Richard Sewanyana Group
…t he tried to play and failed to learn. But he pretended to play at all performances, acting like he was blowing the flute while his band-mates played. My father was in the palace pretending to play the flute and desperate to replace my grandfather but time was running out. Over time, the other players realised he couldn’t play. So they asked him to lead the next song, to be the starter. But he failed. So they then asked him to play any song of an…
Day 5 – Wednesday 5th July 2017 Story
…ints Ayub had made were on the difference between playing at home, in an informal or traditional setting and playing in a foreign setting (notably in Europe). He said: “When I’m home, I’m free, I don’t care about my tuning…When I’m playing in Europe, now the violin wants to come in, the guitar wants to come in, so now I need tuning.” In any case, both his tunings and his finger plucking techniques are very much different from the traditional nyati…
Bigwala Instrument
…which was inscribed in 2012 on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding: Bigwala music and dance is a cultural practice of the Basoga people of Uganda, performed during royal celebrations such as coronations and funerals and, in recent decades, on social occasions. Bigwala describes a set of five or more monotone gourd trumpets blown in hocket to produce a melody, accompanied by a specific dance. A typical performanc…
Conclusion: Challenges and Recomendations Story
…th their description in an interview. If we had done detailed preparations for the field and a recce, we could have informed the makers of all the stages we wish to record and have them prepare several instruments at different stages of completion to facilitate and economise on filming time. From a methodological point of view, for us to be able to build on the original concept of the series and remain scientifically both pertinent and correct, a…
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). …
3. Background of the Naizungwe drums Story
…hum and recite poetic passages than compete with the loud drumming. Nobody needs loud speakers; the natural amplifiers are sufficient for the audience that is here. Everything comes out naturally and meaningfully to the people. That is what I see in the recording. How are these Basoga drums different from the Baganda ones? Athough Basoga and Baganda conical drums are similar in many ways, they have differences. They are differently woven and this…
Day 9 – Sunday 9th July 2017 Story
…g to Hornbostel– Sachs(2), all four would be classified as composite chordophones, more precisely under the 321.2 category of: “Yoke lutes or lyres – The strings are attached to a yoke which lies in the same plane as the sound‐table and consists of two arms and a cross‐bar.” Through a group interview, we attempted to compare them in: size (size of resonator; length of arms and per extension of strings); materials of fabrication (types of wood); bo…
The Singing Wells podcast #3 Podcast
…Here is podcast number 3. In this podcast, we look at the development of Abubilla Music – one of the partners in The Singing Wells project – from initial idea, to music label. There are interviews with members of the SMCC, and music from the SMCC, Louise Calf, Gus Warriner, Tati Kalveks, Chris Kozlowski and Ketebul artist Winyo. Click here to download the podcast….
Day 1 – Saturday 1st July 2017 Story
…e tight, and some of the preliminary work had not been completed, we opted for a semi‐formal preparative interview with John Otieno ‘Rapasa’, a young nyatiti player based in Nairobi, yet from Alego area (Siaya County), who was a part of our team as a fixer and translator. The main objective of this semi‐interview was to define, at least, approximatively, the different stages of nyatiti making before arrival to the field in order to plan on filming…
Otacho Young Stars Group
…na behind it that made the perfect stage for their upbeat and energetic performances. They performed five songs with us at the resort, including ‘Charles Manager’, a sincere song showing gratitude to the manager of a factory who has been doing a good job. We asked them to join us in the Ketebul studio in Nairobi to record this song, renamed Mr Manager, which you can listen to here. The percussion in this group is particularly impressive, with onge…
The Batwa of Kisoro Album
…ts to be able to record. The Kabahenda, Gatera and Micyingo communities performing for us under the veranda of the hotel. Also included is an influences session where Winyo collaborated with the Mperwa Dancers; a collaboration between Jesse Bukindu and Francis from the Birara Dancers, recorded at the Travellers rest, and three tracks recorded in the Ketebul studios in Nairobi. Tiny Moses, from the Micyngo Community joined us in Nairobi to record h…
Day Four: January 21 2019 Mwanza Story
…aa 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). We recorded five performances: Ntale Atabihyala: ‘The boss, who is always wrong, wants to be always right. Just accept it’ Ba Tanzania (Malima): Praising country, encouraging farmers and hard work…
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…
Omong’oluk Traditional Dancers Group
…about the instruments and costumes used by the group; these included: Atenus: The bass drum Igelu: Shakers Akwara: Sticks Isiman: Jingles worn around the ankles Etwoo: A gourd that you blow into for a ‘bass’ beat. The dancers wore “Emukule”, skins of cows and more rarely, Cheetahs. One of the dancers wore a “Amugwar”, a head piece made up of antelope horns….
Here for the Music? Page
…find moments to take some beautiful photography of our surroundings. Head here to see some images of our time on the field, the people we meet and the stunning scenery. YouTube You can find the full collection of our video recordings on our Youtube channel. With over 500+ videos for you to choose from, delve into the world of East African music and dance with us. “We set out on this mission not to become ‘fossil collectors’… We work with musicia…
Day One: February 16, 2020 (Ngawala Hotel) Story
…The group is from Rahaleo and normally they have 28 members but brought 9 for the performance. The members included: Topsy Surrie (Oud, a beautiful version with inlay), Asha Khamisi Amur (violin and background vocals), Tatu Hamisi Amur (accordion and backing vocals), Ummy Suleiman Alli (violin and background vocals), Mtuswma Makame Seheli (percussion), Zainabu Wazari (tablah drum), Zainabu Mdiliko (accordion) and Fatima Yuma (bongos). The group h…