Central Uganda: Day 2 – Kampala to Budaka Story
…different poses which made drumming and keeping the beat progressively harder – it ended with him on his back, feet over his face, still drumming. Lwaki Ndamba: This song is roughly translated to “Why do I have to suffer?” A woman can’t have a baby so husband beats her and sends her to witch doctor who ensures she gets pregnant. She then returns to husband, who has been off drinking, and reunites. The performance was wonderful and, as was quickly…
Central Uganda: Day 1 – From Entebbe to Kidinda Story
…lightly worse than ‘cut ears.’ Nandi Kulamudde: This is the story of the older, dead king, talking to the new king. He offers to help the new king but complains that first someone will need to wake him up. The Amadinda percussion reminded us a lot of the Likembe bands of Northern Uganda— very soothing and seductive rhythms. For the last two songs they were joined by Passy Nassonko the lead female singer of the Kika Boys Cultural Troupe (our second…
Who’s looking at you? Story
…This little fan joined us along Lake Victoria to record some of the best Nyatiti players in Kenya in November 2011….
Meeting Ketebul: an interview with Tabu News
…robeat – is a big inspiration. His music had a lot of good messages about identity. Best and worst Singing Wells moment? The worst was the day when Jimmy poured water on Andy. He was trying to get something from the tent and somehow, I’m not sure how it happened, he ended up soaking Andy. Actually, thinking about it now it wasn’t the worst, it was pretty funny! The worst was driving from Mombasa to Malindi at night, it was dangerous. The road was…
Our top 5 Singing Wells songs for March News
…oup was formed in 2003. They are from the Ameru Ethnic Community and their musical style is Kirarire and Authi. The lead singer wears Murungi, an ornament on both sides of the arms which is worn by the initiator/circumciser; it signifies a man of respect and authority. This one made it onto the top five because of the incredible clothing and dance moves. 4. Kumbuka Asee – Itinga These guys are some of my favourites. Again, great moves, great outfi…
Singing Wells is on Bozza! News
…ver and listen to traditional East African musicians and music groups recorded by Singing Wells. Head over to our Bozza page here. About Bozza “Bozza is a plug & play solution for musicians, poets, photographers & film makers to promote and sell their digital products to their fans throughout Africa. The platform is available to emerging and established artists from around the continent and can be easily accessed by visiting www.bozza.mobi from mo…
Ten More Singing Wells Stories News
…ists (see lullabies below). Here are three vocalists: Meet Francis, the leader of the Batwa musical communities, the master of the bird dance and master of songs about the plight of the Batwa that you can close your eyes and imagine being played in a Beatnik bar in sixties NYC. Meet Jovah, who we first recorded in her village, where she performed with Winyo and later brought to the studio to record with London Strings. Meet Tiny Moses, with his ha…
Current Leading Figures News
…ty for Odwar, as even though Northern Uganda has been riddled with war for decades, he sees the how effective using “traditional methods of creating peace and reconciliation” are, citing the use of arts in South Africa as a way of peace building in the post-apartheid era and the use of theatre in the 1990s to settle and integrate war veterans in Kabale, Uganda. For Odwar, art has the ability to “rebuild shattered lives”, which is exactly what the…
Music Depositories and Archives around the World News
…hich people can access this music. To purchase their CDs, you can either order online or, if you live outside the US/Canda, buy from more local retailers or online elsewhere, such as Amazon. While you are waiting for your world music to arrive, you can listen to a few select recordings on their soundcloud… 7. African Music Archives The founder of the African Music Archives (AMA) was Wolfgang Bender, a German who spent his childhood in West Africa,…
Archiving Guidelines News
…as an archive, substantial technological knowledge is needed – but this guide is most definitely a great help for gaining understanding of all the issues needed be considered when setting up an online music archive. Storage of Audio Materials Guidance for the care, handling and storage of audio visual materials can be found on the Library of Congress website. The guidelines for storage aim to preserve the life of the grooved discs and cylinders, o…
A History of Recording East African Music News
…and, at this time, only had the recordings that Hugh Tracey had made a few decades before, which were from all over Africa. When asked about the importance of recording traditional African music, he states ‘It was crucial to me to be able to direct the attention of young Ugandans to their own musical traditions: so often at weekends my wife and I drove off with students from different parts of the country to sample the music of their own local vil…
James Isabirye and Tabu Osusa Discuss East African Music News
…eded to be erased. Traditional songs about spirits, about witch doctors needed to be ended and replaced with Christian music. James: I think that explains some of it. But the church no longer does that and yet we still reject the old ways. I think another reason is we were all taught to aspire to a “White Man’s identity.” This goes way back. I remember by Grandmother used to always greet me saying ‘Welcome back from school.’ It was very important…
Report from Womex 2013 News
…– via the British Underground and our membership with the Association of Independent Music. Horizons joined up members from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. We were pleased to be sited next to New Zealand across the way and next door were South Africa! Podcast Andy recorded a few snippets of audio for an upcoming podcast – which will feature on the site soon. The Team A big thanks to Mike and Louise who were marvellous evangelists for the p…
SWP Uganda 2013 – our proposed itinerary News
…ing music and performance at the centre, they also live there and till a modest garden, producing crops for their food and also for trading in exchange for other food items like rice and beans. They play both traditional Bagisu music as well as being a brass band. Julius informed us that his vision is to get to a point where they will play traditional Bagisu music in the brass band format. They are well known for their circumcision dance ‘Kadodi’,…
The Key to Sustainable Aid in Africa? Perhaps we should follow the music. News
…, The Awach Boys, sing about reconciliation in a land torn over the last 3 decades by war; the song is Kica Watimon Nining: These songs keep communities together. Sometimes, these songs keep communities apart, with songs of peace that make warring tribes pause (see War Dance). Many of these songs and dances are written for the night, where the shadows of dancers around the fire, fill the children’s dreams with images of hunters and lions, demons a…
What people say about Singing Wells News
…iend, of a friend, brought the Singing Wells project to my attention and I decided to reach out. We are producing a documentary film called The Last Hunger Season about 4 Kenyan farmers who are growing their own way out of poverty. The film (in advanced post-production) accompanies a book by award winning journalist Roger Thurow and is designed to amplify his ongoing world hunger activism. We are in need of great music that compliments the project…