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
…kunga Batwa 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. Everyon…
Alice’s story Story
Alice Nyamihanda We met Alice on our first day in Kisoro, Uganda where we went to record the music and dance of the Batwa. Alice spent three days with us, helping with interviews and translations and recording the meanings of the songs. We were delighted to be able to record the music of 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 e…
A quick summary of the Singing Wells Project News
…er tribal music and wonderfully talented young performers like Akello from Uganda… We brought Akello to Northern Uganda. She joined almost every band. Here she is with the Watmon Cultural Group singing Amari… Or with the Adungu Cultural Group singing Awinyo… 6. Singing Wells is about capturing how cool, how relevant this music is through Magic Moments: Listen to the Nyatiti for the first time with your eyes closed. It is a kick drum. It is a snare…
A story of Batwa traditions Story
…leader of the Birara Batwa Dancers who we met on our first day in Kisoro, Uganda. In this photo, Francis is telling stories of the Batwa people and their culture and heritage in a song called ‘Inanga yabatwa’. During the song, the leader gathers the community together and tells stories of the old Batwa traditions before they had to move from their forest homes – the hunt in the forest and the celebrations and meal following the hunt. In this way…
Health and Safety? Story
On Day 6 of the Northern Uganda Field Trip 2012 we broke a wheel on the crazy roads full of potholes on our way down to Kampala. It was going to be a long drive and we were desperate to get in before dark (previous experience of Africa Night Driving had taught the team to avoid it at all costs), but after the accident we had to drive back to Soroti to get it fixed. It was there we were able to find an engineer purely through word of mouth, and…
73,603 views on YouTube News
… Is second place is a video from our field visit to Kisoro in south west Uganda where we met and recorded the wonderful Batwa people. The music is performed by Kamuntu ‘Tiny’ Moses accompanied by our Influences artist Winyo. And in first place with over 21,700 views is ’71 Hours to Monday’- a global track from Abubilla Music featuring musicians from Sao Paulo, Nairobi and London which was produced to support the launch of the Singing Wells p…
Victoria’s reflections on field trip to Northern Uganda News
…in Uganda with Singing Wells….illustrated with a few of my photos. Through Ugandan Eyes We travel a road under African skies And imagine your world through your soulful eyes Their silence speaks volumes, a story to tell We’ll re-tell your story, we are Singing Wells We travel a road to a world far apart Your country, Uganda, it captures our heart Your eyes are a window that’s opening wide To tell us your story that’s hidden inside So sing us your…
A new type of city Story
On our first day on the Northern Uganda Field Trip 2012 we ventured into Kampala to pick up Akello before we headed up north to Gulu. I was curious to see what the capital would be like; this image speaks a lot about the city. The number of ‘proper’ buildings were few and in only the small centre. It was hilly and most of the roads were not built for vehicles. The shops were small shacks mostly and at night stayed open, lit by candle light. Ther…
The Boy with the Headphones Story
This photo was taken during the field visit to Kisoro in SW Uganda where we recorded the music and dance of the Batwa people. The story of the Batwa can be read in detail by following the featured link below, but for now we will tell you about this little boy with the headphones. It was on our second day in Kisoro when we travelled to the Mperwa Batwa community. Consisting of just a small number of families, the Mperwa have settled on a small…
The Influences Series from Singing Wells News
…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. 71 Hours to Monday Our very first ‘Influences’ song was 71 Hours to Monday. An original song from Abubilla Music re-mixed to include percussion from Sau Paulo and vocals from Nairobi. (Read more about the background to this track here) For more videos from the Influences seri…
Listen to more ‘Influences’ tracks from Singing Wells News
…als. This track was recorded live at the Traveller’s Rest Hotel in Kisoro, Uganda. This is a track from ‘Tiny Moses’ who is also a Batwa from the Micyingo community living near Kisoro. Tiny Moses plays a small, hand made guitar and here he performs with Winyo at the Ketebul Music studios. Read more here. This is an Influences track performed on location in the field during our visit to Kenya in march 2012 to record the music of the Kajenjin tribes…
The First Singing Wells Influences Session Story
…further from the main road past a school and into the village of Sila. The welcome we received from the villagers was warm and kind, and we began recording, with the recording team sheltered from the blazing sun, under a gazebo, hastily bought two days before in Nakumatt in Nairobi. The recording of the groups went well. After Nyerere Wa Konde Music Club, we moved the set through 90 degrees and recorded Zaire Ndindingwara. We managed to capture sp…
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…
Music of Northern Uganda: video playlist News
…In December 2012 the Singing Wells team travelled to Uganda to record the music of the northern tribes, including the Alur, Acholi, Iteso and Langi. To read the daily field reports from this trip, click here. The trip was facilitated by the generous support of donors to our charity the Abubilla Music Foundation. Video playlist…
Hannah interviews Sabina – Acet, Northern Uganda News
…t is never for just entertainment. Our 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 hardshi…