Hannah Calascione Staff Profile
…ogy at Cambridge University in 2013. She is joining the Singing Wells team for the field visit to Northern Uganda 2012 and has researched the area in great detail, writing reports on the tribal groups and their music and traditional instruments. Hannah will be armed with a microphone as she interviews the musicians and documents their oral histories, providing the all important context for the songs and dances we will be recording in the field. …
Day Three: February 18, 2020 (Stonetown, Mpendae, Maungani) Story
…n the same neighborhood. They play for weddings and festivals. When we got to their village in Mpendae we had some difficulty finding a place in the shade that was quiet. There were airplanes and motorbikes going by occasionally. We managed to record one song but had to stop after that due to noise. We hope to have this group come to the hotel on our last recording day. We felt bad that they only were able to perform one song but they took it grac…
The Northern Tribes of Uganda Album
…in). Waroco Terawo were our fourth group. A long drive out west brought us to Fort Murchison and Pakwach. We went on further to Widianga village and the Alur Kingdom Troupe. Later that day we were treated to Cieng Dwong back at Fort Murchison – darkness descending as we recorded. A travel day to Soroti was followed by another Likembe band – the Macedonia band, before the long drive back to Kampala. One night in Kampala was followed by a recording…
Global Influences Project: Loop Library Page
…l Influences Project, you can download the project brief here or head back to the main page for more information. If you want to independently release your music for sale or streaming using these samples, please get in touch with us so that we can grant you a license. Loops By Tempo/BPM Adungu Cultural Troupe – 111bpm Joginda Boys -116bpm Hiari Ya Moyo – 121bPM Rubanga Kingdom Awach Boys – 127BPM Otacho Young Stars Shoe Shine Box – 143BPM Aloka Oh…
Field Recording Report by Kahithe Kiiru Story
…est hits, songs that any Kenyan can easily identify with: “Kweli Ndugu”; “Mtoto si Nguo”; “Sengula Nakupenda”; “Kunywa Kidogo” and “Watu Wanasema Uongo”. Fadhilee’s reaction to this last session was worth the wait, as he discovered the author of “Kweli Ndugu”, a song he had done a cover of years ago. Therefore, we recorded one last Influences with Fadhilee playing the song alongside Mukabi. The day was closed with a photo session ringing together…
The Revival of the Entongooli Page
…ment and it’s music will be all the greater. There is also a great benefit to these young people aside from the unique knowledge they are gaining: free education. Many of these youngsters have managed to gain music scholarships so they can get a free education at their local schools. This project is not only providing a future for this instrument, but for the young people involved. Aside from this, Mr Mukadisi has a personal connection to this cro…
Global Influences Project: Artist Submissions Page
…d musical styles! We hope this will inspire many more musicians to go back to their roots and create something special! To find out more about L3GS, follow them on @l3gsmusic JAY P PRODUCTION X RUBANGA KINGDOM AWACH BOYS This upbeat bop has been submitted by Jay P Production for our latest installment of the Global Influences Project. We love how they used this beat to create something that got the whole team wanting to dance! When we asked about…
Day One: 7 March 2022 (Shikangania and Mukumu) Story
…before upgrading to Zoom H6. On this occasion we opted to record directly to the laptop. All recording systems have their merits and demerits and our choice was no exception as it caused us some delays when the laptop overheated due to the hot tropical sun, resulting in drops in frame rates. We solved this problem simply by avoiding direct sunlight and staying in the shade. Due to the short period assigned for the completion of this project, we d…
Day Zero: February 15, 2020 – Assemble in Zanzibar Story
…Zanzibar on Kenya Airways on the first flight on Saturday, making our way to the Ngawala Hotel. Temperature 33 degrees centigrade. Partially cloudy. Saturday was about set up, so we’ll use this ‘Day Zero’ post to fill you in on the purpose of the trip. First, Zanzibar is an island off Tanzania, with a long colorful history. Before it was ‘controlled’ by the Portuguese in 1503, it was a base for traders between the African great lakes, the…
Day Two: February 17, 2020 (Stonetown) Story
…nds for a large drum. So Kidumba is a smaller, bongo style drum. Adding Ki to the beginning of the word makes it small. Mohamed Othman had no musicians in his family. He became interested in Kidumbak style music at 16 and taught himself the violin and bass. He went to Egypt off and on for six years on a scholarship from the DCMA to study violin and the oud starting in 2000. He’s been teaching at the academy for 18 years. Members of this group inc…
Day Four: 10 March 2022 (Rongo) Story
…es and keys. Ontiri came on stage at Treat House Resort at 5:30pm and true to the professional that he has become, gave an exemplary performance without any re-takes. By 7:00pm his session was completed and he was on his way back to Kisii County. The next group was Otacho Young Stars who began their performance at 8:00pm. Otacho Young Stars were also no strangers since we recorded them in 2011 as part of the Singing Wells project. These musicians…
Support Singing Wells Page
…e below link will direct you to a Paypal donation page, with payments made to the Abubilla Music Foundation to fund the Singing Wells project: — CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW — Sponsor a Song£25 Your Gift to Us Your money will be used to support the Singing Wells project to record the songs of traditional music groups, help us tell their stories and keep their music traditions alive. Your donation to the project will be spent in East Africa and will go…
Imachina Group
…g 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 honour the bri…
FAQ’s Page
…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 click here. Influences artists are professional musicians who collaborate with us on field and studio recordings. Click here to find out about these m…
Day Three: 9 March 2022 (Kisumu) Story
…a for Kisumu at 10:00am and made a quick stop at Kiboswa ‘city’ on our way to the Lakeside city. This historic center, inhabited by the Luo, Luhya and the Kalenjin tribes of Kenya, is home to Paul Kelemba (or Maddo, as the cartoonist is popularly known). After taking a few photos to prove to the award-winning cartoonist that we actually visited his ancestral home, we continued with our journey. Our location for recording that day was Dunga Hill Ca…
The Kalenjin of Kenya Album
…mbolet 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 coincided with World Women’s Day. Eddie Grey was part of the team for the recordings, and he joined a number of groups to join them for Influ…