Diamond Jubilee Pageant at Windsor Castle News
…e there will be a Cultural Pavilion which will contain a backdrop of graphic representations of all the countries that have had a role to play in the Queen’s reign. On the Kenya stand there will be Singing Wells DVDs freely available for guests. The DVD is from our ‘Best of Singing Wells 2011‘ and features music videos from our field trips to the Coastal Region and Nyanza Province. We are grateful to our friends at the Kenya Tourist Board and Hill…
News from the Batwa in Kisoro News
…eet soft voice. Winyo loved the song a parake yacu yo mgahinga. UOBDU say thanks to Singing Wells. Those are the comments from those who were viewing the photos. Best wishes, Zaninka Penninah UOBDU Coordinator P. O. Box 169, Bazanyamaso Road, Kisoro – Uganda….
Kenya (Coast): Day 4 – the road back to Nairobi Story
…Abubilla also have different technical background. They have access to the best equipment and don’t compromise. This matters to us. Abubilla challenges us to do things differently. And I think we challenge them. AP: Yes it is relevant and it is working. We’re a good team and like working together (sometimes even without Tuskers). Ketebul knows the music, has a feel for the artists, has full access to people that know the best communities to work w…
Kathy’s reflections on her Singing Wells experience News
…ul with mostly farm land, small villages and quite hilly. I feel I had the best job on the trip because I got to interview all the groups about where they were from, what their clothing and adornment meant, what songs they sang and what they meant. I took advice from Victoria and spent quite a bit of time getting to know the people in the groups as well as the people in the Singing Wells group. A few things struck me about the groups I interviewed…
On the eve of our very first field recording trip….. Story
…s all about the music and the concert that Tabu organised to celebrate the best in East African Music. This was the concert (actually Tabu called it a ‘meeting’ to celebrate the partnership of Ketebul and Abubilla): Kothbiro: Ayub Ogado. This is the song everyone remembers from the Constant Gardner. Written by the legendary Ayub Ogado. He opened the ‘meeting’ and this was his final song. The instrument you hear is the nyatiti (a lyre-like stringed…
Best of Singing Wells 2011 News
…s unique and special – we loved them all – so picking just 10 songs for a ‘Best of’ album was not easy. Here are our final choices….it’s just a small reflection of what was an extraordinary year of recording music in East Africa. We hope you enjoy listening. Please get in touch and let us know what you think. Just send us an email – we’d love to hear from you. Email Victoria You can see and hear more on our YouTube channel : Singing Wells on YouTu…
A Year in Review March 2011 – March 2012 News
…ing with us was a funeral song that our team at Ketebul Music felt was the best version they’d ever heard sung. Here it is: But, this journey is not just about preservation of the music. We are continuously reminded that this music is vibrant, fresh and contemporary. This was on full display for us at the close of last year when we brought 10 musicians from the Batwa communities of southern Uganda to Nairobi to record some of their songs with…
A message from Henry Neza at UOBDU News
…e non Batwa community agree that the Batwa can compete with others in many different fields if they are given the chance. All the best, Henry UOBDU, January 2012 …
Discovering music roots with SWP News
…of cold beers at the end of each day that made the boys bring forth their best. Another beautiful occurrence at this stage of the project is that the Ketebul team laid its hands on new equipment that they were eager to be exposed to. I’ll take a back seat here (I come from the days of Cool Edit and I’m still firmly embedded there). The boys were thrilled by the simple yet effective outdoor recording suite, the software – Pro Tools 9 – the Mac Boo…
More Ketebul voices…Steve reports from the field News
…r quick showers, we all gathered at the hotel’s restaurant, and shared our best and worst jokes over dinner and a much waited for, cold tusker. Day 5: Recording Day 03 – Kwale Breakfast the following morning was taken leisurely. This was our last day and our set was only 15 minutes or so away, so we could afford to take it somewhat easy. After breakfast it was the same routine again: marshal up the troops to Jimmy’s room for the equipment, and loa…
What we learned from the pilot phase News
…merican group) and turned it into something truly amazing by combining the best of old and new. The Magic Moment on Day 1 when it all seemed worth it. We took a simple (very American sounding song) from Bado and blended it with his Dad’s styles to make something really special 3. And Lessons? What Need to Improve? We were glad we did the pilot because we did learn a lot. Here are the main lessons: Far more time on Visuals: We had under-estimat…
Ketebul Music website launched News
…which would show the work of the Ketebul artists in their full glory and we think we’ve succeeded in our goal. Take a good look around the site to see how Ketebul Music is working to combine the traditional sounds of East African tribal music with the best of contemporary artists. And through Bandcamp, listen to or download the inspirational music of Kenya from artists such as Ontiri Bikundo and Makadem, or the 4 piece women’s group Bismillahi Ga…