Support Singing Wells Page
…ing Wells project is funded by the Abubilla Music Foundation, the below link will direct you to make a donation to the Abubilla Music Foundation: — CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW — Donate your time, products or services We are always keen to hear from people who are happy to offer their time to help the project and from companies which may be able to support us with products or services free of charge. If you can help out in this respect please contact:…
The Revival of the Entongooli Page
…le but Effective Tools Getting things Dung! Meet the Students From Embaire to Entongooli Part 1 From Embaire to Entongooli Part 2 Creating the Base Part 1 Creating the Base Part 2 Stringing it Together Check back soon for more episodes of our Revival of the Entongooli journey! A Musical Education What makes this project so different from any of the other revival projects we have documented, is how focused this project is on young people. Mr Mukadi…
Day Two: January 19, 2019 From Tarime to Buturi to Bariadi Story
…freestyle recording’ – what we mean here is we allow our three camera operators to ‘roam’ and to ‘release the band’ to dance. We are trying to overcome the somewhat artificial nature of ‘archiving’ where the band is constrained into a single shot. Magic Moment: We loved the percussion and wanted to capture this as magic moment. https://youtu.be/u7xcXahAlzI Group 2: Upendo Jazz: The group is from the Murangi Village in the Mara Region and their c…
FAQ’s Page
…e get in touch and let us know how you would like to help. Will you come and record my band? We have a schedule and a plan for the next 3 or 4 field visits to East Africa, so any groups we record would have to be within designated areas where we plan to travel. We’d love to hear from anyone with new suggestions for field visits. Can I join you on your next recording trip? Please get in touch if you would like more information about where are trave…
Day Six: January 24, 2019 From Mwanza to Dodomo to Nzali to Nairobi Story
…it! Our last group. From there we drove…and drove…and drove…and ended up back in Nairobi. Some of us stayed for an important Singing Wells trip to Zanzibar. And the London crew sadly flew home….
Field Recording Report by Kahithe Kiiru Story
…est hits, songs that any Kenyan can easily identify with: “Kweli Ndugu”; “Mtoto si Nguo”; “Sengula Nakupenda”; “Kunywa Kidogo” and “Watu Wanasema Uongo”. Fadhilee’s reaction to this last session was worth the wait, as he discovered the author of “Kweli Ndugu”, a song he had done a cover of years ago. Therefore, we recorded one last Influences with Fadhilee playing the song alongside Mukabi. The day was closed with a photo session ringing together…
Global Influences Project: Artist Submissions Page
…ty in as much as u add a drum pattern to it or when you introduce a modern touch to it. And to be frank, i totally loved conceiving the beat and would love to do more of the genre.” We love that this project is inspiring modern artists to use these traditional rhythms, sounds and beats to influence their upcoming work. You can follow Kimani on instagram at @devonte6749 BEATS BY MAGGY X RUBANGA KINGDOM AWACH BOYS This week’s submission for the #Glo…
Day Five: January 22, 2019 Mwanza Continued Story
…We recorded four performances: Wachumba Walya: A song about someone who is too mean-spirited to support his community even though he has lots of money, it is about a man “who eats along, without his brother’ Ntelela Engoma: A song about living with respect to traditional ways Basigazi Fura Emyende: A song about overcoming all of life’s challenges by working together Mwije Tuzane: We filmed this freestyle, where the group encourages the audience to…
Visiting the Ketebul offices in Nairobi Gallery
…On Monday I took a trip to visit the Ketebul guys at their studio in Nairobi. Tucked away in an unassuming street, Ketebul is situated in the Go Down Arts Centre, a graffited music enclave of made up of some seriously hip outlets. I was visiting to interview Tabu, you can read the interview here….
Ayub Ogada Group
…e Nyatiti story. We spent the day at his home in Nyahera location, not far from Kisumu town, and conducted a long yet free of form type of interview. Although a Luo himself, Ayub had never learned how to play the nyatiti in a traditional setting. He picked it up later in his career and studied from a player/teacher at the national cultural centre of Bomas of Kenya in the 1980s. He remembers he had gone for 6 lessons (at a 100 shillings) only and t…
The Batwa of Kisoro Album
…during the recordings in their village – featured on the album cover. Our trip to the UN refugee camp at Nyakabande was a happy one, as it was empty. The Togetherness group gave us a spirited performance and one of the tracks is on the album. The remainder of the field recordings were made at the Travellers Rest Hotel in Kisoro – battling through torrential rain, a storm of locusts and power cuts to be able to record. The Kabahenda, Gatera and Mi…
Day Four: February 19, 2020 (Maruhabi Palace) Story
We drove back towards Stone Town and stopped at the Maruhubi Palace ruins. This palace was built by the third Sultan of Zanzibar from 1980-1982 for his secondary wives. It is now in ruins but you can still see the main buildings with baths inside, a massive overhead aqueduct that supplied water to the palace and circular ponds with lily pads. It’s set in a beautiful location along the coast surrounded by mango trees. We met the first group there…
Day One: February 16, 2020 (Ngawala Hotel) Story
…t girls becoming women. The singers come from the Wagindo people, who came from Malawi to Zanzibar, probably through the slave trade. When the British stopped the slave trade they then stayed. This band has a strong African influence. The main leader, Amina Abdalla, studied and sang with Madam Bi Kidudi, a legendary singer in Unyago style (a chain-smoking rebel!). She followed Siti Binti Saad as a major Taarab vocalist and was considered queen of…
Makunga Group
…ty, which they argued is the main indigenous community of Tanzania (always from the land, never migrated into Tanzania. The group was formed in 2018, but was built on a much older group. They perform in the Wuyina style. Their instruments/costumes include the: Ndulele (Horn), the Nindo (Shakers), the Mbega: (Animal Skins), the Muheme (Drums), the Kabati (Shakers), the Kalimba (Thumb Piano), the Zeze (Orutu), the Izeze (5 string large instrument),…
Here for Research? Page
…stain and celebrate the extraordinary cultural music heritage of the region and to help make this legacy relevant and fresh to today’s audiences.”…
Elgon Ngoma Troupe Group
…aced – either has orphans or from severely disadvantaged homes. He started to go to University but found that gathering the funds for tuition each time extremely difficult. He had raised the funds for another semester and then asked himself, “Do I want another semester of education, with no promise I will be able to fund another, or can I take this money and start to make a difference?” So he took the money and invested in instruments for children…