Bigwala Cultural Group Group
…from the village of Bukoona and travelled to the Gately on the Nile Hotel in Jinja for the recording session. The Bigwala is the name of the trumpets they play. Song Meanings “Muwe Bwobona Asaba”: When someone asks you kindly assist them. “Mperekera Omwana Womurembe”: When you are walking with someone by your side they are the special one and you don’t look at anyone else. “Mwene Wamwenda”: When you love someone even if they are poor, lame, sick…
Page
…hat are available to download for the project, If you are interested in joining the Global Influences Project, you can download the project brief here or get in touch with us with any questions you may have. SUBMISSIONS FOR THIS PROJECT ARE NOW CLOSED. Click here to access the Global Influences Project Loop Library Here you will find a selection of musical loops by artists such as Otacho Young Stars, Adungu Cultural Troupe, Watmon Cultural Group…
Day Three: January 20th, 2019 Story
…Bununguli style. They are from the Sukuma community and were formed in 1981. They played the Ng’oma and entertained the kids with circus acts involving fire, razor blades, knives, etc… It wasn’t really part of the Singing Wells Field Visit but we were thrilled to stumble across it! From the village, we then drove a little over three hours to Mwanza, and stayed at Malaika Beach hotel, where we would stay for two days….
Day One: February 16, 2020 (Ngawala Hotel) Story
…we recorded three groups. Nyota Za Meremeta – The group’s name means ‘twinkling stars’. They play in the Taarab style and are led by Professor Mohamed Ilyas, who played at the Serena Zanzibar Hotel for over twenty years and teaches at the Dhow Countries Music Academy. For 50 years he’s taught music in Zanzibar and promotes other musicians. Other members of this group include: Ramadhan Muhidan (accordion), Ali Ibrahim Musa (Kanan or Qanun), Tatu…
Kochia Traditional Dancers Group
…nd in 1965, and since then its members have dedicated themselves to entertaining guests at countless national celebrations and holidays, private events, as well as internationally as part of the Folklife Festival in the UK and in the USA at the Smithsonian Folk Festival. As well as this they are determined with their performance to preserve the incredible Ramogi dancing, a mainstay of traditional Luo culture. Ramogi was the patriarch of the Luo pe…
Day One: January 18, 2019. Assemble in Tanzania Story
…r second Field Visit to Tanzania. (Please go here for the first trip) For Singing Wells, a field visit is when we visit a specific region of East Africa and record musical groups in villages. On average, we do one field visit a year, recording roughly 20-25 groups, and a 100-125 performances. We have roughly 1,000 videos online. Our general setup for a recording is: a) Steve is in charge of audio and we typically have two general mics for the grou…
Day Zero: 6 March 2022 – Travel To Stream Story
…sic were prompted to reconstitute our infrastructure and operations by obtaining software and equipment necessary to set up mobile live streaming studio services and travel to provide live concert streaming opportunities for musicians based in remote areas. Our mission to travel and stream in Western Kenya was made possible by funds from Hivos, with the additional support from the Abubilla Foundation. Travel to Stream After one week’s training and…
Day Six: January 24, 2019 From Mwanza to Dodomo to Nzali to Nairobi Story
…surance, our plates, and at times, they just wanted to know what we were thinking. So lovely. So many stops. But we digress. From the Dodoma Hotel, we drove about 90 minutes to Nzali to record four groups: Group 1: Makunga: This group is from Dodoma and the Wagogo Community, which they argued is the main indigenous community of Tanzania (always from the land, never migrated into Tanzania. The group was formed in 2018, but was built on a much old…
Here for the Music? Page
…. For some of our stories, videos and the chance to listen to some of our Singing Wells Albums, head to the links below. Stories Read some of our most memorable stories from the field, featuring stunning photography taken by our team. Learn more about the communities we meet, the instruments that are being played and the background stories behind some of the photohraphy on our website. Albums Head here to see the collection of Albums we have creat…
Support Singing Wells Page
How you can sponsor the Singing Wells Project Singing Wells is a charitable project, managed and funded by the Abubilla Music Foundation a UK registered charity (reg. no: 1142173). Our work to record, archive and share the music of East Africa is funded by donations. Funds are used to support our field recording trips, provide a permanent music archive and also to help the communities we visit gain an income from their music. You can help us sup…
Nyota Ze Meremeta Group
Nyota Za Meremeta’s name means ‘twinkling stars’. They play in the Taarab style and are led by Professor Mohamed Ilyas, who played at the Serena Zanzibar Hotel for over twenty years and teaches at the Dhow Countries Music Academy. For 50 years he’s taught music in Zanzibar and promotes other musicians. Other members of this group include: Ramadhan Muhidan (accordion), Ali Ibrahim Musa (Kanan or Qanun), Tatu Hamisi Amur (accordion), Asha Khemisi A…
Aynu Traditional Group Group
…the Khartoum Arab slaves in the second half of the 19th century. Their origins are described in relation to their belief in mythology: with God’s creation of Meme and the universe. The first two human beings Gboro-Gboro (male) and Meme (female) are said to have been superhuman. Some traditions only speak of Meme, whose womb God filled with the living things in the world. Customs: They are traditionally a farming people and are the predominant keep…
The Luo of Kenya Album
…g Wells trip to record the Music of the Luo in Western Kenya. The album begins in Rang’ala village – with The Sega Sega band led by Osumba Rateng, and then a Dodo group led by Ogoya Nengo. We next move to Aluny Village – with performances from The Joginda Boys, Otieno Aloka and the late Okumu K’Orengo and his Nyatiti Group. The Kochia Traditional Dancers gave a very visual performance, and one of their tracks, recorded on the shores of Lake Victor…
The Revival of the Entongooli Page
…t benefit to these young people aside from the unique knowledge they are gaining: free education. Many of these youngsters have managed to gain music scholarships so they can get a free education at their local schools. This project is not only providing a future for this instrument, but for the young people involved. Aside from this, Mr Mukadisi has a personal connection to this cross-generational project. His father was a builder of the Entongoo…
Global Influences Project: Artist Submissions Page
…on the programming of this song. I added a few Techno elements still maintaining the Afro House percussion and groove to compliment the sample. The chord progression was the last touch as it also gave the record color and vibe.” You can follow Shona on Twitter (@afroshona), Instagram (@officialshonasa) and on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/afroshona) AMZI ODEK X ALOKA OHANGLA//NYATITI GROUP We really enjoyed this submission from Trombonist and…
FAQ’s Page
What is the Singing Wells project? Singing Wells is a project jointly operated by Ketebul Music, a non profit music studio in Kenya and the The Abubilla Music Foundation, a UK registered charity. Our goal is to preserve the music traditions of East Africa and make this music relevant to the next generation of musicians and fans. Who works for the Singing Wells project? Our team is made up of audio and video engineers from both Ketebul Music and…