Albums Introduction Page
…h the music of the area we were recording in. Each album also contains a number of extra tracks that weren’t strictly part of the archiving recordings we were making. These recordings are of ‘Influences’ sessions – where a popular musical artist has joined us on our trip to collaborate with the groups we record. In the event that we have invited one of the musicians back to the Ketebul Studios in Nairobi to record, we will also include these rec…
Global Influences Project: Artist Submissions Page
…low Shona on Twitter (@afroshona), Instagram (@officialshonasa) and on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/afroshona) AMZI ODEK X ALOKA OHANGLA//NYATITI GROUP We really enjoyed this submission from Trombonist and Producer, Amzi Odek. Based in Nairobi, he has been actively learning and embracing his culture through music, and we love how his submission reflects that so clearly. “The song is called “Watu Wetu Ni Kina Nani” meaning “who are our people…
What We Do Page
…allows us to record audio via up to 8 different professional quality microphones and video with three HD cameras. Following each visit, this material is post produced to provide an archive of audio tracks and videos. We are in contact with The British Library about adding the Singing Wells collection to their archive of World and Traditional Music but we also endeavour to make our recordings accessible to the widest possible audience of musicians…
Mchele Mchele Sanaa Group Group
…This group, from the Sukuma community, was formed in 2010 and performs with a number of styles: Bukomia Lume, Buchheye, Wigashe. Their instruments are: Ng’oma (Drums), Pembe (animal horns, large impala), Firimbi (flute), and Njuga (shakers). …
Group 4: Urugangaze Ballet Story
…ad plenty of fun solos as the warriors showed off their skills to one another, chatting in between so it had the feel of a scene, not just a dance. As with the other Intore we saw, there was a group accompanying the dance on the amakondera (horns). A couple of facts we learned about the Intore today: firstly, the Intore name is derived from the verb “gutora” (to choose/select) as a large number of the trainees originally were recruited from the ch…
Day Three: Bungoma Town to Kakamega Story
…ning to dance, sing and/or play a traditional instrument, including on the day: Fimuka: Shakers Lidungu: stringed instrument Isiriri: Single string instrument (is this really the Shirili?) Mirembe: Xylophone Olwika: Horn Isukuti: Hand-held ‘conga’ drums Kayamba: shakers Likata: sticks Ikengele: Ring Chapuo: Big bass drum They performed six songs, with the sixth song finishing exactly when the rains came crashing down on us. While they had a couple…
Day Zero: February 15, 2020 – Assemble in Zanzibar Story
…awala Hotel. Temperature 33 degrees centigrade. Partially cloudy. Saturday was about set up, so we’ll use this ‘Day Zero’ post to fill you in on the purpose of the trip. First, Zanzibar is an island off Tanzania, with a long colorful history. Before it was ‘controlled’ by the Portuguese in 1503, it was a base for traders between the African great lakes, the Arabian Peninsula and India. In 1698 it came under the control of the Sultan of Om…
3. Background of the Naizungwe drums Story
…ties were and still are organized on clan system. One ethnic society has a number of clans where each clan has a leader – clan leader. Each of those clans had identifying regalia and one of them are drum rhythms that symbolize the general belief of that clan. The Basoga ethnic society from the Eastern region of the country is organized according to clans. Eleven clans are royal; they are the leaders and the rest are not. One of the clans is the ba…
Days 6 to 8 – Thursday 6th July 2017 to Saturday 8th July 2017 Story
…umé of those days’ activities is included in the form of short notes: Day 7: Recording of the making of obokano, an 8 string instrument from the Kisii ethnic community demonstrated by Dominic Ogari, a music instructor at Kenyatta University in Nairobi. Day 8: Saturday 8th July 2017: Recording of an in‐depth interview with John Otieno ‘Rapasa’, our fixer who had previously travelled to Lake Region with us. In this interview he explained his persona…
Day Six: January 24, 2019 From Mwanza to Dodomo to Nzali to Nairobi Story
…emony where she reaches puberty and now must be hidden from village for 40 days (song acts out how girl learns to reject the advances of men, represented by two men playing shakers) Muziki: A song to gain support of the people for the music and dance Muziki: Freestyle Muhongwa: another song from the circumcision ceremony, named after the instrument used (the wooden trough) Group 2: Nyati Muchoya (also spelt Mchoya): From Nzali, the group is from…
The Northern Tribes of Uganda Album
…ent on further to Widianga village and the Alur Kingdom Troupe. Later that day we were treated to Cieng Dwong back at Fort Murchison – darkness descending as we recorded. A travel day to Soroti was followed by another Likembe band – the Macedonia band, before the long drive back to Kampala. One night in Kampala was followed by a recording in Naguru, recording the Adungu Cultural Troupe and the Watmon Cultural Group, before heading back to the Ente…
Field Recording Report by Kahithe Kiiru Story
…songs. We also recorded Magic Moments with Ekhunjwe instrumentalists only. DAY 2 – Sunday 18th February 2018 Our second day in the field was quite busy, as we recorded three groups in three different locations of the Teso sub-county in Busia County. It was all about Teso traditional music. The Iteso (people of Teso) are Nilotes who live mainly in Eastern Uganda and in Western Kenya. The Iteso of Kenya are about 500,000, the majority of whom live i…
The Music of the Mijikenda Album
…b, and Zaire Ndindingwara – both recorded in the village of Sila. The next day saw 4 groups – and all are included here. Chechemeko Raha and 4 the Mzinga, both captured in Kibarani village, further south from Sila, and then further south again, later in the day – Supaki Kalazo and Sengenya recorded in Junda, Mombasa. We then headed to the South Coast and recorded in Vuga, Kwale County. The ZigiDigi Cultural Troupe and Muungano Kayamba providing th…
FAQ’s Page
…ording gratuity on the day of the recording. This amount varies based on a number of factors such as the number of members in the group and the number of songs we record. In the event of any music we record making money directly (through sales, sync licensing or performance royalties) we will endeavour to channel this money back to the original performers. Can I buy the music you have recorded? A selection of our music is available to download fro…
Kithara Group
…noise. We hope to have this group come to the hotel on our last recording day. We felt bad that they only were able to perform one song but they took it graciously. Performers: Rajab Suleiman (qanun and director), Mohammed Hassan (accordian), Fum Faki (bongo and tabla), Tatu Khamis Haji (singer) Songs: Chungu – means Pot, composed by Said Ali 10 years ago Usikhofu – means “Don’t Worry” Composed by Rajab 8 years ago Pendo Langu Ledhibiti – means “…
Conclusion: Challenges and Recomendations Story
…. In order to do this, we should extend the master classes duration to one week (5 working days at least) and consequently enable younger players to learn much more on the tuning, playing techniques, traditional tunes and the culture behind the instrument from the elders. This would, I believe, also encourage and give time and space for creation of music collaborations that could be recorded in a final day studio session. In such a manner, Singing…