Day Five: February 20, 2020 (DCMA) Story
…ul, dynamic fusion of Taarab, Traditional African rhythms and contemporary Western and African sounds. Performers: Tarajazz: Suleiman Makame (keyboard, director), Hassan Mahenge (Saxophone, assistant director), Mahsin Basalama (contra base), Christopher Weston (Cajon and high hat), Regina Juma (singer). There was supposed to be a violin player but unfortunately he couldn’t make it. Kirundo: Lukoa Nenes (sticks), Joshua Muyumovela ( shakers), N…
Day Two: 8 March 2022 (Ilesi) Story
…on the harmonica. Fiston played guitar while Ben and Gido were on percussions and bass respectively. The Obasie Palnyang band is very popular among the Iteso people and their neighboring communities in western Kenya and the eastern parts of Uganda. The group holds regular shows at Amurai center and can, on occasion, be seen performing in the neighboring towns of Busia and Malaba….
Day Three: February 18, 2020 (Stonetown, Mpendae, Maungani) Story
…joy it and have created their own brass bands. This band has been together for 20 years. Performers: Salmin Ali Borafya (trumpet, leader), Ali Borafya (base drum), Fatihi Hassan (trombone), Ali Rajab (trombone), Ahmed Hassan (drum), Mahmud Ali (cymbal), Abdalla Iddi (tabla). Dancers/singers: Pili Idi (lead singer) Aisha Khamis, Zainab Khamisi, Aldeh Jonas, Nafla Khamis. Director: Omar Mohamed – he didn’t play in the band but directed it and spoke…
Global Influences Project: Loop Library Page
…asamia was formed in April 2008 with common focus on using music as a tool for community development. The group promotes traditional African values and acts in both education and local economy. Members also engage in traditional crafts like basket weaving and jewellery making for exhibition and sale. You can learn more about the group here. You can watch the full visual performance of this song on our Youtube channel by clicking here. Download the…
Here for Research? Page
…ur daily reports written from the field during our yearly trips. Head here for detailed information about the performances we record, the musicians we meet and the instruments that they are playing. Alongside this, expect interviews, historical information and first hand accounts of the way East African music has developed and grown. Instruments In depth information and photography of the different musical instruments used in East Africa. This dat…
Day Four: February 19, 2020 (Maruhabi Palace) Story
…et us at with the first group and brought us to this one. They sing and perform mainly for weddings and celebrations. Performers: (all male): Juma Fadhul Juma (leader and secretary but did not participate), Fadhili Faki (director and plays violin), Mohamed Khamisi (violin), Khamisi Vuai (bongos), Khamisi Bato (bongos), Ameri Sefu ( Sanduku – sinle string base), Ahmed Juma (sticks and table), Sheha Makame (shaker= cherewa) Dancers and chorus (all…
Day One: 7 March 2022 (Shikangania and Mukumu) Story
…any years. Hence, it did not take long for our sound team to determine the best site for the stage within the well-groomed homestead and in less than an hour we had the mobile studio all set. Normally, our preferred device for capturing sound on these trips is the Zoom digital recorder, having started with H4 before upgrading to Zoom H6. On this occasion we opted to record directly to the laptop. All recording systems have their merits and demerit…
Day Two: January 19, 2019 From Tarime to Buturi to Bariadi Story
…rently. https://youtu.be/yQ52ZCL5Gro Group 3: Serengeti Group: This group, formed in 2016, was from the community of Kuria and played in the Ritungu style – this style refers to the form of dancing where the two lead dancers ‘nodded’ their head in almost a trance like way to the music and to their large eight-stringed instrument. We were mesmerized. Their instruments included the: Zeze, Virandi (shakers), and Ritungu (eight stringed instrument, hu…
The Revival of the Entongooli Page
…h. All of the bark is trimmed off of this wood during the process to allow for a smooth base ready for the next stage: Cow dung! Getting things Dung! Excuse the pun, but there is no way around this fascinating part of the process! To protect the base of the Entongooli, the maker must smear it with cow dung, coat it entirely and then leave it to dry. This process is to protect the wood from cracking, and also to protect it from weevils and insects…
Field Recording Report by Kahithe Kiiru Story
…lead and one rhythm, a water dispenser drum and vocals only, the group performed for us six original compositions. Among them, the popular hit composed by Luseno in 2006 entitled “Mukangala”. This inspired Fadhilee to join in and we recorded “Mukangala” Influences. Fadhilee also shared one of his original compositions called “We don’t know”, which we recorded in two versions, accompanied by Itenya on guitar only and accompanied by his back-vocals…
Global Influences Project: Artist Submissions Page
…r process, Jay P Production said “We have always believed in selecting the best drums and sounds for each genre and that’s what we did here and we really appreciate you guys for believing in us.” We think what they created just from a percussion sample is amazing! If you want to find out more about Jay P Production, follow them @jay.p_production_kenya NG’AT MALER X OTACHO YOUNG STARS//NYATITI GROUP//WATMON CULTURAL GROUP We are loving this track f…
Day Three: 9 March 2022 (Kisumu) Story
…was Olith Ratego, a musician whose unique dodo style is one of the oldest forms of music performed by the Luo people of Western Kenya. Olith Ratego is a self-taught musician who plays a musical instrument fashioned by himself. It is a replica of the nyatiti (an eight stringed traditional lyre), which he calls okoddo and is modified to the pentatonic scale. Olith Ratego’s recording session went uninterrupted and was completed shortly before 6:00pm…
Day Zero: February 15, 2020 – Assemble in Zanzibar Story
…time. Muhsin…decided to teach her…at the time it was considered immoral for women to join taarab groups and sing in public… She helped …transform taarab to the point where woman are now usually the lead singers. …Between 1928 and 1950 she recorded over 150 recovers…It is through her recordings …that Taarab became widely accessible. Later, further Egyptian influence was incorporated into the genre by including full string sections as well as a…
Day Four: 10 March 2022 (Rongo) Story
…o enable them to develop a better understanding of how to improve their performances. These adjustments were of utmost importance in making it easier for these rural and peri-urban based musicians to migrate their shows and concerts to online platforms in order to reach wider audiences and create new revenue streams. As we headed back to Nairobi on Friday, 11th March 2022, we had lively discussions on ways and means of empowering these marginalize…
Day Two: February 17, 2020 (Stonetown) Story
…ge 7 up to 40, ten all together today. They sing Islamic and secular songs for weddings and celebrations. Today was mainly an acapello performance with one flute made out of a bamboo stick. The singers included: Ibrahim Ali Hassan (lead singer, flute ), Issa Ali Hassan (lead singer), Mlenge Ali Hassan, Othman Mlenge Ali, Afann Mlenge Ali, Iddi Abdallah Mohd, Abdillah Salum Juma (lead singer), Fesal Sleiman Mwalim, Saidi Simai Mkanga, Vuai Juma Vua…
Super Phoenix Band Group
…don’t know: Fadhilee then taught the band to play his song, We Don’t Know. This is about politicians who pay lots of attention to voters when it is election time but then are never around to be accountable for anything once elected. It is about the frustration of so many people with their elected officials who do nothing for them. There were two versions: here’s the second: We Don’t Know….