Ketebul Music: A Year in Review News
…ur people a sense of history. Our partners are Hivos, Phat Magazine, Kiss 100 (every Sunday they host two artists from us and talk about the music, etc..) etc… and we will be the main stand, talking about music through a set of panels. Everyone wants to be involved. One major project we still need to finish is Kenya at 50, both a documentary and coffee table book – which presents 50 years of music. We still need to finish this. A gentlemen named A…
Preserving Threatened Heritage News
…es so close to 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…
Report from Womex 2013 News
…particular suprise here – in a population of 1.2 billion, 50 % are under 30 and consuming music. In Africa – 60% have electricity whereas 86% have a mobile phone. This is again another area in which the Singing Wells project may be interested in the future – mobile phones and ring back tones as a method of delivery for music. Mike and I also attended the African music networking session which became the launch for a new initiative by the Cape Ver…
Obuell-Lira and the Macedonia Band Story
…over and over again that the music was neutral and only had allegiance to Uganda, not to one side or the other in the war. There were many scary moments when rebels would try to force them to declare allegiance or die. It was a miracle that the rebel leaders let them live and continue to play their music as ‘neutrals’. In 1992, the Uganda Army re-took control of the area. One of their first acts was to go to each village and accuse them of collab…
Clowns Story
…On our first recording day during the Northern Uganda Field trip 2012 we had the pleasure of working in front hundreds of children who slowly climbed a tree to watch the proceedings. They were delighted by the cameras and we had a lot of fun showing them their smiling faces. This little boy was the biggest show off….
SWP Uganda 2013 – our proposed itinerary News
…rilla Tours team have always been excellent hosts. On our final day of the Uganda 2012 trip we had an very special afternoon in the garden recording the wonderful Watmon Group with our ‘Influences’ artist Akello. We are very grateful to Gorilla Tours for their generous sponsorship of the Singing Wells project this year providing us with a Land Cruiser and supporting our accommodation costs at the Guesthouse. Day 2: Entebbe to Masaka – Baganda musi…
The Birara Batwa Community Story
…owledge on culture and pass on the knowledge to the young ones in order to promote and preserve the Batwa culture which includes music and dance.” Listen to the music of the Birara Dancers This is a song recorded for the Influences series – Francis singing Inanga Nyamunini accompanied by Jesse Bukinda from Ketebul Music on guitar This is the song ‘Uganda’ performed by the Batwa women and recorded in the Ketebul studios: How you can help the Birara…
The Batwa Community Story
…ife. The United Organisation for Bawta Development (UOBDU) was founded in 2000 to address land problems and develop sustainable livelihoods. UOBDU has identified four key areas of support: land & housing; education and adult literacy; income generation and forest access & benefit-sharing. By way of example, the Batwa Cultural Trail is a recent initiative launched by the Uganda Wildlife Authority and UOBDU. The trail provides an income for Batwa an…
A recording studio which fits into the back of an SUV Story
…Book Pro 2 MOTU Traveler MK3 Audio Interface 4 Headphone amps 8 Sony MDR-V600 headphones 2 Shure mics & stands 2 Rode Lavalier omni-directional mics 2 Rode NTG-1 condenser Shotgun mics 1 Matched Pair of AKG C414 XL Microphones 1 Matched Pair of Rode NT5 Microphones 2 Rode professional boom pole 1 K&M telescopic mic stand/boom 1 Canon EOS 7D 1 Canon EOS 60D 1 Canon EOS 5D 1 LED video camera lights 1 Flip HD video camera ThinkTank sun screens (for t…
The Key to Sustainable Aid in Africa? Perhaps we should follow the music. News
…a Host of More Urgent Problems: When Tabu and I started Singing Wells in 2008, we were passionate about its mission: to record, archive and share the traditional music of East Africa. Our twin goals were to sustain and celebrate the extraordinary cultural music heritage of the region and to help make this legacy relevant and fresh to today’s audiences. The last five years has only re-enforced our commitment. On our first goal, we only have to rem…
What people say about Singing Wells News
…is wonderful collection with our visitors.” Babra Bwisho, Singer, Kampala, Uganda: “Hello there guys, you are so amazing, I was here watching the recordings you did on your visit trip to the Batwa land in SW Uganda, even the bling (sic) could tell that you brought joy in their spirits and smiles on their faces, here in Ug, this group is mostly undermined, it was so humbling to my spirit that you got this far with them and their recording trips to…
The biggest smile Story
…all women dance troupe led by Evelyn Ojok. The t-shirt she is wearing reads Kikopo Pa Mon, an annual drama competition hosted by Women’s Global Empowerment Fund to address issues facing women in northern Uganda such as inequality, HIV/AIDS, gender based violence and food security. In December 2012 we recorded the group for the Singing Wells project – click here to Discover the Music. …
Group of the Month – Watmon Cultural Group News
…t group of the month is the Watmon Cultural Group. We have videos from our Uganda 2012 trip, as well as recordings made in both Naguru and at the Entebbe Airport Guesthouse, where due to the generosity and patience of the manager Jan Willem and the other guests, we set up a recording studio in the garden. You can join us on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/singingwells and on Twitter here: http://www.twitter.com/singingwells – if you do twe…
Fiona’s story Story
…community who we met when we took the Singing Wells project to Uganda in 2011. Fiona has been able to attend junior school through the sponsorship of the United Organization for Batwa Development in Uganda (UOBDU), an NGO based in Kisoro. She is a wonderful role model for the Batwa community and is proving that, with the right opportunity, Batwa children can achieve the same educational goals as any other child in the district. Everyone is hoping…
Alice’s story Story
…f her own community, Gatera. Alice is unique within the Batwa community in Uganda as she is the first (and, to date, only) Batwa who has been to university. Her education started in 1993 at Gitovu Primary school but after Year 3 she had to leave as her parents were unable to pay the fees. The Adventist Development Relief Agency (ADRA), an NGO supporting the Batwa, decided to sponsor a group of Batwa children to study at Mabuyemeru School. Alice wa…
A quick summary of the Singing Wells Project News
…to record. Here is his music and story, which has been shared with over 15,000 people: 3. Singing Wells is about capturing the music before it is gone. Our mission is two-fold. First, we hope to capture and distribute the wonderful music of East Africa. There’s an urgency to this that was brought home to us when we recorded Okumu K’Orengo, one of the world’s greatest Nyatit players. His last song for us was a funeral march. His village thanked us…