The Birara Batwa Community Story
…by Jesse Bukinda from Ketebul Music on guitar This is the song ‘Uganda’ performed by the Batwa women and recorded in the Ketebul studios: How you can help the Birara Batwa Community The Birara Batwa continue to be an impoverished and largely isolated community. We aim to help support the community we met by sharing their music and dance through Singing Wells. You can directly support the Birara Batwa by buying our Music of the Batwa album or by do…
The Batwa Community Story
…their communities and help them reclaim their traditional way of life. The United Organisation for Bawta Development (UOBDU) was founded in 2000 to address land problems and develop sustainable livelihoods. UOBDU has identified four key areas of support: land & housing; education and adult literacy; income generation and forest access & benefit-sharing. By way of example, the Batwa Cultural Trail is a recent initiative launched by the Uganda Wildl…
The Key to Sustainable Aid in Africa? Perhaps we should follow the music. News
…it to pay African drivers to bring us to the villages. These monies are used to pay the performers and record the performance. These monies are used to keep the music alive and to help in a small but very critical way to keep the performers focused on the music, so the music can support the village, so the village can support the communities and the communities can become a channel for aid and development. These monies are used so we can find a sp…
A recording studio which fits into the back of an SUV Story
…nda!) We can also combine the two recording units into one to increase 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 fi…
What people say about Singing Wells News
Brad Gibbs, Managing Director, Mara Group “Mara was delighted to support the Singing Wells recent and extensive recording trip in East Africa. As an African group with deep Ugandan roots, Singing Wells’ mission of celebrating, preserving and publicizing the rich cultural heritage of the region resonates with our firm’s vision to harness local talents and capabilities, build great businesses and create a leading African brand. We look forward to c…
Fiona’s story Story
…Fiona has been able to attend junior school through the sponsorship of the United Organization for Batwa Development in Uganda (UOBDU), an NGO based in Kisoro. She is a wonderful role model for the Batwa community and is proving that, with the right opportunity, Batwa children can achieve the same educational goals as any other child in the district. Everyone is hoping that Fiona will be able to continue being sponsored through her senior school y…
The Singing Wells supports Ketebul Music’s ‘Kenya at 50’ project News
…Bosco – who toured Kenya promoting Apsro products. He was a friend of, and supporter of Ally Sykes, who was the first person to begin a Jazz Orchestra in Tanzania, and played a part in the drive for Independence in Tanganyika. Colmore appointed Sykes as his agent in Dar es Salaam for Hi Fielity promotions. In later life, he was involved less in music and his business interests widened to include that of the Photo Me franchise in Kenya. His daily d…
A quick summary of the Singing Wells Project News
…al cameras. We are a website that makes all this music available. We are Winyo. We are Akello. We are dozens of African musicians determined to keep this music alive. We are Andy and Vicki that raise the funds and produce the videos. If you like what you hear and see please visit us and support us. We are here to help. But we need help. And if you looked carefully in the videos, you’ll see the Nyatiti and you’ll hear Ayub Ogado who supports us and…
73,603 views on YouTube News
…ls YouTube channel……73,603 views and still counting! It’s not a meaningful number in itself (like a nice round 100,000 – our next target) but it does mean more and more people are finding us and enjoying what we are all about – bringing the more traditional sounds of East Africa to an enthusiastic audience. Thanks for watching! Our top 3 video hits In third place, this is the Nyerere Wa Konde Music Club from Sita Village, Gede in Kenya’s Malindi…
A new type of city Story
…hat the capital would be like; this image speaks a lot about the city. The number of ‘proper’ buildings were few and in only the small centre. It was hilly and most of the roads were not built for vehicles. The shops were small shacks mostly and at night stayed open, lit by candle light. There were animals everywhere and make-shift houses, which starkly contrasted to the taller office buildings you could see in the distance. Despite this unconvent…
The Influences Series from Singing Wells News
…song is called (The only thing that’s) Missing and it was first recorded for the Abubilla Music album Misery Marmalade and other Spanish Jams. Here is the video of the new ‘Influences’ version, featuring musicians from Kenya, Uganda and the UK collaborating in this a unique song to celebrate and support Singing Wells. 71 Hours to Monday Our very first ‘Influences’ song was 71 Hours to Monday. An original song from Abubilla Music re-mixed to i…
The Boy with the Headphones Story
…hen we travelled to the Mperwa Batwa community. Consisting of just a small number of families, the Mperwa have settled on a small area of borrowed land just a few kilometres from the town. At first glance the setting appeared to be spectacular, with the lush valley and terraced hills of local farms as a backdrop and the magnificent Virunga volcanos in the distance. But we were quickly struck by the impoverishment of this small community. As we a…
Music of the Batwa: video playlist News
…f their history, culture and the problems they face today. To read the daily field reports from this trip, click here. Video playlist The trip was facilitated by the generous support of donors to our charity the Abubilla Music Foundation, including a grant from the Institute of International Education….
Music of Northern Uganda: video playlist News
…In December 2012 the Singing Wells team travelled to Uganda to record the music of the northern tribes, including the Alur, Acholi, Iteso and Langi. To read the daily field reports from this trip, click here. The trip was facilitated by the generous support of donors to our charity the Abubilla Music Foundation. Video playlist…
The origins of Singing Wells Story
…ust about anywhere. The Ketebul and Abubilla audio and video engineers who support Singing Wells talk of the amazing experience working in the field. As Steve Kivutia says, ‘Nothing is more satisfying than watching the musicians listen back to their own recordings. In the past, one or two of them might have been invited to a local town for a simple recording. Singing Wells allows for the whole group to perform, singing and dancing in front of ten…
Returning to Uganda in Autumn 2013 Story
…tyles. Here’s Akello with Amari (featuring the Watmon Cultural Troupe): That’s it. We just wanted to drop you a note to say we’re coming back and to thank you for your support. If you’re interested in Ugandan music and want to support us on the next phase, do let us know! Jimmy…