Kigane Traditional Dancers Group
… Kigane Traditional Dancers, from Kigane Kithurini and Ngatia villages, Suri Location, Bogeta Division. They are 11 men, 12 women, led by Cyrus Kirigia. Their style is Kwimbo, and the songs ares sung to celebrate the harvest mostly in August and March. They are from the Ameru ethnic community and use the Kibere (leg shakers) and Vilingi (whistle)….
Watmon Cultural Group Group
…upe, and was met with a positive reaction. Eventually he had people coming to him asking to be a part of it, and from that point the group became an institution. In the fallout of the war against Idi Amin’s regime, many people were looking for an escape, and the troupe presented just such an opportunity. The group performed for President George Bush during a state visit to Uganda. They were also recorded in 2012 for the BBC’s World Routes album, p…
Day Four: January 21 2019 Mwanza Story
…RfFn7ZgUrU Group 2: Camera: Camera, who has been performing since 1999, is from Nzega and from the Sukuma community, playing in the Kadete style. Camera plays the Kadete (like the Zeze from earlier and Orutu from Kenya). He is an extremely cool cat, who we actually discovered walking the streets with his instrument during the RECCE. We recorded five performances: Changamoto: This is about life’s challenges Mawazo Gakwira: About deep worries Nkewan…
Makunga Group
…ty, 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 older group. They perform in the Wuyina style. Their instruments/costumes include the: Ndulele (Horn), the Nindo (Shakers), the Mbega: (Animal Skins), the Muheme (Drums), the Kabati (Shakers), the Kalimba (Thumb Piano), the Zeze (Orutu), the Izeze (5 string large instrument),…
Day One: February 16, 2020 (Ngawala Hotel) Story
…t girls becoming women. The singers come from the Wagindo people, who came from Malawi to Zanzibar, probably through the slave trade. When the British stopped the slave trade they then stayed. This band has a strong African influence. The main leader, Amina Abdalla, studied and sang with Madam Bi Kidudi, a legendary singer in Unyago style (a chain-smoking rebel!). She followed Siti Binti Saad as a major Taarab vocalist and was considered queen of…
Day Four: February 19, 2020 (Maruhabi Palace) Story
We drove back towards Stone Town and stopped at the Maruhubi Palace ruins. This palace was built by the third Sultan of Zanzibar from 1980-1982 for his secondary wives. It is now in ruins but you can still see the main buildings with baths inside, a massive overhead aqueduct that supplied water to the palace and circular ponds with lily pads. It’s set in a beautiful location along the coast surrounded by mango trees. We met the first group there…
Elgon Ngoma Troupe Group
…aced – either has orphans or from severely disadvantaged homes. He started to go to University but found that gathering the funds for tuition each time extremely difficult. He had raised the funds for another semester and then asked himself, “Do I want another semester of education, with no promise I will be able to fund another, or can I take this money and start to make a difference?” So he took the money and invested in instruments for children…
Mr Bado Group
Mr Bado is from the coastal town of Watamu in Malindi. He was born Mohamed Said Ngana. He comes from a very musical family, who have been singing and performing Mijikenda dance and music for generations. He is the son of the legendary mwanzele singer and composer, Nyerere wa Konde. He was greatly influenced and inspired as a child by his father’s Mwanzele playing as well as by Maulid Juma’s Taarab, and Bhalo’s Chakacha. He started singing in 1994…
Global Influences Project: Loop Library Page
…da. They play music in the Kidinda style using the Amadinda, a 22 slab xylophone which was historically an instrument which could only be played in front of the King. You can find out more about the band here. You can watch the full visual performance of this song on our Youtube channel by clicking here. Download the loop Joginda Boys – 116BPM Joginda boys are from Aluny Village, East Alego, Kenya. This play wonderful Nyatiti music, with Organda J…
Day Two: February 17, 2020 (Stonetown) Story
Our second day we drove into Stone Town. We recorded the first two groups at the Emerson Spice Hotel along the seaside. This hotel is an Arab style hotel, reminiscent of the rhiads in Marrakech with lots of small courtyards. In the Emerson Spice Hotel we filmed the first two groups in a courtyard usually used for meals in the hotel. While it became very hot as the sun hit the stage for the second group, the overall setting was beautiful – a…
Twone Mbee Group
…tempting the position because it is already taken by the one they are praising. ‘Nzembanie na ivinda’: (Chasing After Time). This song talks about the President’s call to stop corruption. The call to chase after time comes from the society that won’t condone these malpractices….
Day Three: February 18, 2020 (Stonetown, Mpendae, Maungani) Story
…nd motorbikes going by occasionally. We managed to record one song but had to stop after that due to noise. We hope to have this group come to the hotel on our last recording day. We felt bad that they only were able to perform one song but they took it graciously. Performers: Rajab Suleiman (qanun and director), Mohammed Hassan (accordian), Fum Faki (bongo and tabla), Tatu Khamis Haji (singer) Songs: Chungu – means Pot, composed by Said Ali 10 y…
Day Zero: 6 March 2022 – Travel To Stream Story
…rge of the technical aspects of the recordings. Shunkyz was assisted by Fiston Lusambo, a Briton of Congolese origin and guitarist with the London-based Afriquoi Musical group. The video section was manned by Patrick (Sapat) Ondiek assisted by Drix Muyeshi and Cliffe Munyasa. Nick Abonyo was the tour’s coordinator and Spade was our driver. The drive was slow and uninterrupted with only one stop for lunch in Nakuru. We reached Kisumu City just befo…
Ayub Ogada Group
…e Nyatiti story. We spent the day at his home 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 t…
Day Three: January 20th, 2019 Story
…! We recorded five performances: Busumabuno Kulima: A song about farming Watoto wakalime Freestyle on Kulima Magic Moment Busumabudo, focus on percussion https://youtu.be/dHeTdA5m5gQ Group 3: Awilo: The group, which is a comedy circus act, is from Ikungu lya nkoma and performs in the 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 bl…
Day Zero: February 15, 2020 – Assemble in Zanzibar Story
…m, studied music in Egypt, where he learned to play the Qanun and returned to Zanzibar to form the Zanzibar Taarab orchestra. Of course, there are a variety of musical styles in Zanzibar, including (every use of quotes in this post are direct quotes from the DCMA): Ngoma: “Ngoma literally translated means drum and is a term to encompass all local traditional forms of dancing, drumming and singing. There are literally hundreds of different ngo…