020 (DCMA) Story
…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 (qanun and director), Mohammed Hassan (accordian), Fum Faki (bongo and tabla), Tatu Khamis Haji (sin…
Kochia Traditional Dancers Group
…e, they have built a reputation for themselves as one of the most exciting groups to perform traditional Luo music, with their vibrant regalia and dance moves to match. Their brightly coloured outfits (replacing the more traditional clay colours that dancers would adorn themselves with) are augmented by attention-grabbing ostrich feather headdresses (the ostrich, a symbol of beauty and courage, represents the courage they will need to entertain) a…
Field Recording Report by Kahithe Kiiru Story
…s local group called “Webuye Jua Kali” up to 2009, when he founded his own group. Today the group counts 5 members who play the following instruments: LITUNGU – a 7-string traditional lyre; ISIRILI – a one-string fiddle; LUENGELE– a percussive idiophone, they use a wooden stool struck with wooden sticks; ENG’OMA – a generic term for drums, they use a plastic water container also struck with wooden sticks; CHISASI – shakers made out of gourds. We r…
Bigwala Instrument
…Uganda in December 2013. While staying in Jinja we invited a local Bigwala group, the Bigwala Cultural Group, to perform for Singing Wells. Click here to read our report from the field. Here is an extract from the UNESCO website, explaining about the Bigwala which was inscribed in 2012 on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding: Bigwala music and dance is a cultural practice of the Basoga people of Uganda, performed…
3. Background of the Naizungwe drums Story
…ties were and still are organized on clan system. One ethnic society has a number of clans where each clan has a leader – clan leader. Each of those clans had identifying regalia and one of them are drum rhythms that symbolize the general belief of that clan. The Basoga ethnic society from the Eastern region of the country is organized according to clans. Eleven clans are royal; they are the leaders and the rest are not. One of the clans is the ba…
Elgon Ngoma Troupe Group
…her beauty and music. He hopes the troupe will give them opportunities to travel away from their homes, but also to preserve the traditions of Eastern Uganda to the rest of the world. ——– You can contact Julius at juliuswolimbwa@gmail.com or PO Box 2254 Mbale, Uganda You can find the Troupe on Facebook here. You can watch a video about the group here. Some of the musicians we recorded were: Bikumbi Yusuf (solo Adungu), Wamumdu Albashir (bass Adun…
Kenya: music of the Mijikenda Gallery
…Images from the Singing Wells trip to the Coastal Region to record the music of the Mijikenda, a culturally related group of nine clans. Our recordings concentrated on the music of the Giriama and Digo clans – a music style renowned for rhythmic percussion, vocal solos and harmonies. We recorded 8 different music groups from the region….
Get on the Map Page
…permission to embed any links contained within the form on the map of East Africa. Submission of the form does not guarantee that your group or music will be featured on the map….