The Tribal and Musical Structure of East Africa – Worldmap Research News
…uments that were surprisingly common that I would not have associated with African music, such as the Sansa, a type of thumb piano: Distribution of the Sansa Pokot Tribe (highlighted) Writing a profile for all of the different tribal groups was also fascinating. There are such a wide variety of different customs and beliefs in one area, and some tribes, such as the Pokot tribe from Kenya, were memorable for some of their cultural theories. Interes…
African Strings: The Nyatiti and The Adungu News
…enany, Western Thebes (right). Some scholars have rejected the theory that African harps and lyres today were originated from the instruments that were created first thousands of years ago, although there is strong evidence 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 lin…
Day 7: In Nairobi – sponsors, blogs and strategy Story
…is to be systematic in our field visits, to represent the breadth of East African styles, to record fairly, and to not judge whether any particular group or style is likely to be relevant to today’s generation of listeners. On the other hand, we are artists, seeking musicians and styles that can be fed directly into the current music scene – we are ‘seed’ collectors looking for music that can be replanted and grown in different soils. Our obligat…
Day 6: Recording the Tugen & back to Nairobi Story
…The Music Elimu Cultural Promoters Our first group was the Elimu Cultural Promoters from the Tugan tribe. They are a collection of women from little villages scattered around the Kabarnet area and they want to promote good values of culture and education. They were all dressed in brown, almost terracotta, outfits looking like the red clay we love so much. They make all their own costumes and sew on all their own beadwork. They wear a belt of 5 ro…
Lango Tribe Profile – Music of Northern Uganda News
…of different tribes, including the Lango peoples. Location: Northern central region or the “Lango sub-region” as demonstrated on the map. Population: about 1.5 million people Language: They speak Leb-Lango, a language similar to those of the Acholi and the Alur. They are part of the Luo group or “Western Nilotic Group”, and so all of the languages in this area are fairly similar to understand. Origins: Their original homeland was north of La…
Day 4: the Pokot Tribes Story
…terviews with Eddie and Nick. There are separate blogs here, which provide some more observations on what Ketebul Music and and now Singing Wells has done to the team’s view of modern music and more importantly, African music. For the record, the Ketebul crew all reported that the meal at the Eldoret Club, where we are staying, was the first great meal they had on the trip. Singing Wells team 6th March 2012…
Day 3 continued – an interview with Steve Kivutia Story
…also liked Salif Keita, an afro-pop singer/songwriter from Mali, his only ‘African music’ influence. Steve’s first job at Ketebul was as an intern working with Jesse and Gabriel on the Spotlight 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 h…
Day 1: In Nairobi, packing and talking to Tabu Story
…heir history, of war, of famine etc but there will be common themes as all Africans have similar challenges and experiences.” Ketebul is recording traditional East African music before it is lost forever. Tabu came up with the idea of ‘going to the tribes’ rather than dragging the tribes to studios” He describes the Singing Wells approach to mobile recording: “Recording the tribes in their home villages is very different than recording them in the…
Singing Wells – Origins News
…ing eroded. He says, ‘For reasons I can’t fully explain, contemporary East African music has lost touch with its tribal roots. Our most popular musicians find far more inspiration in western music than they do with East African music. I worry about this. As a people, we risk losing our deep cultural heritage – the role of traditional music and dance in our lives. And as musicians, we risk becoming undifferentiated. Rather than drawing upon what ma…
Victoria’s reflections on the music of the Batwa Story
…ng location. This time we are on the site of a UN refugee camp, thankfully free of refugees. The group from the adjacent Batwa community are assembled at the top of a small hill and, as we get out of the vans and head towards the ‘stage’, they begin a rousing welcome song. Once again, I have the Canon 60D in hand and concentrate on the ‘behind the scenes’ footage. We are soon surrounded by an audience of women and children. Many are reluctant to h…
How to Map 2: The Map Outline News
…al data at http://www.diva-gis.org/. To get your spatial data you click on Free Spatial Data in the top-right corner. On the Free Spatial Data page click on country level data. On the Download Data by Country page, select the country you need and make sure the Subject is Administrative areas. There is other data available for free download from this page, such as elevation and population density, but for our purposes we’re only interested in admin…
Day 2: Focus on the Nyatiti, Orutu and DRUMS! Story
…ent, played with bow, with notes determined by finger pressure against the central stick, ‘fretting’ notes. Here’s what one looks like close up: Here’s the band playing with Jessie and Winyo on an influences song… https://youtu.be/kWbhAfwJkkw https://youtu.be/9Pd3IwODTlY https://youtu.be/KmJULbLUzME https://youtu.be/gPaBQwODTtU https://youtu.be/2ta51sAwNoc Nyatiti Group Featuring Okumu Korengo. Another wonderful Nyatiti group led by Okumu Koreng…
How To (Arc)Map News
…t more here. You can also check out their non-profit organisations’ scheme, which allows registered charities access to software for free. CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE FIRST POST…
Music of the Kalenjin: video playlist News
…k. They are perhaps most widely known as world class athletes as many of the legendary Kenyan long distance runners are Kalenjins, including Kipchoge Keino, chairman of the Kenyan Olympic Committee and the first African to win an Olympic gold medal (Mexico City 1968 in the 1500m). Video playlist The trip was facilitated by the generous support of donors to our charity the Abubilla Music Foundation. …
From Kisoro to Nairobi to Lake Victoria Story
…servations: The Casket. We have travelled about 5,000 kilometres so far on African roads for Singing Wells. And we’ve observed Africans carry just about anything on their heads or their motorbikes – fruit of every type, doors, trees, chickens, etc… Our favourite, however, was to be greeted by a motor bike travelling directly towards us with a funeral casket on the ‘back seat.’ Given the safety of the roads, we praised the driver for ‘being prepare…
Samba Mapangala & Orchestra Virunga News
Legendary East African music and friend of Abubilla Music and The Singing Wells project, Samba Mapangala and Orchestra Virunga are touring the UK later this month, in support of Samba’s new album Maisha Ni Matamu (Life Is Sweet) on Virunga Records. We first met Samba in Kenya, on a recording trip as part of The Singing Wells project. He sang as part of a ‘Welcome’ concert put together by our friends at Ketebul, along with Winyo and Ayub Ogada. We…