Northern Uganda: Day 4 – Pakwach to Widiang’a, Nebbi Story
…k, but he does and he frightens everyone around the fire with his stories. Really fun. The final song was Aywanga, in the Agwara style. It is the celebration of the chief. It features the spectacular Ndara, the Bul and Agwara and involves a lot of rolling around. We loved it so much we recorded a ‘magic moment’ – there was even more rolling around then usual and the 150 kids around us had a great time. We then took the time to solo each instrument…
Northern Uganda: Day 2 – from Gulu to Acet Story
…by the Chairman of Acet who was very gracious in welcoming us. He walked away with lots of photos and a Singing Wells 2012 shirt! He also got one of our Polaroid pictures. This is a new innovation for us – every group gets to listen to their song back during their performance and we take a Polaroid photo of each person so they can take a photo home. Then a quick 50 kilometer ride back to Gulu (smile) taking photos the whole way home of great road…
ATTA is following Singing Wells News
…guest at the World Travel Market at Excel and I met representatives from a number of organisations and companies in the travel and tourism industry operating in the East African counties we are visiting during our field recording trips. I met Nigel Vere Nicoll, Chief Executive of the African Travel & Tourism Association and explained a little about Singing Wells and our aims to record and celebrate the cultural music heritage of East Africa. It se…
Northern Uganda: Day 1 – Entebbe to Gulu Story
…to Gulu at around 2PM (yes, we tend to spend a lot of time getting mobile phone cards!) and headed out on a 360 km drive to the town of Gulu in Northern Uganda. Within minutes we were deeply immersed in the ‘classic’ East African road scene: big tall white bags of coal, with grass helmets, bricks in various stages of manufacturer (either drying or firing), pyramids of potatoes, tomatoes on patches of blankets under trees, tiny goats tethered near…
A day in the field with Singing Wells News
…chance that audio files become separated from their record location. This way we can always work out exactly where each audio file has been recorded and when. At the end of the day it is important to backup the files. Each night, back at our accommodation, we backup the audio and video data to multiple mobile hard disks so we can re-use the memory cards again the next day. After a debrief on the day’s activities, we run through the times for brea…
UOBDU report on Singing Wells visit to the Batwa, Kisoro Uganda News
…o that they can confidently perform to more audiences. It is also clear that the financial contribution made to UOBDU by the Abubilla Music Foundation has gone a long way to improve the quality of life for the Batwa in a variety of ways. To read the full report click here. …
The Tribal and Musical Structure of East Africa – Worldmap Research News
…frica, meaning that within the huge range of instruments there were also a number of different names for them. This became very interesting to discover however, and over time that information could gather on the map, making it more comprehensive. What did you find most interesting about the data you collected? What stood out for me was the huge range of instruments used, and the huge range of percussion instruments available, which you don’t reall…
African Strings: The Nyatiti and The Adungu News
…e to suggest they were, not only due to their likeness, but because of the way the instruments have migrated with their players, as shown on the map (left). Below is a video made by Levy, one of three, describing his theories linking the Adungu with ancient Egypt. Here is his website. The Instrument: The Adungu is based on the major or pentatonic scale. In modern Africa the Adungu has tuning-pegs, which the Egyptians did not, and play the harp wit…
Day 6: Recording the Tugen & back to Nairobi Story
…the song ‘Chang’aomen’ – a song about a woman who gets married and moves away from home and brings special gifts back to the village. Song Translations: Kewamoi Women Dancers ‘Tarkok’ : about a woman who ran away from home. The man is singing about how he can’t live without her and he will travel as far as he needs to find her. ‘Chesaina’ : this is a person who can hold the hind leg of a donkey. This is highly unusual because a donkey kicks so ha…
Background on the Music of Northern Uganda News
…ges were evacuated and millions were moved into displacement camps. Being away from home, the traditional music of one’s tribe and ancestors becomes much more important for recovery and a way of holding on to normality. (The Tribal Structure of Uganda) Lira: We will then visit Lira and listen to the music of the Langi tribe. Go here to learn more about The Langi. Unfortunately Steve and Patrick were told that the music in Lira is in decline and fi…
Day 5: Recording the Marakwet Story
…r so stalls. Then more empty roads and lovely hillsides. We travelled this way for another 80kms or so. Finally, at one hillside, there was a flat area and we stopped and 50 Cows announced ‘we’re here.’ We tried to find a recording site out of the burning sun but failed. We wanted the lovely 360 views and sacrificed shade for our art. The Music Groups Kasagat Traditional Dancers The first group was the Kasagat Traditional Dancers. Kathy talked to…
Lugbara Tribe Profile – Music of Northern Uganda News
…re 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 been ordinary human beings and tradition asserts that they were born in the ordinary way. Meme died immediately after giving birth to the twins, who then grew up to marry each other and start the first clan. For more information about the Lugbara people, visit everyculture.com, or (websi…
Day 3 continued – an interview with Steve Kivutia Story
…ight on Kenyan Music series. His feature artist was Makedem who ‘blew him away’ and he still views Ohanglaman as his favourite album. He also says Jesse was the perfect coach, so passionate about good music, but so meticulous about creating great music. Steve has worked on all the Spotlight series and fell in love with Iwdi Aching, a lovely female vocalist who, he says, showed him that African tribal music didn’t need to be ‘old.’ He feels that Si…
Day 3: Kitale to Kapsokwony, Kenya Story
…ical Kalenjin style. Tabu describes this style as very traditional and the way of singing is very unique to the Sabaot clan of the Kalenjin. The guitar is called a burkandit, and is a homemade guitar somewhat resembling the Nyatiti of the Luo. He was joined by a percussionist who played the karachimek, which is essentially two sticks on the ground played by two sticks. Tabu first met Ben in 2007, when working on Spotlight on Kenya Music Vol.4. He…
Day 2: Nairobi to Kitale & an interview with Pato Story
…nt there. While there, he was exposed to the Spotlight Series. He began to really love tribal music and so when we started developing the Singing Wells project he jumped on it, keen to head up the video recording department . We asked him what he liked most about the project and he gave two answers: “First, I love the exposure to different cultures – even my own. I have never heard a lot of the tribal music, even around my own villages. Our trip t…
Music of Northern Uganda News
…holding a Likembe Rikiriki Dongu tube fiddle Ndara – a giant wooden xylophone The ndara or giant xylophone is made by digging a hole in the ground and placing fresh banana tree trunks around the edges. Wooden planks of various sizes and tones are then placed over the hole. The instrument is played using a wooden stick with a large rubber head. One of the groups the guys were able to see perform in Arua was the Aynu Traditional Music Group, led…