A Tanzanian Effort to Salvage the Music of the Past News
…so have cool music.” We wish them all the best, and hope one day to take a trip to Tanzania for a few recording sessions of our own! Check out the Tanzania Heritage Project here. Here too are a few YouTube videos of their catchy music: Mziki wa dansi- Zilipendwa Sikinde- Shemeji Issa Mziki wa dansi – Zilipendwa – Super rainbow – Hidaya Mziki wa dansi – Zilipendwa – Kimulimuli – Chiku lala salama peponi Mziki wa dansi – Zilipendwa- Marijani- Fanya…
Central Uganda: Day 7 – A Magic Day in Entebbe Story
…f Singing Wells know a lot about Jovah. We first heard in during our first trip to Uganda, where she was the lead singer of her group, Mperwa Dancers. We then invited her and others from Kisoro to join us in Nariobi for a set of songs. She was amazing and we’ve recorded two separate influences sessions with her: Bashitsi Bahire with Winyo and Inyange mixed by Abubilla Music, both of which feature on a sampler of music we gave away at Womex this ye…
Central Uganda: Day 5 – Jinja to Kampala Story
…by Air Conditioning which is most welcome by those of us from the North but feared and mistrusted by those of us from Nairobi. We look forward to recording tomorrow in Kampala. Apparently there is a marathon. We shall provide the soundtrack….
Central Uganda: Day 4 – Jinja Story
…f the local casino for ‘the best fish in Uganda.’ Tabu was smartest of all, of course, and convinced the kitchen to cook fish in the traditional Kenyan style AND went to sleep early. We loved recording at the hotel so much that we convinced tomorrow’s group, the Nile Beat, to meet us in the hotel gardens tomorrow morning so we could record them before packing up for Kampala. That’s it, other than we enjoyed more spectacular thunderstorms and power…
Discussions with Peter Cooke: ethnomusicologist and Ugandan music expert News
…. Musisi is now working with James at Kyambogo to implement our entenga restoration scheme to preserve and promote this traditional instrument for future generations. Students practice entenga drum-chime at Kyambogo in 1968 (Musisi is furthest from the camera) Peter’s research into African music is extensive. “It all began in 1964, a few weeks before travelling out to begin teaching in Kampala, Uganda,” says Peter. “On the stage of the Prince’s Th…
Central Uganda: Day 3 – From Mbale to Iganga to Jinja Story
…e village was far off road, along a dirt path perfectly suited to cows and motorcycles, but slightly more challenging to big vans of the four wheel variety. But, as always, we made it to the location, passing lovely red-mud huts along the way. The village was a large one, probably 7-8 huts surrounding a central area with full size trees. The band had been there since morning preparing and had dug the pit for the xylophone – essentially, they did a…
Happy new year from Singing Wells News
…of the project. 4. We learned about the art of drum making During our 2015 trip to Uganda, we had the privilege of being able to watch and record the making of the Entenga drums. It’s an incredibly skilled job, requiring the maker to cut up a tree and shape the wood, soak and cut cow hide to size and string the drum – ensuring it’s in tune. Here’s how it’s done. 5. We visited the Ketebul team in Nairobi and interviewed Tabu In early 2015, one of o…
Central Uganda: Day 1 – From Entebbe to Kidinda Story
…the group because they have talent. They are good at it. My parents tried to stop me from music and I refused to listen. They are the same. It is a higher calling.” We agree with James. This group is fantastic, energetic and committed to their music. Again and again in our trips to Uganda we find that the rural youth of Uganda are passionate about tribal music; sadly, this is in direct contrast to Kenya, where we find the interest of the rural yo…
We’re discovering the lost music of the Ugandan Kingdoms News
…xt on the Entenga royal drums we’ve been searching for The story of Musisi – a drummer from the royal palaces and the fall of the Buganda Kingdom Some information on the progress of the Bigwala trumpets – an instrument we restored on a previous field trip Interviews with the palace players and a great deal of information on the art of drum making You can also keep up to date with our latest news from the field via our Twitter and Facebook pages….
Central Uganda: Day 0 – Nairobi/London to Entebbe Story
…equipment through Ugandan customs. Everyone was polite and helpful. But it took almost 1.5 hours. By that time we were caught up in a UN group that passed very slowly through customs. We made it to the hotel at around 1630. It was great to see our old friends at the hotel. We had a quick dinner and a few free drinks (we had charmed some flight attendants on the plane to contribute to Singing Wells with a few whiskeys). Most of us then went to bed…
Singing Wells surpasses 500,000 YouTube hits! News
…ork to share the music of the Batwa community and the Luo community. We’ve told the story of repatriating Kenya’s music heritage after 50 years and celebrated magic moments – where we’ve found an extra-special artist on our journeys and recorded their work. To celebrate our 500,000th YouTube hit, we’ve put together a selection of our most popular videos. We hope you enjoy, and please keep visiting our channel and sharing the traditional music of E…
Sponsor a Singing Wells recording session News
…s been a busy few months at Singing Wells HQ. We’ve been planning our next trip to record more of the traditional music of East Africa to take place in November 2015. Our Singing Wells trips generally last about 10 days, depending on how much ground we’re trying to cover. We also organise a pre-trip ‘recce’ where a smaller team visits the country/ region in advance to pre-record groups, identify key talent and make all the preparations to ensure w…
Our Pain, Your Gain.. Story
…We wanted to find a shady spot to record the Sagat Traditional Dancers during our trip to the Rift Valley. But we ended up recording on top of hill in the blazing sun, overlooking the baking country side. But it made for lovely photos….
Deep in thought…. Story
…This was taken on our first Singing Wells trip to the Kenyan Coast in March 2011. Here is the leader of the social leader, deep in thought, as we prepare to record the Zigidigi Cultural Troupe….
Meeting Ketebul: an interview with Tabu News
…ut into the market very well at the moment. We need to look for a platform to promote our stuff, whether it’s online, digital radio, TV – we need to make the music more accessible to all. Why is Singing Wells important? Singing Wells is important because we’re trying to capture our East African heritage. Many of the musicians we record from remote tribes are old and we run the risk of the traditional music in Kenya dying out, we don’t want to see…
Our top 5 Singing Wells songs for March News
…The Singing Wells team first encountered the Otacho Young Stars group on a trip to record the music of the Luo in Western Kenya in December 2011. They were later invited to Ketebul Studios in Nairobi to form part of our influences series. I love this song because it’s cheery and upbeat. It’s the kind of song everyone should listen to when they wake up to start the day with positive vibes. 2. Ochieng Nelly – Osare I’ll admit, a few weeks ago I knew…