73,603 views on YouTube News
…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 watching! Our top 3 video hits In third place, this is the Nyerere Wa Konde Music Club from Sita Village, Gede in Kenya’s Malindi District. It was the very first vide…
A new type of city Story
…re was certainly a lot going on and during the week Akello told us many stories of the vibrant buzz in Kampala. Every night there’s music to listen to somewhere in the packed hub of 180,000 people . The image above of the tin houses and the Uganda House of Commons in the background was one of the first pictures I took on the trip….
The Influences Series from Singing Wells News
…ll refresh the origins of East African music and make it discoverable to a new generation of music fans. Newly released Influences song – Missing 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, fe…
Music of the Batwa: video playlist News
In November 2011 the Singing Wells team travelled to Kisoro in SW Uganda to record the music of the Batwa, a marginalised group whose music and dance tells the story of 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 In…
The First Singing Wells Influences Session Story
…ps went well. After Nyerere Wa Konde Music Club, we moved the set through 90 degrees and recorded Zaire Ndindingwara. We managed to capture special performances from both groups and went on to sample their percussion. One of the members of the Nyerere Wa Konde Music club then played us some of the music he had created in a project studio he has, away from the village, towards the coast road. It was from this, that Tabu suggested that the member, M…
Hannah interviews Sabina – Acet, Northern Uganda News
…ur first song, ‘Welo Obino’ is sung to welcome visitors, a celebration for new comers in the village. That is why we sang it for you first. We then sang ‘Dug Gang’ which is to celebrate the end of war, to call the people over to tell them we are in peace. ‘Alocaloca’ was our final song: it is all about change. It is mainly sung to mark the end of a dispute or a war. These songs now mean more to us as the hardship in Northern Uganda is slowly comin…
The origins of Singing Wells Story
…ic labels on two separate continents. Tabu Osusa founded Ketebul Music in 2007 with a goal to record and promote traditional East African music. Tabu laments the fact that the music heritage of the region is being eroded. He says, ‘For reasons I can’t fully explain, contemporary East African music has lost touch with its tribal roots. Our most popular musicians find far more inspiration in western music than they do with East African music. I worr…
Returning to Uganda in Autumn 2013 Story
…hat we are returning to Uganda to continue tribal recording in the Autumn 2013. We’ve had extraordinary trips to Kisoro to record the Batwa and Northern Uganda to record the Nilotic tribes (Alur, Acholi, Iteso, Langi and Lugbara). For this upcoming trip we will focus on Central and Eastern Uganda which is home of the Bantu tribes (the Baganda, the Basoga, the Bagisu and the Banyoro to mention a few). Here’s an example of Basoga music – as always w…
Day 10: File Management at Ketebul Studios Story
…driving at night, and b) all travel plans must assume an average speed of 50 kph. It is simply impossible for two vans and 10 people to travel faster. Keep a running table of groups, songs and audio takes and camera times. This worked very well this trip and by circulating the table to everyone we could keep making corrections to everything as we went. The person who drives the clapper board should control the ‘final spelling’ of all and then work…
‘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….
Meet our ‘Influences’ artists News
…Uganda’s own Michael Ouma’s debut album, still in the same light she joined Miss Tshila in a girls band called “Tshila and the Diamond’s”, still in this journey she worked with Miss Lilian Mbabazi in a band called “Lillian and the Sun downers”, among others. Akello now begins a new journey of composing and writing her own music which she chooses to call “Hybrid”, a simple cross between urban sounds and local tunes back home. Akello joined the Sin…
Day 9 (AM): Ketebul Studio – Influences session for Cheri Story
…we worked with Mwenzele-Nyerere wa Konde Music Club on five studio songs. Today, we brought them back in to work with Stanley on his song Cheri, featuring Macadem. Here’s how the process worked today: Jaybee 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 Kon…
Day 8: Entebbe to Nairobi and Ketebul Studios Story
…emember that next time it might be you we sing about. Binihare had made the band leader promise to sing in his funeral. Thanks to Bado, the son, for working with his father to give the background; here’s Bado, with Patrick, who we’ve known since the founding of Singing Wells: At about 1900, Tabu broke away with Hannah and Andy to go to a concert while Jimmy remained with the core group to continue recording. The recording group stayed until abou…
Akello sings ‘Influences’ songs for Singing Wells News
…ing contemporary and world music greats such as Kaweesa, Susan Kerunen, Myko Ouma, Tshila and Kinobe Herbert..she is indeed a rare talent with a rich textured organic voice. Akello begins a new journey of performing her own music compositions that she chooses to call “Hybrid” a simple cross between urban and local sounds back home. …
Promotion of Batwa cultural music: UOBDU report March 2013 News
…d promising because they have made savings which has accumulated to UGX 80,000/= from the performance carried out when UOBDU was requested to select the Batwa group to entertain people in Kanungu district which is one of UOBDU operation areas. This cultural performance took place during the launch of water project by Bwindi Mgahinga Conservation Trust where the Prime Minister of the Republic of Uganda was the Chief Guest of Honour. In addition, th…
Hannah interviews Evelyn Ojok – Acet, Northern Uganda News
…(our style of ‘Apiri’ in Acholi is typically only performed by the women). Today the reason there was a man playing the drums is because one of our women is sick, normally there are no men in the performance. In Gulu when I want to meet with the other women I play drums and they all come, usually in the evening. I want to push the music to it’s highest level so that we can get some sponsorship from NGOs or from the Ugandan Government. I have opene…