Current Leading Figures News
…nda) . A Ugandan himself, the preservation, recording and archiving of his country’s music is very close to his heart. He believes “Ugandan Folk Music is the sincere, honest expression of my country’s values, feelings, thoughts, musics, history, aspirations……not copied from any where, not just learned but inherited.” He sees music, traditional music with history, as a way to educate the Ugandan people about who they are; he is adamant that he is “…
Music Depositories and Archives around the World News
…of the singer Suzanna Owiyo in Nairobi, the rain songs in the north of the country which frequently suffers from terrible drought and the Massai who sing of the dangers of cattle raiding – and two others on Uganda; one featuring the Bugandan Royal Court Music and the second is about the Busoga Kingdom. Unfortunately there are no short clips available of the programme on YouTube from East Africa, but across the continent on the West, here is a samp…
Amone Watmon Matthew Story
…recorded the Adungu Cultural Troupe in the searing heat of the equatorial sun and then invited the Watmon Cultural Group to perform for us. Their performance was exactly that – the group of dancers and musicians playing the calabash walked in from the right hand side of our ‘stage’ dancing and singing. We recorded two tracks in this lineup. He then began to perform on a stringed instrument, while singing along, in close rhythm with another player…
A History of Recording East African Music News
…weekends my wife and I drove off with students from different parts of the country to sample the music of their own local village musicians.’ An impressive example of initiative that lead one man, and his wife, to create essential recordings, in order to inspire his students. He was then transferred to run the music department in the National Teachers’ College at Kyambogo, where his recording work ‘took on even more importance.’ However, when it c…
ILAM, Repatriation and Jimmie Rodgers/Chemirocha News
…ost outstanding recording, “Chemirocha,” a paean to Jimmy Rogers (yes, the country singer) by some Kenyan girls. The song is haunting but made more so by Tracey’s introduction on the LP record (not included on the CD): “The mysterious singer and dancer Chemirocha has been turned into a local god Pan — a faun — half man, half antelope. He is urged by the girls to do the leaping dance, familiar to all Kipsigis, so energetically that he will jump cle…
Ketebul Music: A Year in Review News
…they talk about Nairobi, they talk about Kenya and think of it as another country, separate from their own. Songs of Protest: Another project, which took so long for us, was the Songs of Protest Project. We invested a huge amount of time on the book, working on graphics. We were so committed to a great product. My highlight was a group, Jabali Africa, and their song about how greedy politicians are and how they don’t respect the electorate. Makad…
A recording studio which fits into the back of an SUV Story
…d peli-cases which protect everything while in transit, whether it be on a plane from Nairobi or in the back of the van on a bumpy track to one of the remote villages we are heading for. We are adding to our equipment lists all the time as we refine our methods, learn new techniques and face new challenges. For our next field recording trip to Uganda (November 2013), this is the list of everything we will be taking with us: 2 Apple MacBook Pro 2 M…
Victoria’s reflections on field trip to Northern Uganda News
…our story, we are Singing Wells We travel a road to a world far apart Your country, Uganda, it captures our heart Your eyes are a window that’s opening wide To tell us your story that’s hidden inside So sing us your story and dance us your life Share with us your memories and don’t let them die Sing us your history and dance us your life And your musical culture will flourish and thrive We travel a road under burnishing sun Green and red landscape…
The First Singing Wells Influences Session Story
…of the son’s tracks. This was a new concept for the group. Bado had always sung in the family music group – and in doing this had sung the songs of his family and heritage, but now they were collaborating on one of Bado’s songs. Bado sang the main line of the song ‘Love Is’ and his father sang between the lines, and the rhythm began to take hold. I also at this point learnt my forth Swahili word (Asante, Jambo and Sawa – Thank you, Welcome and OK)…
The origins of Singing Wells Story
…oastal Region around Malindi and Mombasa and have now travelled across the country recording 30 musicians and traditional music groups representing three major tribes: the Mijikenda, the Luo and the Kalenjin. We have also travelled to Uganda to record the amazing musicians of the Batwa tribes, bringing many of them back to Nairobi to record them in Ketebul Music studios. We have designed two mobile recording units which can be assembled just about…
Meet our ‘Influences’ artists News
…rument. He was born in what he describes as an ordinary family in a modest country side setting. Coming from a musical family, he spent most of his childhood enjoying the influences of jazz, soul and pop artists at the time. His greatest influence was of course Michael Jackson, not only for his musical composition but for his unique sound. Find Eddie Grey on Facebook here. Eddie Grey recording with Ben Kisinja Eddie joined the Singing Wells team o…
Akello sings ‘Influences’ songs for Singing Wells News
…kello now lives in Kampala. She travelled with us back to the north of the country and was not only invaluable acting as a translator when we visited the Acholi communities in the area, but also performed some of her songs for the Influences series, accompanied by the local music groups. ‘Wan Wilobo’ performed with the Rubanga Kingom Awach Boys With just a few minutes to practice, Akello performed this song backed by the Rubanga Kingom Awach Boy…
Day 8: Entebbe to Nairobi and Ketebul Studios Story
…feathers have been replaced by chicken feathers. Traditional axesa are now cheap wooden replicas. This is not the performers fault – the traditional costumes are expensive and hard to access sustainably. This requires government intervention and while we say committed performers it is clear they are struggling. On the positive side, I was incredibly impressed with how well the village elders have engaged the next generation. Every village had a gr…
Northern Uganda: Day 6 – Soroti to Kampala (a driving story) Story
…ard time writing this as we bump and thump toward Kampala 90 minutes after sunset). The longer the hours, especially on the road, the more our team needs to work individually to break stress not create it and find ways to support each other. Singing Wells creates very long days for the team, somehow… Ultimately, it is all about the music. Nothing replaces a great take of great musicians. You can forgive a lot with a great song. You will be happy t…
How music archives can help communities News
…this week we will be on the road in Uganda, travelling to the north of the country for our latest field recording visit. It’s a good time to reflect on the importance and relevance a project such as Singing Wells. Why should we record and archive traditional music? Our objectives are not about archiving music for the sake of it. We do not see ourselves as ‘fossil collectors’, merely recording the music and dance performances of traditional…
Northern Uganda: Day 3 – from Gulu to Awach to Pakwach Story
…ve through black and dark red for about 15 minutes. We then just we saw the back of four elephants crossing our path before we reached the lodge. It was like the sunset had spilled onto the land and kept the fields covered in its colors as night fell. Lovely….