Global Influences Project: Loop Library Page
…M Hiari Ya Moyo was formed in 1957 by their grandfathers and is located in Dodoma. They are from the Wanyamwezi Community and performed in the Ngoma Style. Their instruments include: Ngoma (drums) and Njuga (bells). You can find out more about the band here. You can watch the full visual performance of this song on our Youtube channel by clicking here. Download the loop Ekhunjwe Musical Group – 153BPM Ekhunjwe ya Abasamia was formed in April 2008…
Day Three: February 18, 2020 (Stonetown, Mpendae, Maungani) Story
…red. This is a joking way of referring to a brass band that is smaller and more worn out than one would expect. Their music is based on the Brass Band style of the West. The Africans used to make fun of the Big Band sound from Europe by exaggerating the sound and having people with learning disabilities play. Over the years they have come to enjoy it and have created their own brass bands. This band has been together for 20 years. Performers: Salm…
Day One: 7 March 2022 (Shikangania and Mukumu) Story
…Field Notes: The drive to the next location (Kibukosya’s Gazebo) took less than 15 minutes but no sooner had we set up our equipment for the second session of the day than it started drizzling. Fortunately, the rain did not last long and by 7:00pm we were back on track with Julius Itenya and his Super Phoenix Band on stage. They were a well-rehearsed team and all went according to plan until a group of mourners appeared from nowhere with a coffin…
The Revival of the Entongooli Page
…nd the next process of preserving the wood through the use of animal dung. More on that later… Simple but Effective Tools Having the right tools for the job doesn’t necessarily mean the most high-tech or complicated. As we show in this video here, the tools needed to continue shaping the base of the Entongooli are very simple, but remain incredibly effective. Using a small hoe, the base of the Entongooli is slowly shaped by chopping away at the dr…
Support Singing Wells Page
…our registered charity which funds the Singing Wells project Other Ways to Donate Download an album Recorded for Singing Wells via our Bandcamp page. Your purchase of one of our albums, or an individual song, will directly benefit traditional music groups in East Africa, with royalty payments going straight to the performers wherever possible. The Best of Singing Wells 2011 The Music of the Batwa of Kisoro The Music of the Kalenjin of Kenya Donate…
FAQ’s Page
…ucation to record the music of the Batwa in Uganda. Click here to find out more about donations to Singing Wells. You can also donate to Singing Wells via our YouTube channel. Each music video has a donation button associated with it and you can donate £1, £5, £10,£20 or £50 to help support a music group you particularly like. Find us on YouTube here. If I support you where will the money go? How do I know it will be well spent? Donations to Singi…
Field Recording Report by Kahithe Kiiru Story
…Wanga) are a sub-group of the Luhya people famous for their historical Kingdom. The Wanga Kingdom was the most highly developed and centralised kingdom in Kenya’s history before the arrival of the British and the colonialization of the area. Today, the Wanga, who live mainly in Kakamega County, retain the Nabongo as their cultural monarch. The Mumias United Group counts 38 members and refers to their style of music as imbira. This is based on a pe…
Day Zero: 6 March 2022 – Travel To Stream Story
…musicians via M-pesa and Pay-Pal contributions. Another possibility was to sell tickets with the use of online access codes that admit ticket holders into the virtual performance. The result was that a number of live streaming studios where performers book sessions to perform and stream their concerts sprung up in Nairobi. Some venues also adapted to hosting online performances, directly streaming shows to mobile devices and computers of audiences…
Day Zero: February 15, 2020 – Assemble in Zanzibar Story
…ites to more public performance, you find the audience laughing at all the double meanings. To be more specific, the women are laughing and the men are scratching their heads. As we tried to identify the meanings of the lyrics of these songs, the women often laughed with each other as they tried to hint at the hidden meanings of these songs. We met this style on our first day in our third group, named, of course: Unyago. Fourth, the discussi…
2. Naizungwe Drums – progress report 1 Story
…enough drums for training a new generation of players. However, the basic number includes: 1 large Uganda drum (played with short heavy beaters) 3 smaller drums (played with long curved sticks) 1 medium drum (played with sticks) 1 long drum (ngalabi – hand-beaten) All together, 6 drums. Therefore, we are making four sets of naizungwe drums mainly to facilitate learning.” Below is a video documenting the progress of the drums thus far. https://you…
Day 2: Sunday, 2017 February 19th Story
…ing for three reasons: We had the whole day so were able to record a large number of songs and do an “Influences” session. This gave the village children time to get to know us and understand our mission. By the end they were singing along to all the songs. In addition to being a professional musician, Leo also teaches music to school children so he is a natural with kids. On all the songs that he did, he had the whole village singing and laughing…
Day 1: Saturday, 2017 February 18th Story
…have studied his music over years and I still can’t believe what he could do.” In Dar es Salaam we talked to Daudi Fernando Joseph, drummer for the Umoja Wa Kusini dance troupe about how Mzee Morris inspired his music: “I met him at 10 years old but had listened to his drums all my life – his drums are used to announce the news on Tanzania Broadcast Corporation (TBC) hourly news bulletins. At 14 years old, I would sit at my drums just trying to…
A Report by Professor James Isabirye – Indigenous music learning in contemporary contexts: Nurturing learner identity, agency, and passion News
…orking on a project to restore the lost lyre, the Entongooli. You can read more about this project on our website here. We are very grateful to be partnered with such a visionary for the future, and protector of traditional East african music and instruments. We know that generations to come will be grateful for the work he has put in to continue these traditions. He has also written a report analysing how indigenous learning can inform modern sch…
Ketebul Music presents Shades of Benga Online News
…Kenya delves into the foundations of modern Kenyan music, examining external influences from the English waltz to Afro Cuban Rumba and how they helped mould new music styles across Africa. Rumba was brought to Eastern Africa via the itinerant Congolese musicians Edouard Masengo and Jean Bosco Mwenda who’s intricate guitar-picking styles largely shaped the present Kenyan sound, with the Benga playing a dominant role. Currently, you can get advance…
Our journey to the Royal Drums: in the words of James Isabirye Story
…day and today we are going to see the Bigwala and discuss more lessons learned. Tomorrow, we are going to find out how much more there is to do.”…
Singing Wells Approaches 5 Million Views News
…e that our hard work is paying off – in the last few months we have almost doubled our views on our Youtube channel and are now approaching 5 million total views across our videos. When we started Singing Wells almost ten years ago, we set an aim to bring the traditional music of East Africa to a wider audience. It amazing to see the Youtube algorithm agreeing that this is a project worth showing people! We can’t wait to bring more songs and stori…