Preserving Threatened Heritage News
…our heart, such as Uganda. An article on the website of the Ugandan daily newspaper, New Vision, warns about the need to preserve ‘Bigwala’, the royal music of the Busoga region. Bigwala music is performed at ceremonies such as coronations, funerals and, recently, other social events. It is the music of gourd trumpets and is accompanied by a specific dance. UNESCO cites Bigwala music as playing ‘a significant role in contributing to unity among t…
The Birara Batwa Community Story
…Singing Wells project is to make traditional East Africa music relevant to today’s artists and audiences. We want to celebrate and promote the music heritage of East Africa in a contemporary context. We are doing this with ‘Influences’. We were staying at The Traveller’s Rest Hotel in Kisoro and the staff kindly allowed us to set up the studio under the verandah and it was there that we recorded our first ‘Influences’ session – a fusion of Batwa m…
Report from Womex 2013 News
…second film was ‘Sweet Dreams’ – and tells the story of the first female drumming group in Rwanda, and how they formed a co-operative to open an ice cream shop in their town. The film tells the story of how the idea was born and how they managed to get the idea and the shop off the ground and into reality. The film is also punctuated by stories from members of the group about their experiences in the genocide. It was a great watch and the group w…
SWP Uganda 2013 – our proposed itinerary News
…ised to find a large group of teenagers playing an assortment of brass instruments and drums in a marching band format! Elgon Ngoma Troupe is an interesting group led by a very charismatic director called Wolimbwa Julius. Most of them are former street kids and, apart from learning music and performance at the centre, they also live there and till a modest garden, producing crops for their food and also for trading in exchange for other food items…
A recording studio which fits into the back of an SUV Story
…icrophones we have chosen are industry standard models used in studios the world over but, most likely, not seen in the villages of East Africa. The equipment has been carefully selected so it can easily fit into a few holdalls and four rugged peli-cases which protect everything while in transit, whether it be on a plane from Nairobi or in the back of the van on a bumpy track to one of the remote villages we are heading for. We are adding to our e…
The Key to Sustainable Aid in Africa? Perhaps we should follow the music. News
…high susceptibility to degradation. This tends to encourage migration from rural areas to the cities. However, in the world’s cities, more than one billion people live without facilities for garbage disposal or water drainage, and breathe polluted air.2 There are Healthy Cities policies and programmes aimed at addressing these problems. At times, it seems to be assumed that eventually everyone will move to the cities. MK Rajakumar, the great famil…
What people say about Singing Wells News
…me training on audiovisual archiving in Kenya as part of a British Library World Collections Programme initiative. It was a great pleasure and it is wonderful to see these fruits of their expertise and enthusiasm.” Angela Impey, Convenor of MA Music in Development, SOAS University of London “As a charity dedicated to the documentation and dissemination of the music of marginal groups in Africa, Singing Wells plays an important role in bringing att…
The Singing Wells supports Ketebul Music’s ‘Kenya at 50’ project News
…seems to have taken a photograph of almost everyone he met, including the ruling politicians of the era. The archive also contains some interesting artefacts from Independence in Kenya – including an invite to the ceremony of the handover of instruments at Independence. Colmore bequeathed the contents of his archive to his friend, Oxford academic Professor Richard Greenfield. Sadly, Professor Greenfield died before the contents reached the UK – a…
The Beat of Kenya News
…l their instruments to foreigners in attendance. The donor purchased 5 instruments in this way: two drums, one from the Luo tribe, the other from the Luhya tribe), one nyatiti (Luo), one orutu (Luo), and a fifth instrument called the litungu (Luo). Click here to go to Andrea’s blog : The Beat of Kenya Andrea Dyck, Curator of Contemporary Cultures, The Manitoba Museum Andrea Dyck received her Master’s Degree in History from the University of Winnip…
A quick summary of the Singing Wells Project News
…ten to the Nyatiti for the first time with your eyes closed. It is a kick drum. It is a snare drum. It is a bass. It is guitar. Listen: Watch a real drummer. Watch someone that drums through their souls. And ask yourself whether East African Music is relevant. 7. Singing Wells is about bringing you groups and sounds that are ready for prime time – someone just needed to give them a microphone. Here are the Otacho Young Stars…. Why aren’t they the…
73,603 views on YouTube News
We are celebrating today because we are really pleased that so many people are enjoying the music videos on the Singing Wells YouTube channel……73,603 views and still counting! It’s not a meaningful number in itself (like a nice round 100,000 – our next target) but it does mean more and more people are finding us and enjoying what we are all about – bringing the more traditional sounds of East Africa to an enthusiastic audience. Thanks for watchin…
Victoria’s reflections on field trip to Northern Uganda News
…ur history, your stories unfurl We capture your memories to share with the world You travel a road and must keep on walking And peddling the wheels that keep your world turning Years distance the pain of the conflict and strife Your music your saviour, it once saved your life So sing us your story and dance us your life Your history’s a melody, you keep it alive Sing us your memories, there’s volumes to tell And we’ll capture your story, we are Si…
The Influences Series from Singing Wells News
…a new generation of musicians and fans who might not consider it relevant today. So, we have developed the Influences series – a fusion of traditional and contemporary styles. Each time the Singing Wells team embarks on a field recording visit we are joined by a talented musician who works with us on ‘Influences’ songs. They work with us in the field and also in the Ketebul Music studios in Nairobi to produce this new material. We believe our Inf…
The origins of Singing Wells Story
…nspiration for the name comes from the real-life singing wells of the Samburu tribes people. During the dry season, Samburu herdsmen (and boys) draw much needed water for their cattle from deep wells which they have dug in the parched river bed. As they pull water from these wells they begin to sing, a different song emanating from each well. The animals appear from the bush, seeming to recognize the unique song of their master. Once the animals h…
Music of the Batwa: video playlist News
…ational Education….
Day 9 (AM): Ketebul Studio – Influences session for Cheri Story
…ybee first worked with Stanley, Bishop and Johnnie to get the basic song structure down and put on a vocal ‘Chorus.’ Stanley wants the song to be a classic love song and the his vocals are really beautiful and sincere. We then asked Nyerere Wa Konde to come in and work on the verses. We asked them to find their best love song that fits the beat and recorded them. Their musicality is amazing and the lead was able to introduce a whole new melody ove…