Day two: From Sirisia to Mabuyole Falls Story
…brother formed his own band. Weput Khulu Namatete (Samuel) then recruited new members and the band has stayed very active and prosperous, playing in the Tindikiti style. The play at hotels, festivals, weddings, funerals, etc.. In terms of instruments they have: Luengere: Drums Eng’oma: Drums Litungu: Strings They performed the following songs: Kuzula Ni Bora: This is a song that emphasizes that prevention is better than the cure. The singer takes…
Tarajazz Group
…rican rhythms such as Msewe and Kyaso (both from Zanzibar) with Singeli (a new tribal rhythm). Taarab came from early 1800’s as Egyptian music. In Zanzibar the Mother of Taarab, Siti Binti Saad, made Taarab more popular in the 1920’s to 1950’s. We spoke to Hassan Mahenge, the assistant director of this band. He is a teacher at the DCMA. He teaches the Oud and plays the saxophone. All the students at the DCMA study traditional music such as Taarab…
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Kidedeya Group
…Freestyle Magic Moment: Omusingero again…
Support Singing Wells Page
…Any amount you give will help the Singing Wells project bring the music of East Africa to more and more people. We guarantee that your donation to the project will be spent in East Africa helping traditional music groups get on the world music map. Please note, the Singing Wells project is funded by the Abubilla Music Foundation, the below link will direct you to make a donation to the Abubilla Music Foundation: — CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW — Donate…
Recording, archiving and sharing the traditional music of East Africa Page
…shared amongst the widest 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…
Introduction: Project overview and objectives Story
…outu.be/NqomPAxomxI “Masters of the Nyatiti” being a pilot programme for a new project series under Singing Wells, one of the objectives of this report is to reassess the original concept based on experiences from the field and to point out encountered challenges and difficulties in meeting concept objectives. Thus, I hope that this document will raise questions for discussion and generally assist in formulating a framework for future recording mi…
What We Do Page
…he northern tribes, Uganda (Acholi, Alur, Langi, Iteso) Music of Central & East Uganda Music of Eastern and Central Kenya During each field visit we are invariably struck by a particularly talented or exciting musician or music group. When this happens we arrange for them to travel to Ketebul Music in Nairobi to record their music in the studio. Many of these studio sessions have contributed to the Singing Wells ‘Influences’ series (see below). A…
Day Five: Ilesi, Khayega to Kisumu Story
…en ‘no one is watching.’ He wrote this in March 2017 and it will be on his new album. Shombu: This is a girl’s name and is a traditional song. But he takes it and says, “Yes, you are a beautiful girl, but let me warn you. Many will try to be with you and there is a danger if you are not careful you could catch HIV. Your beauty could be a curse if you are not cautious.” He wrote this in 2010. Umbeba. This means, you are carrying something and is an…
Day Three: Bungoma Town to Kakamega Story
…ditional song in three parts where a man goes to visit his daughter in her new home Influences: Fadhilee Itulya, our influences artist, joined Wilbert to play acoustic guitar on another version of Ndirenje. We travelled from Bungoma Town to Mumias (which was a lot longer than it should be as we travelled the wrong direction for 30 Kms, initially.) But we eventually arrived in Mumias to record Mumias United, a very large dance group. The group was…
Kahithe Kiiru Staff Profile
…anagement. She has 8 years of experience in ethnomusicological research in East Africa, with a special focus on dance traditions of Kenya. She possesses comprehensive knowledge of qualitative research methods, data collection and analysis, and is experienced in academic writing, content creation and editorial.Kahithe has a master’s degree (MPhil) in Ethnomusicology and Dance Anthropology from the University of Paris X Nanterre and is currently fin…
FAQ’s Page
…my band? We have a schedule and a plan for the next 3 or 4 field visits to East Africa, so any groups we record would have to be within designated areas where we plan to travel. We’d love to hear from anyone with new suggestions for field visits. Can I join you on your next recording trip? Please get in touch if you would like more information about where are travelling with Singing Wells in the future. If you have any further questions, please ge…
Mission Page
…ated and with Singing Wells we aim to: Preserve the rich music heritage of East Africa Introduce East African tribal music to a new generation of musicians and music fans Offer tangible and lasting benefits to the musicians and village communities we visit Encourage the development of village music groups, particularly within the young community, and demonstrate that preserving cultural music heritage will help sustain a vibrant and successful com…
Shem Tube Group
…Shem Tube is a pioneer of the ‘Luhya Omutibo’ sound and had a big hit with his band Abana ba Nasery (Nursery Boys, including Justo Osala on guitar and Enos Okola on percussion; they played throughout the ’60’s and ’70’s.) Their style was linked to three part harmonies, two finger picked guitars and a ‘fanta bottle percussionist.’ In the 80’s, Shem formed a new band, Les Bunyore , before reforming Abana ba Nasery in the ’90’s….
Elgon Ngoma Troupe Group
…n Hero Brass Band. When you combine the two bands, the traditional and the new brass sound, Julius says, they blew audiences’ minds. As the bands have grown there are roughly 160 total members of his group, of which 100 are performers. They are roughly divided between the two bands. For income, they do performances and also work four acres of land to feed themselves. Many of the members also do arts and crafts or a skilled trade – Julius’s dream i…
Nile Beat Artists Group
…he Kora, and much of his writing combines West African instruments with an East African writing style. Song Meanings “Ikobo Kobo”: It is a type of herb. It is a song about a girl who is very bitter because her mother will not let her play with her friends freely. The mother explains to her that she was barren but the spirits helper her to conceive so the spirits set the condition that she should never play in the rain. “Amagombe”: This is a song a…