Day One: January 18, 2019. Assemble in Tanzania Story
…r second Field Visit to Tanzania. (Please go here for the first trip) For Singing Wells, a field visit is when we visit a specific region of East Africa and record musical groups in villages. On average, we do one field visit a year, recording roughly 20-25 groups, and a 100-125 performances. We have roughly 1,000 videos online. Our general setup for a recording is: a) Steve is in charge of audio and we typically have two general mics for the grou…
Nyatiti Group Group
…Music of the Luo Aluny Village, East Alego, Kenya Group Leader: Okumu K’Orengo…
Patrick Ondiek Staff Profile
…d he grew up listening to Joseph Kamuru and Ochieng’ Nelly but it was on joining Ketebul Music and following the ‘Spotlight Series’ when he began to really love tribal music. So when the Singing Wells project offered him a new opportunity to discover the music roots of East Africa, Pato jumped at the chance. Why? “First, I love the exposure to different cultures – even my own. I have never heard a lot of the tribal music, even around my own villag…
Nyatiti Instrument
…h. Notable players Ayub Ogada, who played on our 71 Hours to Monday re-mix, spent time in the UK and provided music for the film The Constant Gardener. The late Okumu K’Orengo performed for the Singing Wells project a short time before his death. Japanese artist Anyango became the first woman to play the Nyatiti – as traditionally it is only played by men….
James Allen Staff Profile
…o-heads the firm’s Global Strategy practice. He has 20 years of experience in international business and has worked in Africa extensively during that time. Jimmy launched Abubilla Music in 2008, a small label dedicated to developing young recording artists. The following year he began developing the idea for the Singing Wells project with Ketebul Music, sharing their passion for preserving and promoting the traditional music of East Africa. Jimmy…
Kahithe Kiiru Staff Profile
…k management. 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…
Kumbaka Asee Group
… Kumbuka Asee: The group is led by Margaret Mbia and plays in the musical style of Kilumi, wathi wa kikamba. They are also from the Kamba ethnic community (ukamba wa kitui). They have 15 members and are inspired by kithio kya mukambu (Kamba tradition). They were formed in 1974. They use two drums called Kilumi, played by Makai King’ei and Koka Mbindyo. They played two songs: Itinga Levu…
Nile Beat Artists Group
…nclude Robert Muwenda, Babayaza Sumaya and Kalungi Justine. They are based in Jinja and perform traditional Ugandan dances. The group takes their name from the River Nile, which starts at Jinja on the edge of Lake Victoria. A previous member of the band was Seby Ntege, who left Uganda in the early 2000s and moved to the UK, keen to evolve his sound. He plays the Kora, and much of his writing combines West African instruments with an East African w…
We assemble in Kisumu Story
…is February 17, 201b8 and we are assembling in Kisumu to begin our sixth Singing Wells Field Visit in Kenya (12th Field Visit overall). Steve, Patrick, Drix and Kahithe Kiiru have driven up from Nairobi, while Tabu, Jimmy and Hunter have flown in. Jimmy and Hunter flew from London to Nairobi the day before. We are very happy to be joined by ethnomusicologist, Kahithe, and we welcome her to the Singing Wells family. A bit of background: Kahithe is…
Albums Introduction Page
One of the main aims of The Singing Wells project is to record and share the music we record in East Africa and one of the ways in which we can share this music is through our albums series. For each project we undertake, we curate an album of the resulting recordings. In most cases, this will include at least one recording from each group recorded. Where it works artistically, we’ll arrange the tracks on the album in chronological order of the r…
Shitakha & Balozi Band Group
…Milbo. They use drums and shiriri, but also a Shikhorli which we haven’t seen before. This is a shaker/bell, where two ball bearings of different sizes/tones are welded into metal pouches and then he plays. Moses is considered the best Shikhorli maker in the area. Here’s the band….
Day Five: Ilesi, Khayega to Kisumu Story
…a shaker/bell, where two ball bearings of different sizes/tones are welded into metal pouches and then he plays. Moses is considered the best Shikhorli maker in the area. Here’s the band. Their songs included: Mukhana Mulabu: This is about a brown girl, that is whiter than most the girls in the village. Isimbiilalila: This is a bullfighting song. Balina Wanje Ndiranga: This is a song about being tired and in a bad state. Mama Mulai: Rosie: This is…
Day Two: February 17, 2020 (Stonetown) Story
…ing in a mix or Arabic and Swahili. They could not break their performance into individual songs so they broke it down into three acts so it could be filmed. Dakha 1 Dakha 2 Dakha 3 Singers/Performers names: Nasir Sallum Juma (lead singer), Said Issa Khamis (drums), Rashid Haroum Rashid, Wissam Omar Rashid, Humaid Abdul, Abdallah, Salum Ali Juma (drums), Abdallah Moha Khamis, Mohamed Rashid Mohamed, Aidha Ghalib Salum, Saleh Ahmed Thabit. This g…
Day Four: February 19, 2020 (Maruhabi Palace) Story
…ed by mango trees. We met the first group there. Sekimbuke – traditional singing and dancing with some Taarab influence. They sing for weddings, celebations and the harvest. They use traditional Zanzibar drums: Vumi – a tall, narrow, large drum based on the floor, Kinganga – a short medium sized drum, a Bati – a high hat, a Chapuo – a long narrow drum held under the arm, a Dutu – a smaller version of the Chapuo and Masewe – shakers worn on the le…
Day Two: January 19, 2019 From Tarime to Buturi to Bariadi Story
…he somewhat artificial nature of ‘archiving’ where the band is constrained into a single shot. Magic Moment: We loved the percussion and wanted to capture this as magic moment. https://youtu.be/u7xcXahAlzI Group 2: Upendo Jazz: The group is from the Murangi Village in the Mara Region and their community is Wajita and their style is Vidogori. They were founded in 1999. Their instruments included: Ngoma za Budogori (drums, with a kick) and Njiga (…
Kigane Traditional Dancers Group
… Kigane Traditional Dancers, from Kigane Kithurini and Ngatia villages, Suri Location, Bogeta Division. They are 11 men, 12 women, led by Cyrus Kirigia. Their style is Kwimbo, and the songs ares sung to celebrate the harvest mostly in August and March. They are from the Ameru ethnic community and use the Kibere (leg shakers) and Vilingi (whistle)….