Our Sponsors Page
…3 field recording visit which included accommodation at the Airport Guesthouse and the use of their 4×4 truck and wonderful driver, Musa. www.gorillatours.com Anne Wright, The Wright Approach Type of sponsorship: Field Recording day in Kenya, Music of the Kalenjin, March 2012 Thank you to Anne for her kind and generous donation to towards our 2012 field recording visit to Kenya. Read all about it here. http://www.annewright.com/index.asp Insti…
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…bar, we loved the name of the Dhow Countries Musical Academy precisely because they used the wind to describe Zanzibar music. The Dhow is a sailing vessel. The Dhow countries are all the countries that sailed to Zanzibar over centuries. The music academy is the result of all the Dhow Countries blowing onto the island, leaving their instruments, their styles and blending them with what was already on the island. When we record fusions, we are simpl…
Group 6: Sudi Mavenge Story
…who also sings and today he played percussion. Sudi’s other guitarist also used a set of drumsticks as his own percussion, tapping them together for a beat. We recorded the following songs: Ku Minini – this is a story about a boy who loved a girl, but they lived far apart – she was in Ku Minini and he was in Rwesero. The boy wouldn’t choose anyone local but instead would travel far to Ku Minini to go and see his love. Gakoni Kabakobwa (Girl’s Prid…
Day 6: Thursday, February 23rd, 2017 Story
…yle of Mzee Morris We then interviewed Daudi about Mzee Morris: “I met Mzee Morris when I was younger and saw him play. I loved his style from the first moment I heard it. I also listened to him on the Tanzania Broadcast Corporation, because his drums was used hourly to announce the news. I spent three months trying to learn the drum riff he used. I could never understand how a blind drummer could remember where all 10-12 drums were. Amazing.”…
Day 3: Monday, 2017 February 20th Story
…t tried to teach an 8 year old Leo some of Henry’s riffs, because Henry refused. Isaac used to pull down Henry’s acoustic guitar from the rafters of his hut in their southern village Makua while he was travelling. It was only when Henry heard a 12 year old Leo play a song that he had learned on his own that Henry agreed to teach him. But even then, Henry only agreed to teach him if Leo promised not to pursue music professionally. It was Leo’s mom…
Our journey to the Royal Drums: in the words of James Isabirye Story
…we started to discuss the issue of the royal instruments. At the Kampala Museum, Singing Wells, Albert Ssempeke and I talked and all concluded: we really have to focus on the Entenga, the Royal Drums of the Buganda Kingdom. If we lose these, we’ve lost something truly unique. Singing Wells then agreed to kick-start a project based on what we had done together on the ‘Bigwala Model.’ So after Singing Wells left, I started the search for the drumme…
Central & Eastern Uganda: Day 4, Part 1 – Reflections Story
…who made it to the palaces, but also a vast ecosystem of villages that focused on instrument making or villages that focused on training potential musicians for the palaces. This patronage was not free, however, and the resources to fund the palaces and their music ultimately came from the same villages, through taxation and food contributions. Moreover, these musicians were not empowered to create, to lead rich musical lives, to become artists,…
Central & Eastern Uganda: Day 3, Part 1- Drum Making and Palace Players Story
….” He then gave an example of how he does this step in detail. For this he uses knife and awl. For tuning he uses the following instruments: the knife (Akambe), awl (Olukato), hammer (Ennyondo) and wedge for tuning. For this step, the re-stringing, he stopped after a few strings, explaining that he was ruining his drum by showing us. Here, you saw the real skill levels of the drum maker. With his hands moving very fast, he was taking out the stitc…
The Revival of Ohangla Music! News
…ation.co.ke, featuring one of our favourite Ohangla artists, Otieno Aloka. Giving A Trendy Sound To Traditional Ohangla Music Traditionally played at weddings and funerals, the music is having new life put into it by young artists like Otieno who use electronic production, combined with incredible musicianship, to create a whole new genre. Otieno’s song Kanungo Eteko is massive on Youtube, and we were lucky enough to record him in one of our sessi…
Central and Eastern Kenya: Day 3 – Nkubu to Mariene to Murungurune to Nkubu Story
…Area: Width and Depth We work to map out the performance area that will be used, which then sets Video 1’s location. This is a balance. We want to give the groups complete freedom to perform as they would normally do, without our intervention. But we also need a good recording – and too often the groups will stray far off camera and far away from the mics. Or, as often can happen, the leader will plant him or herself directly in front of Video 1,…
Central and Eastern Kenya: Day 2 – Muranga to Kangema to Nkubu Story
…t: Mwomboko Ndongomothi Kariara Rumba Jeki Magic Moment: The group then focused on a minute of Wendire Mugunda Ndaiga Muchiri Ndaiga Muchiri was a founding member of Kangema Mwomboko Dancers. He started singing in 1943 and loves to entertain. He is a Kikuyu and plays Mwomboko wa 40’s style. Mwomboko: a traditional song where he plays the Karing’aring’a (the ring) We then lugged our equipment up the hill. We were extremely embarrassed to find ourse…
Central and Eastern Kenya: Day 1 – Nairobi to Kiongwe to Muranga Story
…layed the whistles. The song encourages parents to invest in education because that is the key to success. Mwaki (means fire). This is a political song praising a prospective parliamentarian. It discourages other prospective candidates from attempting the position because it is already taken by the one they are praising. Nzembanie na ivinda (Chasing After Time). This song talks about the President’s call to stop corruption. The call to chase after…
Central Uganda: Day 3 – From Mbale to Iganga to Jinja Story
…ctually unique in the world of percussion. They are not limited to 22, because there is no royal role. Anything between 21 and 23 is fine. If they could extend it, they would. The limit is the deeper you go, you can no longer tune the slab. It stops going deeper. The nature of the wood limits the distinct notes to between 21-23. You also saw them dance. They play all the dances they would do with drums with xylophones across the three dance styles…
Central Uganda: Day 0 – Nairobi/London to Entebbe Story
…nsoring a full recording day and have chosen to support our day in Mbale (Day 4: Thursday 21st Nov). We are also very pleased to have the support of Gorilla Tours, owners of the Airport Guesthouse who have provided one of the transport vehicles and a driver for the week, as well as offering us accommodation at the Guesthouse while we are in Entebbe. …
Our top Singing Wells songs for April News
…entertainment and preservation of culture. For all their songs, the ladies used the Kigamba (leg shakers). 2. Kaniini Kaseo, Kolleji Kaniini Kaseo is an all women group led by Mumbi Wambua, in Kyolo style. The group is from the Kamba ethnic community. They have 16 members and were formed in 1980. All of their songs use the Ileve (the tin shaker, played by Mumbi Wambua) and Vilingi (whistle) 3. Kangema Urban Women Group, Kibuthi The Kangema Urban W…
Current Leading Figures News
…oes it contribute to development; job creation, tax revenue?”. This is because they do not understand the value of culture in providing employment, promoting patriotism, love, hard work, name it. Music for instance speaks to the heart of the person..goes beyond the ears and brain as you might know, science has proved this already. Now, we have a festival annually that singly gives joy to the people in the villages but nobody around here would see…