What people say about Singing Wells News
…e future.” PSN Europe Magazine Read the review of Singing Wells here. Mark Totokwa via YouTube “This is good stuff – a good example of a sustainable project both in context and content. A big thank you to those behind this project and most importantly to the resourceful musicians. A job well done!” (Posted on YouTube here) Atesh Sonneborn, Associate Director, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings “Andy, It was a real pleasure to speak with you this morn…
A quick summary of the Singing Wells Project News
…bout Singing Wells. Cancel the taxis, warn the baby sitter, here come the stories… Last night I was asked by a good friend about how the project was going and off I went. Even the waiter was calling home to warn his family it was going to be a late night. But as I told the stories, I wished I had a computer with me so my poor tired friend could at least hear the music and watch the performances as I prattled on. So, I came home, woke early and dec…
73,603 views on YouTube News
…was the very first video we uploaded to YouTube following our field visit to the Coast Region to record the music of the Mijikenda tribes. 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 tra…
A new type of city Story
…n the distance. Despite this unconventional type of city,I loved it. There was certainly a lot going on and during the week Akello told us many stories of the vibrant buzz in Kampala. Every night there’s music to listen to somewhere in the packed hub of 180,000 people . The image above of the tin houses and the Uganda House of Commons in the background was one of the first pictures I took on the trip….
The Boy with the Headphones Story
…Mperwa have settled on a small area of borrowed land just a few kilometres from the town. At first glance the setting appeared to be spectacular, with the lush valley and terraced hills of local farms as a backdrop and the magnificent Virunga volcanos in the distance. But we were quickly struck by the impoverishment of this small community. As we arrived, a group of women were gathered on a muddy terrace, washing their babies in a small plastic…
Man on the Pier Story
…lso recorded the first influences session. We headed back up the coast to the historic coastal town of Malindi, which had been our base for the previous night and was set to be again that night. We decided to see a little of the town on the way back to the hotel, and we stopped off at the pier. This gentleman was sitting with his bike. Jimmy asked his permission and took his photo. …
The origins of Singing Wells Story
…t will soon die out, leaving videos and songs in the archives. We also had to work to make this music relevant and important to contemporary artists. A key part of a field visit, therefore, is to bring contemporary African musicians with us to perform with the tribal groups and to write new music influenced by these sessions. Winyo, a wonderful singer/songwriter with Ketebul Music, is one of our Influences artists and has been with us on three Sin…
Day 8: Entebbe to Nairobi and Ketebul Studios Story
…nting: Drove 8 minutes to Airport. About 600 meters outside airport we had to stop and all get out of van and go through a metal detector. There was a large sign telling us not to bring in pistols and rifles. The van was then searched. At airport, we had to unload bags at departures, take them by trolly to bottom of stairs. Take all bags up the stairs. Find new trolly and proceed to next stage. All this would be fairly straightforward except we ha…
Day 7 (pm): Recording at the Airport Guesthouse, Entebbe Story
…ened: the rebels arrived to his village and asked him to show them the way to town. In a way this was a blessing, because his family was saved (often, on abduction, the rest of the child’s family would be killed, so they’d feel angry, distant and unable to return home). Once they arrived at the town they wouldn’t let Odika go and it was clear he was a prisoner. He only managed to escape once the rebels believed he was one of them, and stopped watc…
Hannah interviews Evelyn Ojok – Acet, Northern Uganda News
…r group: Ume Udoko Mit started to sing together before the war, but we had to stop during the war because most of us were moved to IDP camps where we had little time to rehearse together and the conditions were too bad. Now we sing and dance together all the time, we are only women (our style of ‘Apiri’ in Acholi is typically only performed by the women). Today the reason there was a man playing the drums is because one of our women is sick, norma…
Day 7 (am) – back to Kampala: Naguru to Entebbe Story
…f Kampala and we forced our two big vans through the crowded urban streets to a little square where we set up for recording. Exactly 24 hours ago we set up to record in Northern Uganda in the village of Obuell-Lira. This was the most idyllic rural scene we’ve experience – with picture perfect huts settled behind flower beds and sleeping cattle. This morning we encounter a perfect urban setting, with the square carved into a hill, with rows and row…
An Evening with Mserego Mwatela Group News
…have you managed to do this? A: To get the young people involved I decided to go to schools and teach music. I compose new material with my students and come up with something they like. I watch how they dance and whether they feel the rhythms and I try to teach them what I’m doing, but I also adapt to how they feel the music. I let them take the music where they want to take it as long as it is rooted in our traditions. I just watch them dance an…
Northern Uganda: Day 6 – Soroti to Kampala (a driving story) Story
…he weaknesses of 1 and 2’s position). We even sorted out after a while how to stop the groups from starting the song while our poor clapper board person (Nick) was still running from the shot. Third, we then had to sort out interviews and research. We’re really good now at doing interviews on songs, villages and groups and supporting that with research. This all sounds like pretty basic things and we agree. But imagine arriving at a village that h…
Northern Uganda: Day 6 – Soroti to Obuell-Lira to Soroti Story
…Uganda Army then re-took control of the area. One of their first acts was to go to each village and accuse them of collaborating, typically killing the men under the assumption that they must have fought with the rebels. For Joshua, this was a terrifying moment because the band was known to have played to the rebels. Again, a group of soldiers came into their village and again their mission was to kill the men and boys of the village. And again,…
Northern Uganda: Day 5 – from Pakwach to Soroti (a road trip) Story
…s near Acet.. Then there’s just everything else you can carry being hauled to and from the market on the heads of strong women and very strong little kids. It is illegal we suspect for a child of three and older to walk on the road without carrying at least one water jug on his/her head. You see in the distance yellow dots and you are guaranteed to find a beautiful Ugandan child smiling beneath it. The women are altogether different, carrying bask…
ATTA is following Singing Wells News
…their 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…