Winyo’s a pretty good photographer too… Story
Meeting Ketebul: an interview with Tabu News
…r a long time Kenyan’s have just been music consumers. In exchange for our buying other’s music, we want them to see them buying ours. Who inspires you, and who are your influences? Anyone who is doing something original inspires me. I don’t like copycats. I like music from Jazz to Hip Hop as long as it sounds original. In terms of musicians who inspire me, Fela Kuti – the King of Afrobeat – is a big inspiration. His music had a lot of good messag…
Our top 5 Singing Wells songs for March News
…avourite moment, when Keith stands up and the dude behind him pulls his chair back – as if they both know he can’t stay sitting down when playing a rhythm that good! Harri What are your favourite Singing Wells songs? Tweet us your thoughts: @singingwells…
Hitching a ride Story
…Looks like a good way to get along…….
Ten More Singing Wells Stories News
…uth, the Music, the Village & Development Elsewhere, we have argued that a good musical group is a good proxy for a strong village and a strong village is critical to the development of Africa. A great way to know you have a good musical group is when you see the youth are still involved and passionate. The songs, so many of them about rites of passage, about courtship, demand the strength, the energy, the naive joy of youth (we’ve also pointed ou…
Current Leading Figures News
…don’t think Julius is trying to say the brass band is Ugandan. He is very good at respecting Ugandan traditions but he is also letting the children experience other things. He is opening spaces. By the way, brass bands are very important for certain occasions, like marches. He is providing a great service. Brass music is very good and I love it.” Tabu argued, “He knows the traditions. It is not what you play, but how you play it. He is so steeped…
Music Depositories and Archives around the World News
…eir CDs, you can either order online or, if you live outside the US/Canda, buy from more local retailers or online elsewhere, such as Amazon. While you are waiting for your world music to arrive, you can listen to a few select recordings on their soundcloud… 7. African Music Archives The founder of the African Music Archives (AMA) was Wolfgang Bender, a German who spent his childhood in West Africa,, became an English teacher in Nigeria during the…
A History of Recording East African Music News
…) and found […] local scholars, some of them trained in the UK, were doing good work with minimal resources and doing some fine fieldwork with video-cameras.’ He ends with ‘There are plenty of Ugandans who understand the value of a good archives. They need to be able to persuade their government to fund them properly. They also need to pull together.’ Nearly all of Cooke’s material is available online at the Peter Cooke Uganda Collection, British…
Singing Wells in Numbers…. News
…Andy did a litte homework for this one: Number of recordings of groups: 374 (this does not include other recordings like Magic Moments, Influences, etc…) Number of groups recorded: 83 Number of hours of music: 27 hours and 30 minutes. …
James Isabirye and Tabu Osusa Discuss East African Music News
…t than it does to work with a traditional instrument, to learn how to be a good player, a good performer. To do something unique. That is too hard. It seems easier to copy a Beyonce video. Tabu: And the copies never work. They are terrible. I have worked with people that have become amazing artists, but when they first came to me, they were terrible. Bad copies of Beyonce trying to make it big overnight. It doesn’t work that way. Audiences want so…
Ketebul Music: A Year in Review News
…eep and rich content. Our government is pushing for local content which is good, but my view is that we first have to have great Kenyan content and then our people will want it because it is good not due to regulations. Spotlight: We are also working on Spotlight on Kenyan music Volume 6, having released Volume 5 in 2013. We have focused on the Kenyan Coast and it will be released next 2014. We are also supporting Kenyan Music Week. This is an ann…
The Birara Batwa Community Story
…twa continue to be an impoverished and largely isolated community. We aim to help support the community we met by sharing their music and dance through Singing Wells. You can directly support the Birara Batwa by buying our Music of the Batwa album or by donating directly to our charity, The Abubilla Music Foundation. Buy the Music of the Batwa of Kisoro here Donate via YouTube here Donate via BelieveIn here…
Report from Womex 2013 News
…n which the Singing Wells project may be interested in the future – mobile phones and ring back tones as a method of delivery for music. Mike and I also attended the African music networking session which became the launch for a new initiative by the Cape Verde government. It has been calculated that music is their biggest export and so has set up the African Music Forum to make it easier for musicians to make a living – from visas and flights to…
A recording studio which fits into the back of an SUV Story
…ing with us: 2 Apple MacBook Pro 2 MOTU Traveler MK3 Audio Interface 4 Headphone amps 8 Sony MDR-V600 headphones 2 Shure mics & stands 2 Rode Lavalier omni-directional mics 2 Rode NTG-1 condenser Shotgun mics 1 Matched Pair of AKG C414 XL Microphones 1 Matched Pair of Rode NT5 Microphones 2 Rode professional boom pole 1 K&M telescopic mic stand/boom 1 Canon EOS 7D 1 Canon EOS 60D 1 Canon EOS 5D 1 LED video camera lights 1 Flip HD video camera Thin…
The Key to Sustainable Aid in Africa? Perhaps we should follow the music. News
…– and here) The village is the preferred conduit for aid and support. With good water, access to the right medicines, support in sustainable farming, children can thrive in a village, surrounded by an endless parade of supporting ‘aunties’ and dozens of cousins (brothers and sisters from another mother). For aid agencies, it is of critical importance to keep the village healthy, to make sure family and tribal ties stay strong. The key word in aid…
What people say about Singing Wells News
…e Read the review of Singing Wells here. Mark Totokwa via YouTube “This is good stuff – a good example of a sustainable project both in context and content. A big thank you to those behind this project and most importantly to the resourceful musicians. A job well done!” (Posted on YouTube here) Atesh Sonneborn, Associate Director, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings “Andy, It was a real pleasure to speak with you this morning. Your work is inspiring”…