Group of the Month – Otacho Young Stars News
…first encountered the group on our trip to record the music of the Luo in Western Kenya in December 2011. Up to that point, we had had a bad day – which included Andy taking the collected rainfall of the past hour, in the face from the roof of the tent…. We then moved from our original recording location to the DRC – not the Democratic Republic of Congo, but Dinky’s Resort Club, down the road in Rongo. We set up the recording gear at the back of…
The Beat of Kenya News
…d videos of the instruments being played, which are from our field trip to Western Kenya in November 2011. The instruments now on display at the Manitoba Museum were donated to the museum in 2011 by a Canadian who had worked in Maseno, Kenya in the late 1960s. During the course of his work there, he was often invited to gatherings in the villages around the area where musicians would be part of the evening. At the end of the evening, the musicians…
Listen to more ‘Influences’ tracks from Singing Wells News
…ho Young Stars who we first met in December 2011 during our field visit to Western Kenya to record Luo music. Experts on the traditional instruments the orutu and nyangile, we loved this group and invited them to record at the Ketebul Music studio a few months later. Here they are performing ‘Mr Manager’ accompanied by session musicians and also Winyo with backing vocals. (Click here for blog post) During our field visit to Northern Uganda we trav…
The origins of Singing Wells Story
…from Gateshead? The Singing Wells project is a result of a chance meeting between two music labels on two separate continents. Tabu Osusa founded Ketebul Music in 2007 with a goal to record and promote traditional East African music. Tabu laments the fact that the music heritage of the region is being eroded. He says, ‘For reasons I can’t fully explain, contemporary East African music has lost touch with its tribal roots. Our most popular musicia…
Meet our ‘Influences’ artists News
…ame ‘Winyo’, which is a Luo word (a tribe from the Lake Victoria region of Western Kenya) for “a bird”. The reason for this becomes apparent once you hear him sing. His voice has been likened to that of a singing bird. He is a singer/songwriter of great sensitivity and an acoustic guitar player, backed by his 5-piece band of accomplished musicians. Winyo derives his music and musical strength from his fore fathers whose African music was rich in m…
The Tribal and Musical Structure of East Africa – Worldmap Research News
…assification. There are hundreds of different language groups and dialects between tribes in East Africa, meaning that within the huge range of instruments there were also a number of different names for them. This became very interesting to discover however, and over time that information could gather on the map, making it more comprehensive. What did you find most interesting about the data you collected? What stood out for me was the huge range…
African Strings: The Nyatiti and The Adungu News
…esented in the darker pink, the Adungu in the lighter pink: References: ‘Saharan Vibe’, (2011), ‘Luo Nyatiti Music from Kenya’, Available: http://saharanvibe.blogspot.co.uk/ Blench, Roger. Reconstructing African Music History: Methods and Results, SAFA Conference, 2002 Ruiz, Ana. The Spirit of Ancient Egypt, Algora Publishing, 2001 ‘Anyango Official Website’, 2012 JOWI music, ‘Nyatiti’, Available: http://anyango.com/e/nyatiti/ ‘Kaypacha’, Musica…
Lango Tribe Profile – Music of Northern Uganda News
…ar to those of the Acholi and the Alur. They are part of the Luo group or “Western Nilotic Group”, and so all of the languages in this area are fairly similar to understand. Origins: Their original homeland was north of Lake Turkana where they used to live along with the Jie and the Karimojong. This means, by implication, that the Langi are also related to Dodoth, Lotuko, Topsa, and Turkana of Kenya. Together with the Iteso, Kumam and Karimojong,…
Alur Tribe Profile – Music of Northern Uganda News
…y the Ugandan ban on traditional monarchies in 1966. Language: Part of the Western Nilotic language group, their language is closely related to Acholi. Some Alur speak Lendu. Origins: Their tradition states that they migrated from southern Sudan with other Luo following the Nile banks. Their original homeland is said to have been Rumbek on the confluence of the Nile and the Bahr-el- Ghazel rivers. The Alur legend of origin says that there once liv…
Singing Wells – Origins News
…from Gateshead? The Singing Wells project is a result of a chance meeting between two music labels on two separate continents. Tabu Osusa founded Ketebul Music in 2007 with a goal to record and promote traditional East African music. Tabu laments the fact that the music heritage of the region is being eroded. He says, ‘For reasons I can’t fully explain, contemporary East African music has lost touch with its tribal roots. Our most popular musicia…
Day 1: In Nairobi, packing and talking to Tabu Story
…East Africa they changed the ways people sang to fit with the traditional Western hymns. The children learn to sing from their elders and naturally join in when others are singing. There isn’t any formal training in tribal music. It is mother to child.” Tabu goes on to describe the role of tribal music,” Their music is a ‘way of life’. They use music for communication, passing on information and entertainment. Music is always present when there i…
Victoria’s reflections on the music of the Batwa Story
…, for different reasons. We took another route back, joining the main road between Kampala and Kisoro. The road is a good one under normal conditions but was currently being resurfaced. In many places it had been completely dug up and was a mix of loose stones and soil. And it was raining heavily again. Water and mud was gushing at speed down the hillside onto the road. At times we were negotiating a small, fast flowing river. And the rain made vi…
Return of the Batwa @ Ketebul Music Studios Story
While in Western Kenya, we made a decision to bring some of the Batwa singers back from Kisoro to Uganda. We spent Saturday and Sunday recording them and the results are fantastic. The whole way back from Kisoro to Kisumu we talked about the Batwa and how much we loved the singers. We thought about bringing them to Nairobi sometime in the future. We then decided the future is now and called Henry Neza to see if he would be willing to travel with…
Day 2: Focus on the Nyatiti, Orutu and DRUMS! Story
…acbook Pro and two Motu audio interfaces on top of our trusted Pelicase, which acts as storage for all equipment, chair and table….in the back of the truck that will see us throughout Western Kenya: Finally, here’s Willie setting up a lapel mic for Okumu Korengo Thanks for listening. The Singing Wells Team 29th November 2011…
Day 6: The Studio @ Traveller’s Rest Hotel, Kisoro Story
…hotel in Kisoro. Please listen before reading the blog: https://youtu.be/c1XBVlNQL6E We also recorded a beautiful version of Amahoro with Jessie, Francis and the ladies. Francis and the ladies are happy to pose for a series of formal photos (each woman with her baby either cradled or on her back). Tabu and one of our hosts from the hotel then join the group for the second shot. Now for a formal photo with Jesse, Jimmy, Francis and Tabu The ladi…
The Kalenjin & Kenya’s elite athletes News
…o focus on writing her book about Kenyan running. She grew up listening to Western groups including Madonna and Michael Jackson. She only heard traditional music at weddings – it ‘wasn’t cool’ to listen to it otherwise! She started appreciating traditional African music from Western Africa. Now she is much more interested in learning about traditional Eastern African music and her roots. She has been following the Spotlight series produced by Kete…