Singing Wells Approaches 5 Million Views News
…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 stories to the world. Keep an eye out on the Singing Wells Youtube channel for the footage and recordings from our field trip to Zanzibar and Pemba….
Recce to Tanzania for our 2020 Field Visit News
…est groups to record during our upcoming field visit in February. We are struck once again by the amazing talent this country has to offer, and can’t wait to capture some amazing moments with these artists when we visit again with the full team in a few weeks time. Thanks to the good people at Dhow Countries Music Academy for helping us with the information and contacts from their database. Getting a private crash course on the ganun from ganun vi…
Musisi’s Story, Part 1: The Fall of the Buganda Kingdom Story
…am now so happy and they call me The Professor because I’m teaching these drummers how to play the Royal Drums and I want to do nothing more with my life than to help this music be heard.” Musisi’s work: drummers setting up to perform And we’ll stop there. We will report more on Musisi as the week goes on, but we felt this was the right place to start, the telling of his last night at the palace, the last moments the Entenga were played at the pal…
The Return of Bigwala News
…eems to be a promising future for this important thread in the tapestry of Uganda’s cultural history. Sources: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/ugandan-music-bigwala https://ich.unesco.org/en/news/uganda-young-ugandans-mobilized-for-safeguarding-bigwala-music-and-dance-00251 https://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1333991/bigwala-busoga-royal-music-dance…
The History Of Benga Music: A Report by Ketebul Music Story
…) of Kenya’s provincial agricultural shows and seedy small-town pubs or at rural market centres. Although clubs like the Carnivore have opened up to Benga acts, it is still an occasional thing. Save for the culturally-themed nights–‘Mugithi night’ for the Kikuyu, ‘Kililimbi night’ for the Kamba, ‘Mulembe night’ for the Luhya and ‘Ramogi night’ for the Luo – which are few and far apart, the rest of the entertainment fare is dictated by the DJs, who…
Entenga drums perform with Akadinda Xylophone News
A year ago we brought you the news of Entenga players performing in front of King Ronald Metebi at the 25th anniversary of his coronation (available here). At this event they also performed a piece with the Akadinda xylophone in front of the Asantehene (the monarch) of the Asante people from Ghana. A recording of this performance has just become available, and is posted below https://youtu.be/CCQ72al2pEo Fore more information about the Entenga dr…
Central and Eastern Kenya: Day 3 – Nkubu to Mariene to Murungurune to Nkubu Story
…knife is cutting away his old life and forcing him into a new life. Ruuji rukuru, led by John Gitoriga, means ‘old water’ and is a song to prepare a boy for manhood. Water is a cleanser so the water cleanses the boy and moves him from childhood to a new life. The boy is taken to one of the old rivers and hot mushrooming spring. Hence ‘old water.’ Remember that in all cases the boys are led to a river, covered in mud, and then are marched to a new…
Latest Field Trip – Kenya 2018 News
…We’ve returned from our latest field trip, this time to western Kenya. Field reports coming soon….
Central and Eastern Kenya: Day 1 – Nairobi to Kiongwe to Muranga Story
…we find their noises the perfect backing track for all our recordings. The market structures were beautiful with the typical brick structure, light blue paint and the red earth of Africa bleeding up the walls. The market itself was nestled below a lovely hill of green, which stood 500 meters above us, stuck into the blue skies. We were here to record 4 separate women groups of the Kamba ethnic community, from the same villiage of Kiongwe, each of…
Entenga: Performing twice for the king of Buganda News
…i. https://youtu.be/HgKF14j5LrM We were first introduced to the Entenga drums in 2015 and have since been supporting James in an initiative to revive the drums and teach younger musicians how to play them (read the field reports here or watch our documentary for more information of this project). The Entenga players were mentioned in the king’s speech, which James translated for us as: “… I would like to thank especially those who played instrum…
Tanzania 2017, Dar es Salaam and Bagamoyo News
…We’ve just returned from our latest field trip discovering the music which took us to the eastern side of Tanzania. We witnessed an amazingly rich offering of music and met some extremely talented musicians. Read our field reports here to learn about our experiences with a snake dance, an amazing performance of a female initiation ceremony ,and recording members of the extraordinary Zawose family….
A Tanzanian Effort to Salvage the Music of the Past News
…a – Kimulimuli – Chiku lala salama peponi Mziki wa dansi – Zilipendwa- Marijani- Fanya kazi Maestro king kiki – Maestro of Tanzania Rumba or Swahili Rumba kitambaa cheupe…
Central Uganda: Day 4 – Jinja Story
…st stay with them. Wandyaku Vooto (Dindu) Followed by a Magic Moment with Trumpet and Drums James Isabirye said of this group, “These are my darlings. They are trying to reconstitute a group that will lead the savior of the trumpets. There are two old men and the rest are younger trying to learn from the old men, who were master players. The National Council of Folklore for Uganda supports them. The trumpets are royal music, meaning they were perf…
Central Uganda: Day 3 – From Mbale to Iganga to Jinja Story
…This makes the tone so rich and it is far richer than the skin sound of a drum. The drum sound of the slab, with the hole underneath is actually 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 t…
Interview: fusion band Ndoto Afrika News
…ation of becoming an overnight millionaire or celeb, then you are in for a rude shock! There are so many artistes fighting for an audience space and what’s making it twice difficult is that you have to compete with international foreign brands who in most cases are the radio favourites. A brother has to dream on though, giving up is so ‘unAfrican’ they say. Anything else you want us to know? In the banks of these rivers, shoes of these great lakes…
Discussions with Peter Cooke: ethnomusicologist and Ugandan music expert News
…ur entenga restoration scheme to preserve and promote this traditional instrument for future generations. Students practice entenga drum-chime at Kyambogo in 1968 (Musisi is furthest from the camera) Peter’s research into African music is extensive. “It all began in 1964, a few weeks before travelling out to begin teaching in Kampala, Uganda,” says Peter. “On the stage of the Prince’s Theatre, London, I received my first lesson in playing the Kiga…