Kizazi Kipya Kidumbak Group
…A. He met us at with the first group and brought us to this one. They sing and perform mainly for weddings and celebrations. Performers: (all male): Juma Fadhul Juma (leader and secretary but did not participate), Fadhili Faki (director and plays violin), Mohamed Khamisi (violin), Khamisi Vuai (bongos), Khamisi Bato (bongos), Ameri Sefu ( Sanduku – sinle string base), Ahmed Juma (sticks and table), Sheha Makame (shaker= cherewa) Dancers and chorus…
Buganda Music Ensemble Group
Buganda Music Ensemble: founded in 2004 and led by Albert Bisaso Ssempeke Jr, son of the legendary Dr. Albert Ssempeke Senior. Music style: Kiganda Song Meanings “Ggangalwa”: A king servant tried to play with the princess. All women in the palace, however, are controlled and possessed by the king. He was punished by cutting off his fingers. His friends eventually found out due to all the rumors circulating the palace. They tried to ask him abo…
Unyago Group
…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 tall drum (msondo) and medium d…
Aynu Traditional Group Group
…ums) and a tin sheet for percussion. The Lugbara Tribe Population: Around 900,000 History: They were known in the 19th century as ‘The Naked People’, due to the lacking importance of clothes in their culture. In the early days, the Lugbara were a mainly chiefdom-based community. They did not have kingdoms and kings presiding over them as like other ethnic groups in Uganda. They mainly had chiefs who were their leaders. They formed friendly allianc…
Day Four: January 21 2019 Mwanza Story
…chele Sanaa Group: This group, from the Sukuma community, was formed in 2010 and performs with a number of styles: Bukomia Lume, Buchheye, Wigashe. Their instruments are: Ng’oma (Drums), Pembe (animal horns, large impala), Firimbi (flute), and Njuga (shakers). We recorded five performances: Ntale Atabihyala: ‘The boss, who is always wrong, wants to be always right. Just accept it’ Ba Tanzania (Malima): Praising country, encouraging farmers and h…
The Kalenjin of Kenya Album
…onies of the performances have been captured well, with The Elimu Cultural Promoters and the Kewamoi Women Dancers both featured. The latter – a nice addition to the lineup, as the field day coincided with World Women’s Day. Eddie Grey was part of the team for the recordings, and he joined a number of groups to join them for Influences recordings. Two of these have been included on the album – his guitar playing accompanying The Elimu Cultural Pro…
Super Phoenix Band Group
…about a girl that left her husband because he was too poor. She went away and earned lots of money and returned to him. He realized that she did love him but needed them to have more money so he was grateful on her return. Imbalekha: This is about very bad men who chase all the married young women from their village. They make life very difficult for the women and gossip all the time. Achitsa: About a father who was very proud of his daughter and…
Mr Bado Group
…in the coast region, earning him a performance slot at Safaricom Live in 2010. He has performed internationally, including in the USA as part of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2014. He released his album Kama Kazi with Ketebul Music. He mixes an impressive combination of styles, and part of his mission is to help preserve styles such as Taarab which are fading on the modern music scene. To do this, he performs at cultural events with his fathe…
Ayub Ogada Group
…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 queen of the clan”. The most interesting points Ayub had made were on the difference between playing at home, in an informal or traditional setting and p…
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…
Page
…ovative and exciting this music is. With that in mind, as we approach our 10 year anniversary, we want to truly combine these two missions and celebrate how music in the modern age can transcend global barriers. Alongside our partners, London record label, Abubilla Music, and Kenyan music studios, Ketebul Music, we are launching our Global Influences Project. We have curated a series of musical loops, taken from our field recordings across East Af…
Day 1: Saturday, 2017 February 18th Story
…Wells, you will know that we’ve been working for seven years now in Kenya and Uganda. We thought we would have covered more countries by now, but we have been blown away by the richness of the traditional music in these two countries, so we kept going back. We are very excited now to start our work in Dar es Salaam and Bagamoyo on this trip but also recognize this is tip of the iceberg. We think we will be spending next 3-4 years coming back to T…
A Report by Professor James Isabirye – Indigenous music learning in contemporary contexts: Nurturing learner identity, agency, and passion News
…s and Social Sciences, Kyambogo University, Uganda. His research interests include: social constructivist learning and teaching, decolonization of music and general education, and the roles of indigenous practices in those processes….
Fundraiser for Matthew Watmon News
…ndMe page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-mathew-watmon The donors of Abubilla Music Foundation, who support the Singing Wells project, will match these contributions up to £1000 so we greatly appreciate your support at this time. We are sending our prayers to Matthew and his family in this difficult time….
Our journey to the Royal Drums: in the words of James Isabirye Story
…are? This matter has concerned a circle of my friends deeply since around 2003 and we’ve all tried to deal with it. I have a circle I talk to all the time about this, including Julius Kyakuwa, Centurio Balikoowa, Haruna Walusimbi, Sarah Mukyala and Cornelius Mwima. We all understand that without intervention, somehow, all this music – all this culture will die. But we also know that the issue will always be resources: how do we bring new resources…
Ketebul Music presents Shades of Benga Online News
…de their book ‘Shades of Benga: The Story of Popular Music in Kenya 1946 -2016’. You can watch the latest episode below, and also find out more at their website here. Shades of Benga: The Story of Popular Music in Kenya delves into the foundations of modern Kenyan music, examining external influences from the English waltz to Afro Cuban Rumba and how they helped mould new music styles across Africa. Rumba was brought to Eastern Africa via the it…