Ekhunjwe Musical Group Group
…tive areas of Samia district. Ekhunjwe ya Abasamiawas 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. Their Chairman Mr. Bwire also chairs the County Culture Committee and says he is “biased towards ethnomusi…
Mohamed Uthman Kidumbak Group Group
…s lead singer. Sanduku , the bass, was a homemade bass made of a large box with a small hole cut out in the front. It had a large stick which the player held perpendicular to the box with a string going from the top of the stick to the top of the box. He changed notes by holding the string less or more taut as well as holding the end of the string down against the stick. Pretty amazing bass sounds came out of this. The two dancers danced with almo…
Day Three: 9 March 2022 (Kisumu) Story
…came on stage at 8:00pm, they were rather fatigued but started their show with cover songs of other established groups and switched to their own compositions at our request. With a little encouragement from a few fans who were attracted to their ohangla music, which is the favorite genre in Kisumu, the Asego Ensemble soldiered on ending their performance by 9:00pm. Profile: Peter Akwabi Peter Okutoyi Akwabi, was born in 1946 in Ebuhonga village i…
Day Two: January 19, 2019 From Tarime to Buturi to Bariadi Story
…er then built a separate wooden kick pedal, so he could play all the drums with his hands and kick with his feet. We had not seen this before and it meant the group has a very traditional sound but a very modern feel, with contemporary beats. We recorded six songs with them: Omweko (about a drought that caused great hunger in the village in 2017) Majirani: about neighbours, where the band remembered times when all neighbours used to support one an…
Otacho Young Stars Group
…rings used both by themselves, and also together with the Nyangile, a wooden box topped with two of the rings, one of which is held with the feet, and beaten with a stick….
The Revival of the Entongooli Page
…: Part 1 For these musical scholars, their musical journey actually starts with another fascinating and popular instrument, the Embaire or the Xylophone. The scolars are taught the tunes they need to know on this instrument before transferring these melodies over to the Entongooli. What’s incredible about this entire process is how the children are also taught about building the Embaire as well, creating instruments for themselves to learn on. In…
Day Zero: February 15, 2020 – Assemble in Zanzibar Story
…y Bi Kidude, who we discuss more below when we meet Amina Abdalla who sang with Bi Kidude and sang with us. Following Sidi Binti Saad’s footsteps through Zanzibar, the taarab we will hear involves African drums, a Qanun (a stringed instrument played on the lap), an Oud (derived from an Egyptian lute), a violin, a flute and a Arabic style (but Swahili) lead female vocal. We also heard the Sanduku, essentially a bass guitar, but actually a single…
The Kalenjin of Kenya Album
…e Lomuge Group. The day recording the Pokot tribes was rounded off firstly with Kalomoywa, (the group are represented on the album with the track ‘Kamitol’) and secondly the Takar group – their Korutan and Chepo Mining making it through past technical difficulties on set. The very visual performances of the and the Sagat group (their image is on the cover) and the Embolet are both represented on the album. The final field day of the trip was spent…
Page
…nfluences 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 and more… Remember that we want you to create your own artistic responses using these loops….
The Northern Tribes of Uganda Album
…the music of the Northern Tribes of Uganda. We began with a base in Gulu, with journeys to Acet and Paibona. In Achet on our first day of recording, we were blessed with a recording location in the shade and 6 groups who turned up to perform their Acholi dance music. Day 2 found us in Paibona, with our first introduction to Likembe music provided by the Rubanga Kingom Awach Boys. The youthful energy of Ker Kel Kwaro followed, with our third group…
Super Phoenix Band Group
…rts to pretend the house is his and also propositions the man’s wife to be with him. More generally, it is about many Kenyans that are asked to watch cars, or trucks or possessions and begin to tell others that they are the real owners. Mukangala instrumental as influences session with Fadhilee, our influences artist. We 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 t…
Day Four: February 19, 2020 (Maruhabi Palace) Story
…Kitua tua Lizombe – magic moment Gonga This group was well choreographed with five dancers, three women and two men with shakers on their legs. They changed their costumes for each song. The rest of the group played instruments and sang. The horn sounded like a snake charming horn and was quite loud. It added a Indian/ Arab feel to the music. Kizazi Kipya Kidumbaki – We drove to this group in Mahonda and the DCMA annex. Thabit Omar Ali is the a…
FAQ’s Page
…ording 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 performers. Can I buy the music you have recorded? A selection of our music is available to download fro…
Global Influences Project: Artist Submissions Page
…ies boundaries through her genre bending sound grounded in African rhythms with a futuristic twist”, we loved how she took these beats and created something truly unique. Talking about her process, she said “I used the Aloka ohangla drum solo loops for this track. I usually like to start my music creation process with layering drums and while going through the loops, this one felt like the perfect fit. I also used a 909 kick drum to create a hard…
Day Zero: 6 March 2022 – Travel To Stream Story
…ians via M-pesa and Pay-Pal contributions. Another possibility was to sell tickets with the use of online access codes that admit ticket holders into the virtual performance. The result was that a number of live streaming studios where performers book sessions to perform and stream their concerts sprung up in Nairobi. Some venues also adapted to hosting online performances, directly streaming shows to mobile devices and computers of audiences wher…
Day Two: 8 March 2022 (Ilesi) Story
…ee daughters, Monica Obali, Millicent Akorot and Caroline Obasie on vocals with their two brothers, Donald and Tobias Obasie on vocals and accordion, respectively. On special occasions, as with this live recording, the siblings were joined by Simon Omuse on the harmonica. Fiston played guitar while Ben and Gido were on percussions and bass respectively. The Obasie Palnyang band is very popular among the Iteso people and their neighboring communiti…