Day Zero: 6 March 2022 – Travel To Stream Story
…ians, we at Ketebul Music were prompted to reconstitute our infrastructure and operations by obtaining software and equipment necessary to set up mobile live streaming studio services and travel to provide live concert streaming opportunities for musicians based in remote areas. Our mission to travel and stream in Western Kenya was made possible by funds from Hivos, with the additional support from the Abubilla Foundation. Travel to Stream After o…
Imachina Group
…r anymore. Mulele Kwiname: This is the name of a tree that is very popular and big and the song is about when a great beloved tree falls and dies. Bukundu: This is about the smell of a decaying body and the song tells people to come toward the smell and honour the man. Don’t run from this, confront it and honour his memory. The Mayo Procession – this is about bullfighting. The songs include: Lukumili: This is about the moment the horns lock betwee…
Day Five: February 20, 2020 (DCMA) Story
…kers and sticks along side more Western instruments such as the piano, saxophone, cajon and high hat. Culture Musical Club Taarab Orchestra – this culture club is one of the oldest Taarab orchestras in Zanzibar founded in 1965 after independence. Generations of musicians have played in it. It plays traditional Taarab music with all female solo singers and male singers on instruments. It was clear that this orchestra had played together for a long…
Day Two: 8 March 2022 (Ilesi) Story
…and currently features his three daughters, Monica Obali, Millicent Akorot and Caroline Obasie on vocals with their two brothers, Donald and Tobias Obasie on vocals and accordion, respectively. On special occasions, as with this live recording, the siblings were joined by Simon Omuse 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 a…
Day One: January 18, 2019. Assemble in Tanzania Story
…gle with spellings of songs and instruments as these can differ by village and by band. We fully recognize that there are multiple spellings out there, but we defer to the band leader in almost all cases. During a recording session, we will also capture alternative takes; these are called: ‘Freestyle’: We work hard to give our groups the space and freedom to sing and dance as they would during a village performance, but there are constraints. Typi…
Day Two: February 17, 2020 (Stonetown) Story
…usicians in his family. He became interested in Kidumbak style music at 16 and taught himself the violin and bass. He went to Egypt off and on for six years on a scholarship from the DCMA to study violin and the oud starting in 2000. He’s been teaching at the academy for 18 years. Members of this group include: Mohamed Othman Faki – leader, on violin, Kheri Mizaka Aliy on African Bass, Makame Ali Juma on drum, Buruhami Makame Haji on 2nd drum, Mg…
Aynu Traditional Group Group
…n earth by spirit (the creator of men). Spirit created a man (gboro-gboro) and a woman (meme), and then domestic livestock. Meme had wild animals in her womb so that after the gazelle had broken out all animals followed from her womb. Man was the last to come out. The first human beings are said to have been twins: Arube and O’duu. Arube was a boy while O’duu was a girl. These twins, unlike their parents Gboro-Gboro and Meme, were believed to have…
Day Four: 10 March 2022 (Rongo) Story
…cussive instrument and an accompaniment by a soloist. However, the nyatiti and the litungu played by the Luo and the Luhya, respectively, follow chord progressions, notes and keys. Ontiri came on stage at Treat House Resort at 5:30pm and true to the professional that he has become, gave an exemplary performance without any re-takes. By 7:00pm his session was completed and he was on his way back to Kisii County. The next group was Otacho Young Star…
Here for Research? Page
…hey 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 database is constantly evolving as we discover and record more instruments. The instruments are tagged by their ethnicity, their recording location and the type (simply broken down into…
Unyago Group
…i Binti Saad as a major Taarab vocalist and was considered queen of Taarab and Unyago music and died at 103 in 2013. Amina Abdalla still performs in her house, which is called Raha Leo. Folks go to see her there from all over. The other members included: Fatima Juma (dancer and singer), Raya Abdalla (drums), Fatima Hamza (drums) and Tatu Hamisi Amur (please note she was in all three groups). The drums include: the small squat drum (Fumi), a very t…
Chibite Group
…Boma, the line-up was Ndahani Bwani, the older brother, his sister Ndekwa and two daughters Grace and Leah. They played 4 songs: Dunia Nigahira Samamba: Streamlined. Malugaro: And a Magic Moment with Grace playing the Zeze (large stringed instrument). Throughout, they played stringed instruments, thumb pianos and drums – all four could play each instrument and sing. The instruments were: Zeze: The stringed instrument made fr…
Buganda Music Ensemble Group
…as people would bring him messages for the king that he would turn to song. “Mulirwana”: it means neighbour and the song is about people who don’t trust their neighbours and they believe that anyone that doesn’t trust their neighbours is a witch. “Ssewaswa”: This is about twins Wasswa and Kato, and praising twins. “Anamwinganga”: This was a piece composed by Albert’s father in 1945 and recorded in the 1960’s. It talks about who will attack the kin…
Field Recording Report by Kahithe Kiiru Story
…led by locally famous musicians: Eric Shitakha and his Balozi Band on one hand and Benson Muhitsi’s isukuti group on the other. Shitakha’s Balozi band had basic Luhya instrumentation, notably using shirili fiddle and several idiophones (metal ring, rattles, etc.), while Muhitsi plays the isukuti drums in a style simultaneously authentic and original for his mastery and virtuosity on the drum. These two played a large number of popular Luhya folk s…
Ayub Ogada Group
…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 then continued practicing and experimenting by himself. It was equally interesting to hear his theory of the name nyatiti, which he translated from the Luo word nyar as queen and titi, making it “the qu…
The Music of the Mijikenda Album
…ngwara – both recorded in the village of Sila. The next day saw 4 groups – and all are included here. Chechemeko Raha and 4 the Mzinga, both captured in Kibarani village, further south from Sila, and then further south again, later in the day – Supaki Kalazo and Sengenya recorded in Junda, Mombasa. We then headed to the South Coast and recorded in Vuga, Kwale County. The ZigiDigi Cultural Troupe and Muungano Kayamba providing the music. The album…
Tarajazz Group
…ant director of this band. He is a teacher at the DCMA. He teaches the Oud and plays the saxophone. All the students at the DCMA study traditional music such as Taarab as well as Western music. Members of the group: Suleiman Makame (keyboard, director), Hassan Mahenge (Saxaphone, assistant director), Mahsin Basalama (contra base), Christopher Weston (Cajon and high hat), Regina Juma (singer). There was supposed to be a violin player but unfortunat…