Day Three: 9 March 2022 (Kisumu) Story
…k almost an hour for the two to figure out Akwabi’s unorthodox, expressive free style for most of his songs before the actual recording began at 2:00pm. After a few false starts we finished the recordings of Peter Akwabi at 4:00 PM with his latest song which is a tribute to D.O. Misiani, the maestro of benga music who died in the lakeside city in May 2006. Next on stage was Olith Ratego, a musician whose unique dodo style is one of the oldest form…
Global Influences Project: Loop Library Page
…asamia was formed in April 2008 with common focus on using music as a tool for community development. The group promotes traditional African values and acts in both education and local economy. Members also engage in traditional crafts like basket weaving and jewellery making for exhibition and sale. You can learn more about the group here. You can watch the full visual performance of this song on our Youtube channel by clicking here. Download the…
Day One: January 18, 2019. Assemble in Tanzania Story
…rs 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 band. We full…
Day Two: February 17, 2020 (Stonetown) Story
…ge 7 up to 40, ten all together today. They sing Islamic and secular songs for weddings and celebrations. Today was mainly an acapello performance with one flute made out of a bamboo stick. The singers included: Ibrahim Ali Hassan (lead singer, flute ), Issa Ali Hassan (lead singer), Mlenge Ali Hassan, Othman Mlenge Ali, Afann Mlenge Ali, Iddi Abdallah Mohd, Abdillah Salum Juma (lead singer), Fesal Sleiman Mwalim, Saidi Simai Mkanga, Vuai Juma Vua…
FAQ’s Page
…rd? Of course – we believe that musicians should be paid for their time performing for us. We pay a recording gratuity on the day of the recording. This amount varies based on a number of factors such as the number of members in the group and the number of songs we record. In the event of any music we record making money directly (through sales, sync licensing or performance royalties) we will endeavour to channel this money back to the original p…
Day One: 7 March 2022 (Shikangania and Mukumu) Story
…at some of the venues chosen for the recordings had no main power outlets. Fortunately and for a nominal fee, good neighbors always came to our rescue by allowing us to tap into their main power supply lines with our snake cable. When all the issues were sorted out, the rest of the recording went smoothly with Johnstone Mukabi and the Omutibo Stars coming on stage at 11:00am. Accompanied by Francis Massanga on vocals, they were joined by guest mus…
Global Influences Project: Artist Submissions Page
…ten ignore the paths taken right before them. The two sides always looking for each other but never meeting. For the song I used samples from the Ohangla drum solo and the nyatiti group singing. I wanted to feel like a part of their band, trying to figure out how I would contribute to their style of music and have this conversation spiritually with them.” You can hear more of his music on Soundcloud:soundcloud.com/amzi-odek Want to get involved in…
The Revival of the Entongooli Page
…What we love most about this project is that it is providing opportunities for free education to these young people, as learning an instrument can provide opportunities for scholarships to local schools. Some of the children here tell us about their reasons for learning the instruments, what other instruments they are learning and how they are enjoying the process. We cannot wait to see their progress and finally watch them perform with this incre…
Field Recording Report by Kahithe Kiiru Story
…lead and one rhythm, a water dispenser drum and vocals only, the group performed for us six original compositions. Among them, the popular hit composed by Luseno in 2006 entitled “Mukangala”. This inspired Fadhilee to join in and we recorded “Mukangala” Influences. Fadhilee also shared one of his original compositions called “We don’t know”, which we recorded in two versions, accompanied by Itenya on guitar only and accompanied by his back-vocals…
Mohamed Uthman Kidumbak Group Group
…at 16 and taught himself the violin and bass. He went to Egypt off and on for six years on a scholarship from the DCMA to study violin and the oud starting in 2000. He’s been teaching at the academy for 18 years. Members of this group include: Mohamed Othman Faki – leader, on violin, Kheri Mizaka Aliy on African Bass, Makame Ali Juma on drum, Buruhami Makame Haji on 2nd drum, Mgeni Seleiman Makame on sticks, Said Ame Othman on shakers, Aikazija A…
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…
Super Phoenix Band Group
…don’t know: Fadhilee then taught the band to play his song, We Don’t Know. This is about politicians who pay lots of attention to voters when it is election time but then are never around to be accountable for anything once elected. It is about the frustration of so many people with their elected officials who do nothing for them. There were two versions: here’s the second: We Don’t Know….
Day Zero: February 15, 2020 – Assemble in Zanzibar Story
…time. Muhsin…decided to teach her…at the time it was considered immoral for women to join taarab groups and sing in public… She helped …transform taarab to the point where woman are now usually the lead singers. …Between 1928 and 1950 she recorded over 150 recovers…It is through her recordings …that Taarab became widely accessible. Later, further Egyptian influence was incorporated into the genre by including full string sections as well as a…
Day Two: 8 March 2022 (Ilesi) Story
…d our technical team went straight to work, setting up the musicians but before we could start recording, and just as the previous evening’s session, it started to rain. Luckily we were partially indoors so we did not get too wet. After about an hour the skies cleared and we were able to resume the recording session. However it took a bit of time for the group to get some of their traditional instruments, including the adeu deu, in tune in with th…
Day Zero: 6 March 2022 – Travel To Stream Story
…ernet connectivity and online streaming services. This solution works well for urban-based performers where the infrastructure exists and is relatively easy to access, but does not apply to those based in peri-urban areas and villages with limited or no access to the relevant infrastructure. Bearing in mind these challenges facing rural-based musicians, we at Ketebul Music were prompted to reconstitute our infrastructure and operations by obtainin…
Ayub Ogada Group
…me in Nyahera location, not far from Kisumu town, and conducted a long yet free of form type of interview. Although a Luo himself, Ayub had never learned how to play the nyatiti in a traditional setting. He picked it up later in his career and studied from a player/teacher at the national cultural centre of Bomas of Kenya in the 1980s. He remembers he had gone for 6 lessons (at a 100 shillings) only and then continued practicing and experimenting…