The Boy with the Headphones Story
…hen we travelled to the Mperwa Batwa community. Consisting of just a small number of families, the Mperwa have settled on a small area of borrowed land just a few kilometres from the town. At first glance the setting appeared to be spectacular, with the lush valley and terraced hills of local farms as a backdrop and the magnificent Virunga volcanos in the distance. But we were quickly struck by the impoverishment of this small community. As we a…
The Influences Series from Singing Wells News
…song is called (The only thing that’s) Missing and it was first recorded for the Abubilla Music album Misery Marmalade and other Spanish Jams. Here is the video of the new ‘Influences’ version, featuring musicians from Kenya, Uganda and the UK collaborating in this a unique song to celebrate and support Singing Wells. 71 Hours to Monday Our very first ‘Influences’ song was 71 Hours to Monday. An original song from Abubilla Music re-mixed to i…
Music of the Batwa: video playlist News
…f their history, culture and the problems they face today. To read the daily field reports from this trip, click here. Video playlist The trip was facilitated by the generous support of donors to our charity the Abubilla Music Foundation, including a grant from the Institute of International Education….
Music of Northern Uganda: video playlist News
…In December 2012 the Singing Wells team travelled to Uganda to record the music of the northern tribes, including the Alur, Acholi, Iteso and Langi. To read the daily field reports from this trip, click here. The trip was facilitated by the generous support of donors to our charity the Abubilla Music Foundation. Video playlist…
The origins of Singing Wells Story
…s for the whole group to perform, singing and dancing in front of ten microphones and three digital cameras.’ Video engineer, Patrick Ondiek, adds, ‘I love producing the final videos and getting phone calls from my friends asking me ‘how did you find these musicians?’ I feel like I’m on the cutting edge of music, bringing these talented musicians to my Nairobi friends.’ In addition to our field visits, we have developed an online Music Map of East…
Returning to Uganda in Autumn 2013 Story
…tyles. Here’s Akello with Amari (featuring the Watmon Cultural Troupe): That’s it. We just wanted to drop you a note to say we’re coming back and to thank you for your support. If you’re interested in Ugandan music and want to support us on the next phase, do let us know! Jimmy…
‘Missing’ – Singing Wells fundraising song for 2013 News
…March 2013 saw the release of an original track from Abubilla Music, re-mixed for the Influences series. The song is called (The only thing that’s) Missing and it was first recorded for the Abubilla Music album Misery Marmalade and other Spanish Jams. Here is the video of the new ‘Influences’ version, featuring musicians from Kenya, Uganda and the UK collaborating in this a unique song to celebrate and support Singing Wells….
Day 8: Entebbe to Nairobi and Ketebul Studios Story
…anted to make sure we recorded their shakers, the Kayamba (hand shaken idiophones with dried seeds inside), the Lungo (broken glass moved in a big bowl) and Ndema (2 brass rings played in ringing and muted tones). In the Rift Valley, where the people are more pastoral, we really focused on their voices and I wanted some one to play the burkandit (a handmade guitar). In Nyanza, we focused on the Orutu, the Nyatiti and the Ohangla (drums). In Kisoro…
Day 7 (pm): Recording at the Airport Guesthouse, Entebbe Story
…ocal stores on big speakers). We listened to a few different tracks on his phone, and I narrowed my favourite Ugandan pop tracks down to ‘Apple’ by Bigtym and ‘Guns & Bomb’ by Bebecool.. Odika Constantine, son of Watmon, is in his 30s. He was abducted by the LRA from his home in Kitgum District when he was just 17. He was held as a soldier in the bush for 6 months until he managed to escape. He described the day it happened: the rebels arrived to…
Promotion of Batwa cultural music: UOBDU report March 2013 News
…ts and gifted by nature in developing songs and dances they lack technical support in order to package their songs well. The project was too short to further advance this Batwa talent to higher levels, there is a need to extend the project even to other communities who shows interest. These promoted groups lack dancing costumes (uniform) and equipment which would make it more unique and attractive. Due to this challenge, UOBDU had to purchase a fe…
Day 7 (am) – back to Kampala: Naguru to Entebbe Story
…e carved into a hill, with rows and rows of streets below us, and an equal number of streets and houses piled up above us. There were cars, motorbikes and taxi’s driving past and planes flying overhead. Everything was for sale by everyone who walked by. No sleeping cattle. No flower beds. But, as always, there was wonderful music. The first group was the Adungu Cultural Troupe, masters of the Adungu. We had interviewed their leader on our ‘recce’…
Northern Uganda: Day 6 – Soroti to Kampala (a driving story) Story
…e’re really good now at doing interviews on songs, villages and groups and supporting that with research. This all sounds like pretty basic things and we agree. But imagine arriving at a village that has 6 groups, no clear leaders, no common language, and no particular interest in telling their story unless asked. You’ve got to sort this out pretty quick and get the right person talking about the right issues. But we’re doing well now. Then there’…
An Evening with Mserego Mwatela Group News
…with his father’s group and then he founded this group in 2007. They use a number of styles, most notably Sengenya, which we covered fully in our March 2011 field recordings in Malindi. We interviewed Swalhe Mwatela Massai and his grandson, Ali Tungwa : Q to the grandfather: In contrast to Uganda, we have seen many villages in Kenya where the traditional music is only played by the older generation. And yet your group is so young and vibrant. Ho…
How music archives can help communities News
…were recently found by Chris Kidd, a Ph.D. student who was working for the United Organisation for Batwa Development in Uganda (UOBDU). Chris took the recordings back to Uganda and re-introduced them to the Batwa people who had since become a poor, landless and disempowered community following their eviction from the forests due to the gorilla conservation project in the mountainous south west region of the country. In particular, Chris played a r…
Northern Uganda: Day 6 – Soroti to Obuell-Lira to Soroti Story
…visited by all the leaders. They refused, however, to play rebel songs or support the rebel side. They said over and over again the music was neutral and only had alligience to Uganda not to one side or the other in the war. There were lots of scary moments when rebels would try to force them to declare alligence or die. But by miracle the rebel leaders let them live and play music as neutrals. In 1992, the Uganda Army then re-took control of the…
Northern Uganda: Day 5 – from Pakwach to Soroti (a road trip) Story
…ough them. Our Ketebul team will explain that the worse the road, the less support the locals have given to the party in power. A lot of people don’t support the party in power it seems – at least by our road test. During the day, trucks are trucks. They lead a lot, overburdened with their cargo and the dozen or so folks hitching a ride to supplement the drivers income. Then there are the ‘taxi’s’ – in Uganda, these are the white vans with English…