The Batwa of Kisoro Album
…rip to the UN refugee camp at Nyakabande was a happy one, as it was empty. The Togetherness group gave us a spirited performance and one of the tracks is on the album. The remainder of the field recordings were made at the Travellers Rest Hotel in Kisoro – battling through torrential rain, a storm of locusts and power cuts to be able to record. The Kabahenda, Gatera and Micyingo communities performing for us under the veranda of the hotel. Also in…
Super Phoenix Band Group
…education. But she got pregnant after spending time with a cow herder and the father was so disappointed in her. Mukangala: This was a song made famous by Jacob Luseno and Julius Intenya when they first played together. Specifically, it refers to a rich man who askes a young man to watch after his house while he travels constantly for business. Soon the young man starts to pretend the house is his and also propositions the man’s wife to be with h…
Day Four: 10 March 2022 (Rongo) Story
…ians did not consider us to be some arrogant city slickers trying to teach them their own cultures and traditions. Our goal was to build resilience by trying to restructure the operations and business models for these musicians to enable them to develop a better understanding of how to improve their performances. These adjustments were of utmost importance in making it easier for these rural and peri-urban based musicians to migrate their shows an…
Field Recording Report by Kahithe Kiiru Story
…akha and his Balozi Band on one hand and Benson Muhitsi’s isukuti group on the other. Shitakha’s Balozi band had basic Luhya instrumentation, notably using shirili fiddle and several idiophones (metal ring, rattles, etc.), while Muhitsi plays the isukuti drums in a style simultaneously authentic and original for his mastery and virtuosity on the drum. These two played a large number of popular Luhya folk songs and marked the perfect end to our sta…
The Revival of the Entongooli Page
…rney! A Musical Education What makes this project so different from any of the other revival projects we have documented, is how focused this project is on young people. Mr Mukadisi, who is heading up this project, is very aware that to continue the legacy of this dying instrument, children and young people had to be involved. From the choosing of the materials, to helping build the instruments themselves, these children are involved in every part…
Global Influences Project: Artist Submissions Page
…Moyo’s driving rhythm’s into something that could be heard in clubs across the world. “I selected the Hiariya Moyo sample as I found the rhythm familiar and similar to some of the 6/8 rhythms found in my home country Ethiopia. As the electric bass is my main instrument, I first tried to identify a root note to play along with the song and build a bassline and groove from there. Afterwards, I found that some agogo or cowbell samples and some synths…
Day Zero: February 15, 2020 – Assemble in Zanzibar Story
…happened in fits and starts. The death of one sultan and succession of another, the British did not approve of, led to the Anglo-Zanzibar War, the shortest war ever fought. It was over in 7 minutes because of the strength of the British navy. The islands gained independence from England in 1963. A month later the Zanzibar Revolution occurred. Several thousand Arabs and Indians were killed. Thousands more were expelled leading to the Republic of…
Day One: 7 March 2022 (Shikangania and Mukumu) Story
…winding road we arrived at the Small Matters Park, our first location for the day. The Ketebul Music technical crew is well experienced in field recording routine preparations, having been part of the Singing Wells project for many years. Hence, it did not take long for our sound team to determine the best site for the stage within the well-groomed homestead and in less than an hour we had the mobile studio all set. Normally, our preferred device…
Global Influences Project: Loop Library Page
…arly impressive, with ongeng’o rings used both by themselves, and also together with the Nyangile, a wooden box topped with two of the rings, one of which is held with the feet, and beaten with a stick. You can find out more about the band here. You can watch the full visual performance of this song on our Youtube channel by clicking here. Download the loop Nyatiti Group – 158BPM Another wonderful Nyatiti group led by Okumu Korengo who is consider…
Day Two: February 17, 2020 (Stonetown) Story
…ey had one lead singer and two men on drums. One planning a small drum and the other playing three large drums on the floor while he stood and leaned over. Overall they were very impressive and unique. Truly beautiful. 3. Zam Zam Group – From the hotel we moved on to the Dhow Countries Musical Academy, which is located in the old custom house. Here, we recorded the Zam Zam group on the ground floor, in the center court under an open roof three…
Support Singing Wells Page
…oject will be spent in East Africa helping traditional music groups get on the world music map. Please note, the Singing Wells project is funded by the Abubilla Music Foundation, the below link will direct you to make a donation to the Abubilla Music Foundation: — CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW — Donate your time, products or services We are always keen to hear from people who are happy to offer their time to help the project and from companies which ma…
Imachina Group
…he best fighting bulls are not the ones preening around the village, but rather they keep to themselves until the fight. And then they win. The Shiselelo procession – this is for weddings. The songs include: Hoya: This is encouraging the groom to forward and be welcome. Mbabo: This is about everyone coming together for the wedding. Khuchende Pole: This song is telling everyone to walk slowly to and from the wedding so all the people can gather and…
Day Two: January 19, 2019 From Tarime to Buturi to Bariadi Story
…2012. They are from the Abhasimbete community. Their style is Rirandi and they play the Zeze/Endongwe (a one stringed instrument similar to the Kenyan Orutu and Ugandan Rigi Rigi), Rirandi (a giant horn, similar to the Uganda Big Wala, but made with 6 gourds, not one), Ekeborogo (flute), the Ekedomwa (drums), Ama’ghorro (huge leg shakers), and Firimbi (whistle). They wore Amahunsho (grasses that are attached to the shoulders, and shake with their…
The Kalenjin of Kenya Album
…hrough past technical difficulties on set. The very visual performances of the and the Sagat group (their image is on the cover) and the Embolet are both represented on the album. The final field day of the trip was spent recording the Tugen. The vocal harmonies 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 coi…
FAQ’s Page
…jointly operated by Ketebul Music, a non profit music studio in Kenya and the The Abubilla Music Foundation, a UK registered charity. Our goal is to preserve the music traditions of East Africa and make this music relevant to the next generation of musicians and fans. Who works for the Singing Wells project? Our team is made up of audio and video engineers from both Ketebul Music and Abubilla Music. You can read about members of the team if you c…
Day Three: 9 March 2022 (Kisumu) Story
…he newly formed Asego Ensemble. These musicians travelled all the way from the southern side of the lake and had to wait for the whole day for their turn to record. By the time they came on stage at 8:00pm, they were rather fatigued but started their show with cover songs of other established groups and switched to their own compositions at our request. With a little encouragement from a few fans who were attracted to their ohangla music, which is…