Central Uganda: Day 7 – A Magic Day in Entebbe Story
…of East Africa. We had Passy, Jacinta, Maita, James (our musical leader in Uganda and co-founder of Nile Beat Artists) and Jovah, the wonderful female singer we first listened to in Kisoro and then again in Nairobi. We will talk more about Jovah below. The group practiced and performed two songs: Ugandan Lullaby: We knew that Jovah and Maita knew lullabies and James came up with the idea of doing a combined lullaby involving each of the singers, u…
Central Uganda: Day 6: Kampala to Entebbe Story
…g many people how to play the tube fiddle and xylophone. He would showcase Ugandan music at the Ugandan museum, together with lots of other musicians of his time. He gave dozens of workshops in Europe. But he was illiterate. Peter Cook was taught by him. And his son Andy Cook who lives in Edinburough. “ Here’s their music And that was it for Kampala. We packed and divided up. Jimmy, Tabu and James drove together to continue to learn more about the…
Central Uganda: Day 5 – Jinja to Kampala Story
…le Beat and the treasurer in group. Meddy was voted the best dancer in the Uganda in 2004 and in 2008. The Group performed five songs: Ikobo Kobo: The name is a type of herb. It is a song about a girl who is very bitter because her mother will not let her play with her friends freely. The mother explains to her that she was barren but the spirits helped her to conceive. The spirits set the condition, however: that she should never play in the rain…
Discussions with Peter Cooke: ethnomusicologist and Ugandan music expert News
…atest field trip to Uganda. We went in search of the lost musicians of the Ugandan Kingdoms, to discover and record the royal music. Fundamental to our understanding of traditional Ugandan music and our accurate sharing of the music we captured during the trip has been Peter Cooke, a retired ethnomusicologist and Research Associate at the School of African Studies, London. We’ve referenced Peter many times in our field reports and blog posts: in o…
Central Uganda: Day 4 – Jinja Story
…act, with the legendary performer (yes, as Tabu said we had two legends of Ugandan music visit us today) – Natha Matta Nyende performing for us with his band the Bakuseka Majja Matta Group. Nathan is 76 years old and has been blind since 1956. He formed his group in 1952. They play in the Kisoga style and are from Kasokoso in Iganga District. They are four members. Nathan plays the Endongo, which is the local name for the small thumb piano. Kirund…
Central Uganda: Day 3 – From Mbale to Iganga to Jinja Story
…and out of Uganda. I 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…
Happy new year from Singing Wells News
…i and heard his story Musisi is one of the last remaining drummers of the Buganda Kingdom in Uganda. He performed for the King during his time at the Buganda Palace before fleeing in fear when the government arrived to shut the palace down. Here’s is Musisi’s incredible story. 3. We checked in on the preservation of the Bigwala trumpets The Bigwala is a trumpet-style instrument made from gourds. Singing Wells has been supporting the work of James…
Central Uganda: Day 2 – Kampala to Budaka Story
…We recorded two very dramatic groups in Budaka and then headed off to Mbale….
Central Uganda: Day 1 – From Entebbe to Kidinda Story
…ab instrument was the only one that was allowed to be used to play for the Ugandan king (Kabaka of Buganda), and this village has been performing on the Amadinda for at least five generations. They played three songs: Ebijja bisamba endege: The song is about spirits that come with bells Omusang’ Ogw’ abalere: The song is also called the ‘case of the flute players.’ The basic story is one of the flute players was with one of the girls at the King’s…
We’re discovering the lost music of the Ugandan Kingdoms News
…and the beginning of our journey to discover the lost royal drums of the Buganda Kingdom Context 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…
Singing Wells surpasses 500,000 YouTube hits! News
…da, including visiting the tribes of the Kenyan Coast, Central and Eastern Uganda, our work 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 hop…
Central Uganda: Day 0 – Nairobi/London to Entebbe Story
…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 for the night, deciding to have one final evening free of our London friends. Patrick, however, woke up in time to be a ‘greeting party’ to the London arrivals. Message from Abubilla Music Foundation Team Representing the AMF are J…
Sponsor a Singing Wells recording session News
…Uganda. We have a jam-packed schedule to keep to: we’re going to be following the story of Uganda’s Royal Instruments, identifying key talent and inviting them back to Nairobi for recording sessions at our partner Ketebul’s studios, and travelling into eastern Uganda to record several tribal groups in the region. Check out our previous work in Uganda. Now we’re looking for sponsors to help fund our important work discovering, preserving and promot…
From the streets of Kisoro Uganda to a professional recording session… Story
…Tiny Moses, backed by Winyo, plays guitar and sings in the Ketebul Studios in Nairobi. We discovered Tiny Moses during our visit to Kisoro Uganda to record the Batwa trips. Along with Francis and his wives and Jovah, we brought Tiny Moses and his team back to Nairobi to record them in a professional studio. Johnny and Bishop, on guitar and bass respectfully, joined Winyo to help Tiny Moses. Go here to listen to the result. …
Singing Wells discovers ‘the voice’ Story
… This is Jovah Nyiramajoro. She is the leader of the Mperwa Dancers – the music group of the small community of Mperwa Batwa living on the outskirts of Kisoro, SW Uganda. She is a beautiful woman, full of joy and passion for the traditional music of her fellow Batwa tribes people. But wait until you hear her beautiful voice – we were blown away……..
Ten More Singing Wells Stories News
…The Likembe: The ‘Thumb Piano.’ This is the Macedonia Band, and their song Uganda Land of Freedom. Elsewhere, I’ve told the story of how this song became the music of survival during the rebellion years…(click here) The Calabash: Here’s one of our favourite bands in Uganda and one that shows that the music is still thriving in parts of Uganda because the young people are still a part…(in sad contrast to so much of Kenya) The Youth, the Music, the…