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…
The origins of Singing Wells Story
…ic labels on two separate continents. Tabu Osusa founded Ketebul Music in 2007 with a goal to record and promote traditional East African music. Tabu laments the fact that the music heritage of the region is being 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 worr…
Hannah interviews Sabina – Acet, Northern Uganda News
…pute or a war. These songs now mean more to us as the hardship in Northern Uganda is slowly coming to an end. What are the different roles within the group? Most of us only sing and dance, as most women do in Acholi music. I play the Uvure and sing because I can’t dance, as I had a serious operation 4 years ago. I can’t dig, dance or do anything physical, so I play the horn. This is a blessing and a gift from God because I could never play it befo…
Returning to Uganda in Autumn 2013 Story
…hat we are returning to Uganda to continue tribal recording in the Autumn 2013. We’ve had extraordinary trips to Kisoro to record the Batwa and Northern Uganda to record the Nilotic tribes (Alur, Acholi, Iteso, Langi and Lugbara). For this upcoming trip we will focus on Central and Eastern Uganda which is home of the Bantu tribes (the Baganda, the Basoga, the Bagisu and the Banyoro to mention a few). Here’s an example of Basoga music – as always w…
Winyo performs with Batwa musicians for ‘Influences’ News
…studios in Nairobi. For more about this story click here. …
‘Missing’ – Singing Wells fundraising song for 2013 News
…March 2013 saw the release of an original track from Abubilla Music, re-mixed for the Influences series. The song is called (The only thing that’s) Missing and it was first recorded for the Abubilla Music album Misery Marmalade and other Spanish Jams. Here is 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….
Meet our ‘Influences’ artists News
…hich she chooses to call “Hybrid”, a simple cross between urban sounds and local tunes back home. Akello joined the Singing Wells team on the recording trip to Northern Uganda in December 2012. Akello with Adungu Cultural Troupe Find Akello and the Amari Band on Facebook here. …
Day 8: Entebbe to Nairobi and Ketebul Studios Story
…emember that next time it might be you we sing about. Binihare had made the band leader promise to sing in his funeral. Thanks to Bado, the son, for working with his father to give the background; here’s Bado, with Patrick, who we’ve known since the founding of Singing Wells: At about 1900, Tabu broke away with Hannah and Andy to go to a concert while Jimmy remained with the core group to continue recording. The recording group stayed until abou…
Akello sings ‘Influences’ songs for Singing Wells News
…nd urban music performer who sings in most popular languages like Acholi, Luganda, Swahili and English..After years of working with a few of Uganda’s leading contemporary and world music greats such as Kaweesa, Susan Kerunen, Myko Ouma, Tshila and Kinobe Herbert..she is indeed a rare talent with a rich textured organic voice. Akello begins a new journey of performing her own music compositions that she chooses to call “Hybrid” a simple cross betwe…
Day 7 (pm): Recording at the Airport Guesthouse, Entebbe Story
…ally beaten a number of strokes depending on your age, in his case it was 300. Odika called it the ‘bush mind’, and sometimes even once soldiers returned that mind would come back again, in nightmares or in daily life. To help returning soldiers they were taken to Gulu Children of War Rehabilitation Centre for 6 months before going home, partly to make sure the rebels couldn’t find you in your home village but also to help the returning soldiers a…
Promotion of Batwa cultural music: UOBDU report March 2013 News
…d promising because they have made savings which has accumulated to UGX 80,000/= from the performance carried out when UOBDU was requested to select the Batwa group to entertain people in Kanungu district which is one of UOBDU operation areas. This cultural performance took place during the launch of water project by Bwindi Mgahinga Conservation Trust where the Prime Minister of the Republic of Uganda was the Chief Guest of Honour. In addition, th…
Hannah interviews Evelyn Ojok – Acet, Northern Uganda News
…bout war and peace we are referring to the recent war that struck Northern Uganda. It helps us to heal but also to celebrate that we are now in peace. Who taught you the music? My parents taught me how to sing and dance and all about Acholi culture. That has changed, now the children learn from school. I was born in Kitgum but I married in Gulu when I was 18. My children love school and never miss a day unless they are sick, which is unusual. They…
Day 7 (am) – back to Kampala: Naguru to Entebbe Story
…ader of his group, which he started in 1991. The members are from all over Uganda, but generally perform music in the style of Acholi, as Watmon is originally from Kitikum, not far from Gulu up in Northern Uganda, and moved down to Kampala during the war. We love the instrument they played, the Nanga (below) so much we asked if they would join us in Entebbe to record more songs with Akello. We asked them to come with us to our next stop: our hotel…
An Evening with Mserego Mwatela Group News
…nally performed with his father’s group and then he founded this group in 2007. They use a number of styles, most notably Sengenya, which we covered fully in our March 2011 field recordings in Malindi. We interviewed Swalhe Mwatela Massai and his grandson, Ali Tungwa : Q to the grandfather: In contrast to Uganda, we have seen many villages in Kenya where the traditional music is only played by the older generation. And yet your group is so young…
Northern Uganda: Day 6 – Soroti to Kampala (a driving story) Story
…write and….gulp…. survived. To re-cap the journey so far. We set out at 1300 for Soroti to Kampala, promised to arrive before dark. We were chased back to Soroti with a broken right wheel spring on one of our vans. Some fast welding and we set out at 1530 promised an hour and a half of night driving. The road was rougher than predicted and arrived on the Nairobi road at about 1845. At 1930, the same van has the back left tire go. We are now off a…