Day Two: February 17, 2020 (Stonetown) Story
…leader, on violin, Kheri Mizaka Aliy on African Bass, Makame Ali Juma on drum, Buruhami Makame Haji on 2nd drum, Mgeni Seleiman Makame on sticks, Said Ame Othman on shakers, Aikazija Abdala Ame -dancer, Mirianaharus Juma Hamis – dancer. All sang but Mohamed Othman Faki was lead singer. Sanduku , the bass, was a homemade bass made of a large box with a small hole cut out in the front. It had a large stick which the player held perpendicular to th…
Day One: January 18, 2019. Assemble in Tanzania Story
…tyles and background, instruments and songs. In almost every village, we struggle with spellings of songs and instruments as these can differ by village and by band. We fully recognize that there are multiple spellings out there, but we defer to the band leader in almost all cases. During a recording session, we will also capture alternative takes; these are called: ‘Freestyle’: We work hard to give our groups the space and freedom to sing and dan…
Here for Research? Page
…a. This database is constantly evolving as we discover and record more instruments. The instruments are tagged by their ethnicity, their recording location and the type (simply broken down into stringed, percussion or wind at present) Groups Detailed information about each group we meet on our Field trips. Head here to browse through groups by Location or Genre, or to search directly for a Group that we have met. Each page has information about th…
Recording, archiving and sharing the traditional music of East Africa Page
…heritage of the region and to help make this legacy relevant and fresh to today’s audiences. As a group of sound and video engineers, producers and musicians, we set out on this mission not to become ‘fossil collectors’ and store the recordings in inaccessible archives. We work with musicians to make sure their music traditions continue to be practiced, can be shared amongst the widest audiences and become a source of inspiration for new musician…
Kochia Traditional Dancers Group
…l as internationally as part of the Folklife Festival in the UK and in the USA at the Smithsonian Folk Festival. As well as this they are determined with their performance to preserve the incredible Ramogi dancing, a mainstay of traditional Luo culture. Ramogi was the patriarch of the Luo people, and this centuries-old dance is performed by mature men to beseech his spirit to possess them. Some moves of the dance represent the movements of birds,…
The Revival of the Entongooli Page
…Some of the children here tell us about their reasons for learning the instruments, what other instruments they are learning and how they are enjoying the process. We cannot wait to see their progress and finally watch them perform with this incredible instrument, given a new lease of life by the next generation of musicians! From Embaire to Entongooli: Part 1 For these musical scholars, their musical journey actually starts with another fascinati…
Day Three: Bungoma Town to Kakamega Story
…irili (which are these?) Pelele: A local beer, this was great song sung by band leader solo. Isukuti Drums: song featuring the drummers Tsing’oma: Shirili Instrumental We rushed to get all equipment stored and drove to our next destination a bit wet……
Ketebul Music Group
…ustry players such as producers and promoters, media personalities and the market audience. Memorable archiving is achieved through intensive academic research reports released along with a market-friendly package from each phase of research. The package comprises of a shorter, but succinct, popular version of the academic report and is contained in an attractively designed booklet. To reinforce it is an audio CD featuring re-releases of previous…
Day One: The Iteso People and their Music Story
…instrument, the Seketa and the 9 String ‘Solo’. Percussion includes: The ‘drum set’ of drums, bottle tops for snares and a plate serving as ride. The set is called the Achaeket. The shakers are called the Itwol. The ring is called the Edongot. Between their core songs, influences and a magic moment, we had a long session with the group. Songs included: Ataikatiaka Kitiso: This song is about the unity of the Teso people. While forces are trying to…
Fadhilee Itulya Staff Profile
…nted to listen to the news on radio. After high school he worked as a construction worker to fend for himself. Meanwhile he mastered his guitar, volunteering to teach kids music at the neighbouring Soweto slums. He continued offering private guitar lessons even after joining the University of Nairobi, where he is studying International Relations and Diplomacy. His first break in professional music was at the 2008 edition of Spotlight on Kenyan Mus…
The Singing Wells podcast #5 Podcast
…Edition 5 of the Singing Wells podcast is here – with a bit of a catch up on the latest news from the past 12 months of the Singing Wells project. Click here to download Podcast 5…
Pius Wafula Group
…play the following instruments: LITUNGU – a 7-string traditional lyre; ISIRILI – a one-string fiddle; LUENGELE– a percussive idiophone, they use a wooden stool struck with wooden sticks; ENG’OMA – a generic term for drums, they use a plastic water container also struck with wooden sticks; CHISASI – shakers made out of gourds. We recorded five of Pius’s original compositions and were amazed with his rough yet mellow voice….
Singing Wells Stories Page
…e Luo of Kenya To learn about the instrument the Nyaiti, check out the instrument page here: Nyatiti Instrument page Jovah We met Jovah on the second day of our trip to record the music of the Batwa in South West Uganda. We travelled out of Kisoro to the village of Mperwa. The Mperwa dancers performed in their village in a lush setting in front of cultivated hillsides and the Viriunga volcano. Jovah takes a lot of pride in her music and is full of…
Day Three: 9 March 2022 (Kisumu) Story
…d out of school at an early age to help his father, Walter Omondi Onyango, run his carpentry workshop. A self-taught musician, Olith Ratego later used his woodwork skills to create a novel five-stringed instrument he named okoddo after his great-grandfather, Okoddo Madanda, who was known to his peers as a fierce warrior and revered as a mythical figure by members of his community. Olith Ratego is an ingenious vocalist, a gift he inherited from his…
Our Sponsors Page
…e Airport Guesthouse and the use of their 4×4 truck and wonderful driver, Musa. www.gorillatours.com Anne Wright, The Wright Approach Type of sponsorship: Field Recording day in Kenya, Music of the Kalenjin, March 2012 Thank you to Anne for her kind and generous donation to towards our 2012 field recording visit to Kenya. Read all about it here. http://www.annewright.com/index.asp Institute of International Education Type of sponsorship: Field…
Global Influences Project: Artist Submissions Page
…t to hear more of Mansa Chusa’s work, head to:https://instagram.com/mansachusahttps://twitter.com/mansachusahttps://facebook.com/mansachusa If you want to learn more about the Global Influences Project, head to singingwells.org/global-influences-project SHONA X EKHUNJWE MUSICAL GROUP This next collaboration comes from DJ and producer, Shona. This is our first submission using the beats from the Ekhunjwe Musical Group, and we love how this music ha…