Support Singing Wells Page
…ca, funding the recording sessions in the field. There may be as many as six different music groups performing on one day and your donation will mean that every music group is able to perform and their songs and dance will be recorded by our field team. Funds will be used to provide for two field-recording engineers from Ketebul Music, a non profit organisation in Nairobi and our project partners. Your donation will also provide for gratuity payme…
Day Zero: 6 March 2022 – Travel To Stream Story
…oup. The video section was manned by Patrick (Sapat) Ondiek assisted by Drix Muyeshi and Cliffe Munyasa. Nick Abonyo was the tour’s coordinator and Spade was our driver. The drive was slow and uninterrupted with only one stop for lunch in Nakuru. We reached Kisumu City just before dusk and settled down for dinner at Kalongolongo restaurant, run by a close friend. After a meal of fish and ugali (the local staple made from corn), we were entertained…
Day One: February 16, 2020 (Ngawala Hotel) Story
…orm in Kisawandui. They played five songs:Bashraf of Alia: Instrumental Usione Chaelea: Means that you don’t really see the subtlety in something. Mbiyo Za Sakafuni: This is about too much haste and costs of being too fast (literally it translates as ‘speed on the floor.’) Hebu Uone Aibu: Means ‘witness the shame.’ Wanawaki Afrika: A Celebration of African Women Unyago: the group is named after the drums they play and the style. This style is all…
Day One: 7 March 2022 (Shikangania and Mukumu) Story
…to their Boda Bodas (motorbike taxis) and disappeared into the dark night, one by one. We drove back to Josephine Garden at Ilesi where we spent our second night. Profile: Super Phoenix Band Julius Khamoyi Shivaji was born on June 5th 1966 in Shisalachi, Ikholomani sub-location in Kakamega County. He started his musical journey in 1990 as a member of the choir at his local church. He took up the stage name Itenya in 1999 when he joined the Phoenix…
Day Two: January 19, 2019 From Tarime to Buturi to Bariadi Story
…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 (shakers from gourds). It is worth taking a minute on the drums. They were typical African drums, but set up Western Style o…
Kithara Group
…were airplanes and motorbikes going by occasionally. We managed to record one song but had to stop after that due to 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…
Adagha Nalya Drama Group Group
…common folk song. “Omuntu Kyakola”: When someone is jealous about what someone else is doing; when some one works hard, others want to bring you down. “Yoyenda”: The one you love. The song invites everyone to show who they love to the rest of the community. Performed at introduction ceremonies – a traditional party where a girl introduces the man to her parents. “Nsomesa Nsomesa”: When a child goes to school and they don’t perform well and come ba…
Day One: January 18, 2019. Assemble in Tanzania Story
…ones for singers and musicians, b) we have three video cameras operating – one wide shot for full performance, one close up to capture details of instruments and one roving camera to provide a second angle on the performance and c) we interview all group leaders to understand group musical styles and background, instruments and songs. In almost every village, we struggle with spellings of songs and instruments as these can differ by village and by…
Before They Pass Away News
…weeks or months immersing himself in the tribe’s way of life. In Papua New Guinea, for example, Jimmy met with the Kalam tribe who decorate themselves with masks, wigs and plants to scare off potential enemies. In Vanuatu, he witnessed the traditional dance ceremonies that tribal people believe is crucial to gaining wealth. In Papua New Guinea’s highlands, he recorded how the Huli people shave their heads when they become a man, and continue to do…
Music Depositories and Archives around the World News
…listening to higher and further academic institutions, but this was then extended and now most of the material is made available for anyone to listen to, where copyright permits. Although a fantastic resource, its interface is quite dated; read Peter Cooke’s profile to hear his suggestions for updating the system, where his work is archived. 4. Smithsonian Folkways Smithsonian Folkways is a not for profit record label, set up by the Smithsonian…
A quick summary of the Singing Wells Project News
…the men. The rest were filled with bloodlust, however, and moved to the next village and killed everyone. The Macedonia Band, a Likembe band (think thumb pianos on steroids, sounding like a calypso band), played in the rebel camps and within the rebel held villages. Aware that the political tides may change, the band leader was careful to not play rebel songs and stuck with very traditional songs far away from politics. The tides did change, the…
Northern Uganda: Day 6 – Soroti to Kampala (a driving story) Story
…into the right routines, we can learn more and more from each trip and get better and better. For the March Pilot in 2011, simply getting audio equipment to work in the field was the most important routine. Don’t underestimate the learning required to set up 8 mic recording session in the dirt, surrounded by cows. By Kisoro and the recording of the Batwa, audio was fully sorted and the team could set up and breakdown in about 20 minutes and record…
Northern Uganda: Day 6 – Soroti to Obuell-Lira to Soroti Story
…d of Freedom was known by everyone and served dozens of times to spare someone a fast execution as a collaborator. We then arrived at Joshua’s village. It was the most beautiful we’ve seen with four-five small thatched huts, each painted with patterns. There was a large clay oven in the middle of the village and the whole grounds were landscaped with flowers. The village was so well swept and so often that you could see by the raised area under th…
Northern Uganda: Day 5 – from Pakwach to Soroti (a road trip) Story
…at least three major steps. There’s the formation of the brick, typically done near the road, mixing clay and slapping big blobs into molds. Then there is the drying, where oodles of bricks are laid out along the road. And then there’s the firing, where brick are stacked up to about fifeteen feet and then ‘sealed’ into a clay oven that is constructed around them and cooked. We see these ovens in all states of repair from being built, to the firing…
Northern Uganda: Day 4 – night recording at Fort Murchison Story
…travel. They had about 15 bul (drums) and 2 drummers and a smallish ndara (xylophone). Their lead male singer was about 6 foot five and commanded the whole group and the growing audience with a loud voice, great dance and fun drumming. They sang Myeli, Wuon Nyaci, Cwara Rac, Ngeta Romo, Atyekedec Gen, and Apako Orang’a. Each of their songs followed a rough pattern: the lead singer sang out the main theme of the song and the drumming started. The d…
Northern Uganda: Day 4 – Pakwach to Widiang’a, Nebbi Story
…rument imaginable: The Flute (yep, a flute) The Ndara (the amazing Ugandan xylophone) The Rigi-Rigi (similar to the Kenyan orutu) The Agwara (trumpets) The Adungu (the harp we’ve encountered every day now) The group was formed in 1993 and is professional, touring Kampala and other parts of Uganda, sponsored by NGO’s and typically campaigning for things like HIV Awareness, Cultural preservation, etc… Except for the fact they wear clothes under thei…