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…s less refined and more upbeat! Musically it falls between Taarab and Ngoma..[and is] typically played..with two small clay drums, a violin played in a frantic fiddler style, a sanduku (or the bass) and the cherewa, a kind of shaker made from coconut shells…” Unyago: This is music by women by women and was used during rites of passage. Originally, these were ‘secret songs’ and filled with metaphors that would explain about sex and love and all the…
South Teso Jazz Group
…-string adeudeu; ADEUDEU SEKETA – 9-string adeudeu; SOLO ADEUDEU – 5-string adeudeu, smallest in size. This string sound is complemented with a home-crafted drum-set they refer to as akicheketin their vernacular language. This is a set of metal tin drums of different sizes joint on a wooden stand, together with bottle tops and a metal plate. Finally, the ensemble also a metal ring called edongotanditwol– shakers made out of gourds and seeds….
Field Recording Report by Kahithe Kiiru Story
…motes traditional African values and acts in both education and local economy. Members also engage in traditional crafts like basket weaving and jewellery making for exhibition and sale. Their chairman, Mr. Bwire, also chairs the County Culture Committee and says he is “biased towards ethnomusicology” because “that’s where the beauty of the music lies”. Our recording session took place at the home of Dr. Paul Otwoma, a former MP for the area, who…
Andy Patterson Staff Profile
…ound 5 years and has co-engineered and produced all of the releases to date. His past clients have included the late Gerry Rafferty, Q Radio, Bauer Media and Live8. His role for The Singing Wells project sees him heading up the engineering team in the field. He also works on the post production back in the UK and is responsible for the Singing Wells podcasts. For more information, please check out Andy’s site at: http://www.andypatterson.co.uk or…
Adagha Nalya Drama Group Group
…y agree on issues and speak on language. “Waiswa Mugudde”: A Dance song. This is the name of a first born male twin and the song is about a proverbial Waiswa of old who used to shy away from women. It is a common folk song. “Omuntu Kyakola”: When someone is jealous about what someone else is doing; when some one works hard, others want to bring you down. “Yoyenda”: The one you love. The song invites everyone to show who they love to the rest of th…
Eridat Makwiri Group
…iri, also known as Mazune, playing the Litungu. Song meanings “Wangoyo”: This is a song about co-wives. One lady was lazy. And she would wait for the co-wife who had already woken up and prepared the food. The wife who had prepared the food tried to keep the food away from the lazy wife and the lazy wife would go complaining to the husband. The message in the song is to not wait for everything to be done for you. “Paulo Wawanyera”: This is someone…
Day Six: January 24, 2019 From Mwanza to Dodomo to Nzali to Nairobi Story
…ove about 90 minutes to Nzali to record four groups: Group 1: Makunga: This group is from Dodoma and the Wagogo Community, which they argued is the main indigenous community of Tanzania (always from the land, never migrated into Tanzania. The group was formed in 2018, but was built on a much older group. They perform in the Wuyina style. Their instruments/costumes include the: Ndulele (Horn), the Nindo (Shakers), the Mbega: (Animal Skins), the…
Recording Resources Page
…really work out the best processes for working effectively out in the field. With that in mind, we have created some resources for other groups to use for working in the field. Please feel free to use the below resources for your field trips in whatever region you are based, and please do reach out to us. We love to meet others who are passionate about music in their own region! Village Visit Management Audio Recording Protocol Field Visit Workflo…
Royal Entenga Drummers Group
…discovered the sixty-something Musisi, possibly the last surviving drummer. Musisi was just a teenager at the time of attack and barely survived the night of the attack itself (more on this here). James met him and realised that together they could begin to build the drums. Working closely with Albert and Shaban, a professional drummer who now leads the new band, they built a new set of Royal Drums, recruited a team of passionate drummers to lear…
Aynu Traditional Group Group
…wo human beings Gboro-Gboro (male) and Meme (female) are said to have been superhuman. Some traditions only speak of Meme, whose womb God filled with the living things in the world. Customs: They are traditionally a farming people and are the predominant keepers of guinea fowl in Uganda (locally known as ‘ope’), but their cultural symbol is of a leopard. They also believe in a certain kind of mythology, mainly that man are descendants from the fir…
Liwambwe Group
The Group Leader is: Atanas Teleni. It is a fairly new group, having played off and on for three years. They had unique drums, including small drums with wooden spikes on bottom to be embedded in sand, called the Siganga. They also had a pair of drums called the Likuti and a long drum called the Msondo, and a very long thin drum called a Neya. In the dance they had a character in a mask called a Lipiko, who wore a vest called a Mjuga. They played…
Toroka Uje Group
…apuo Kubwa – big drum. Boi – long drum, one sided Ndungula – big bass drum Nyanga – the shakers, made of empty tins filled with small pebbles….
Buganda Music Ensemble Group
…olled and possessed by the king. He was punished by cutting off his fingers. His friends eventually found out due to all the rumors circulating the palace. They tried to ask him about it but he kept denying that anything had happened. Albert leads the song with the bow harp or Ennanga, a new instrument for us. Albert is only one of 3 master players. It was played in solo performances and the Ennanga player was the advisor to the king, as people wo…
Bakuseka Majja Matta Group Group
…in 1952 and was blinded in 1958 with an eye problem. Their style of music is Kisoga which both educates and entertains. The group are Fred Tavakumuwa on the tube fiddle; Kisame Ndaba on the thumb piano; Kirunda Awali on the flute and Nathan Matta Nyende, the lead vocalist and also playing the thumb piano. Song Meanings “Abalimperekera Baliba Muganda”: When I die, those that will escort me to be buried, will be many. “Enumba Y’eisubi Esana Buko”:…
Bigwala Cultural Group Group
…play. Song Meanings “Muwe Bwobona Asaba”: When someone asks you kindly assist them. “Mperekera Omwana Womurembe”: When you are walking with someone by your side they are the special one and you don’t look at anyone else. “Mwene Wamwenda”: When you love someone even if they are poor, lame, sick or blind, you just stay with them. Further reading UNESCO: Bigwala, gourd trumpet music and dance of the Busoga Kingdom in Uganda. Inscribed in 2012 on the…
Unyago Group
Unyago is named after the drums they play and the style. This style is all about ‘Rebels’ and things that women talk about to themselves – very suggestive songs but using innuendo, so all deniable if called out. Traditionally, these were all songs that were part of wedding rituals and used to prepare the bride. Songs about girls becoming women. The singers come from the Wagindo people, who came from Malawi to Zanzibar, probably through the slave…