Central Uganda: Day 0 – Nairobi/London to Entebbe Story
…ustoms. Everyone was polite and helpful. But it took almost 1.5 hours. By that time we were caught up in a UN group that passed very slowly through customs. We made it to the hotel at around 1630. It was great to see our old friends at the hotel. We had a quick dinner and a few free drinks (we had charmed some flight attendants on the plane to contribute to Singing Wells with a few whiskeys). Most of us then went to bed for the night, deciding to…
Our top Singing Wells songs for April News
…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 Women Group was formed in 2006 and…
Current Leading Figures News
…who they are; he is adamant that he is “not about to come from a society that does not exist, that does not know who it is, that has no values, no human beings that believe in who they are, without future; coming from no where or not aware of their origin and past and going no where..”, which makes it easy to see why, with his emotionally-fuelled words, he works so hard to breathe life into Ugandan folk music for the current generation. He is esp…
Music Depositories and Archives around the World News
…aily basis. There are several folk music recordings from Uganda and Kenya that are housed at the Archive. It is located on the Bloomington Campus of Indiana University and is open for listening from Monday-Friday: 10am-12pm then 1pm-5pm, except during the Summer when it is only open 1pm-5pm. 9. Centre de Recherche en Ethnomusicologie CREM (Research Centre for Ethnomusicology) is a French institution in Paris, which houses an extensive archive of w…
Archiving Guidelines News
…ter 7, Small Scale Approaches to Digital Storage Systems, is of particular use because it contains straightforward information for smaller would-be archives, such as those wishing to archive East African music, concerning both the digitisation of audio or the online storage of the data. It cites two viable options for open repository software, which are basically softwares that allow organisations to give access to their data. The first is DSpace,…
A History of Recording East African Music News
…able to understand and go find out more by themselves […] My thinking is that a culture that doesn’t have a history is a dead one.” His recordings are available to play online, for anyone, in the Klaus Wachsmann Collection at the British Library. Copies of his recordings can also be found at the UCLA archive, but cannot be streamed online. David Fanshawe 1942 – 2010 David Fanshawe recording the Luo Tribe, Kenya, 1973. Photo Judith Croasdell Dav…
Tracey Instrument Collection News
…ted fibre. The first and second version are more decorative; the tufts of what looks like hair that can be seen on the peg side is the fur of the colobus monkey. Here is the Bukaala Twesitule Troupe, of the Ganda people, who we recorded at the Kyambogo University, Kampala, Uganda. The men on the left can be seen to be playing what look like the more simple version of the Endingidi bowed lute. Engalabi drum These were collected by Hugh Tracey in th…
ILAM, Repatriation and Jimmie Rodgers/Chemirocha News
…e music of Cuba, demanding that we look further into the circles travelled between musicians between the Congo and Cuba, and we listen to Samba drumming and particularly the tambourin only to be reminded of the Watmon Cultural Group’s use of the Calabash. Our heads appropriately spin and we’re happy about that. The tribal music of East Africa is forever evolving. It is wonderful that Jimmie Rogers inspired a new song and it is amazing that the Ota…
Report from Womex 2013 News
…to financial support. It is an exciting time, and seems to chime in with what Eddie Hatitye announced for Music in Africa. Members of the Music Producers Guild led a discussion on ‘What do producers actually do?‘ – the answer seems to be ‘everything’. The role of producer has many meanings, but it seems to me (as a producer) that it is the role of a project manager. Working with a budget and creative energy and materials to create an end product….
A recording studio which fits into the back of an SUV Story
…e the number of inputs, while still working off battery power. The laptops use Avid ProTools recording software – an industry standard for recording and music production. The microphones we have chosen are industry standard models used in studios the world over but, most likely, not seen in the villages of East Africa. The equipment has been carefully selected so it can easily fit into a few holdalls and four rugged peli-cases which protect everyt…
SWP Uganda 2013 – our proposed itinerary News
…isation called Selam which hosts an annual festival in Addis Ababa. While chatting to Teshome, I mentioned that I was in Uganda for a recce and he was really interested in what I was doing. He invited me to join him for a meeting the following morning which he thought would be of benefit to the recce. This later turned out to be one of the best leads and contacts I got for someone knowledgeable in Ugandan tribal music……The person Teshome wanted me…
Kampala traffic jam Story
…o to great lengths to plan the itinerary for our field recording trips so that we make the best use of the limited time we have. Steve K from Ketebul Music is our Africa Project Manager and he does an amazing job in the weeks prior to the trip, contacting music groups, booking local accommodation and arranging vehicles and drivers to transport us to some very remote destinations. But even Steve’s meticulous planning could not help us avoid the inf…
Group of the Month – Watmon Cultural Group News
…s well as recordings made in both Naguru and at the Entebbe Airport Guesthouse, where due to the generosity and patience of the manager Jan Willem and the other guests, we set up a recording studio in the garden. You can join us on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/singingwells and on Twitter here: http://www.twitter.com/singingwells – if you do tweet any links, please use the hashtags – #gotm and #singingwells We’ll update this page with an…
Day 9 (AM): Ketebul Studio – Influences session for Cheri Story
…ome in and work on the verses. We asked them to find their best love song that fits the beat and recorded them. Their musicality is amazing and the lead was able to introduce a whole new melody over Stanley’s song and deliver it as Bishop reported with pitch/timing perfect. By this time Nyerere Wa Konde wrote a new part requiring a different bass and guitar for part of the song. They rushed into the control booth to offer something (remember, the…
Northern Uganda: Day 6 – Soroti to Kampala (a driving story) Story
…. Our driver has reported we have crossed the Nile. Let us try to explain what that felt like. Darkness ahead. Darkness behind. Darkness to the left and right. Very clear view of guard rails on the road. And the only other sign is that Andy reported over the walkie talkie that is it always better to cross the Nile than to be ‘in denial’ (In The Nile, get it?). In fairness, how often can you use that joke? It is 20:37 and we just passed a police ro…
Northern Uganda: Day 5 – from Pakwach to Soroti (a road trip) Story
…n five and ten years. Then there are the charcoal makers and sellers. The thatch ladies ensure that the roads are dotted with thatch pillars. The charcoal makers burn the charcoal and then fill five foot high white bags of charcoal that line the roads in groups of 4-5. We often mistake them for nuns walking along the road in their beautiful white dresses. The white bags are typically crowned with a grass hat to keep them dry. Near Pakwach, this is…