Fundraiser for Matthew Watmon News
We are sad to say that a special talent, and a dear friend of Singing Wells, Matthew Watmon is currently in a critical condition in hospital. We are urgently trying to raise funds to support him and his family in this difficult time, and we hope that some of our followers may be able to help us. If you are based in East Africa, please get in touch with Matthew’s brother, Constantine Odida ((MTN) +256-782-236-742 and (Airtel) +256-704-261-037). I…
The Revival of Ohangla Music! News
…gla music from nation.co.ke, featuring one of our favourite Ohangla artists, Otieno Aloka. Giving A Trendy Sound To Traditional Ohangla Music Traditionally played at weddings and funerals, the music is having new life put into it by young artists like Otieno who use electronic production, combined with incredible musicianship, to create a whole new genre. Otieno’s song Kanungo Eteko is massive on Youtube, and we were lucky enough to record him in…
Central & Eastern Uganda: Day 3, Part 1- Drum Making and Palace Players Story
…Ekifumu) “you then let the wood dry in the sun.” Here Abass showed us a wooden ‘pail’ that had the rough outline of a small drum, but needed to be hollowed out. He did this by carving deeply into the wood with a large scraping tool that he used to carve wood from the centre. 2. Cutting the wood to size “You then cut the wood to size” (the saw used is called a Musumeni). He then used a large handsaw to trim the wood from the ends of the wooden drum…
Support for the Elgon Ngoma Troupe News
…me for the project, which houses children from disadvantaged backgrounds through performance of traditional music, through breeding and meat production. Donate to Elgon Ngoma’s gofundme page here! And you can watch one of their brilliant performances, recorded on our 2014 field trip, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkyDtBXfunI Watch Julius, the leader of the group, explain who the Elgon Ngoma troupe is, and their mission: https://www.youtube…
Remembering Our First Ever Influences Session 8 Years Ago News
Here’s a reminder of our first influences session in 2011, when Winyo performed with Nyerere Wa Konde Music Club, the family of legend of mwanzele Nyerere Wa Konde. Nyerere’s son Mr Bado did a great job of leading as his family and Winyo performed this great improvised session. Stay tuned for exciting announcements about the 10th anniversary of Singing Wells! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8zR1Hq0VXc&lc=z232gt5hrrr5jbjpz04t1aokg3gsm0mrvnsg3wki…
Rediscovering the lost Royal Drums of the Buganda Kingdom: Day 1, Uganda Story
…arned to play new music. Over the course of their studies, the new drum students (most of whom are actually highly accomplished drummers and professors of music) starting calling Musisi ‘The Professor.’ Left: James, Right: Musisi And that is why we found ourselves under beautiful trees on the campus, facing the 15 drums and six drummers of an Entenga ensemble. We used our time to record eight songs and interview Musisi, and survived a couple of he…
The Return of Bigwala News
…e thought to have been lost, to be rediscovered and grown. Now over 100 students have been trained in building the instruments, and have played at two royal celebrations. There seems to be a promising future for this important thread in the tapestry of Uganda’s cultural history. Sources: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/ugandan-music-bigwalahttps://ich.unesco.org/en/news/uganda-young-ugandans-mobilized-for-safeguarding-bigwala-music-and-dance…
Central and Eastern Kenya: Days 5-11:An Interview with Gregg Story
…to capture as much as we can. But as a Kenyan I am frightened that we are devoting so little to this. Where is the supply of talent to help us go further and deeper? Where are the funds? And where is the demand? This is not as easily digestible – there are not a lot of people ready to consume it. You have to care, you have to want to know the music. SW: Why isn’t there more focus on this? GT: I don’t know and it makes me angry. No offence to our…
Central and Eastern Kenya: Day 4 – Nkubu to Mukuuni to Nairobi Story
…was pretty difficult to get a good vocal or audio take. Also, we were accidentally constraining them by asking them to go through their songs one by one, when in fact, what they loved to do was race through all the songs at once, in a single act. We finally sorted through all this though. Ultimately we did three ‘takes’: Mucii: This is their introduction. The lead singer was Gitari Thura. This is a procession song and is used to energize the crow…
Central and Eastern Kenya: Day 3 – Nkubu to Mariene to Murungurune to Nkubu Story
…alks down the line cutting each boy, trying to do so in a single cut. In olden times, they talked about fast cutters that could do a line of boys in a minute – but, with a single knife, you can imagine the risk of damage and infection. In Steve’s case, the cutter was a doctor, with gloves, and using a separate surgeon’s knife for each boy. This takes longer and increases the anxiety. Steve said everyone is shouting at the boys as they go through t…
Central and Eastern Kenya: Day 2 – Muranga to Kangema to Nkubu Story
…own all group/song/take information, and kicks of song. In order, audio, then Video 1, 2 and 3 confirm they are ‘speeding’. Mr Clapperboard then announces song/take and ‘claps’ us all in. We keep audio/video rolling for entire take – this makes file management and preparation of videos far easier. Audio 1 and Video 2 keep their own log lists of songs, takes, times and special notes (like when someone walks in front of one of the cameras during rec…
Central and Eastern Kenya: Day 1 – Nairobi to Kiongwe to Muranga Story
…. Nzembanie na ivinda (Chasing After Time). This song talks about the President’s call to stop corruption. The call to chase after time comes from the society that won’t condone these malpractices. Kaniini Kaseo The group is led by Mumbi Wambua, in Kyolo style. The group is also from Kamba ethnic community (ukambani wa kitui) and also from the village of Kiongwe. They have 16 members and were formed in 1980. They performed 3 songs, all of which us…
Central Uganda: Day 7 – A Magic Day in Entebbe Story
…ort Guesthouse, Entebbe The Recording Site: The guesthouse has a lovely garden and we set up in one corner so we could run the recordings from one of our rooms. The setting is generally quiet, but it is in the name really – we are near the airport. Every day for an hour or two, the local military facility likes to start up all their helicopters. This is noisy. We had to shift recording at that point to inside one of the rooms. Hot but quiet. We ar…
Central Uganda: Day 6: Kampala to Entebbe Story
…a preserve for the lovely Ugandan greens and reds we’ve grown to love. Students walked everywhere with packs. We set up in the garden of James’s class room, under big trees, in tall grass. It had rained the night before and morning so everything was glistening. The Music Groups Bukaala Twesitule Troupe Their Leader is Charles Ikula and they were started in 1991, with over 200 members, 50 of whom are active. Musical style is Baganda. Group perform…
Central Uganda: Day 5 – Jinja to Kampala Story
No journey in the morning, other than to gather in the garden after breakfast. The Recording Site We woke, had an early breakfast, packed the personal luggage and then set up a recording session in the beautiful gardens of the Gately Hotel. The Nile Beat Artists The Nile Beat Artists joined us over the morning and we were ready to record at about noon. There were founded in 1990. The group were voted group of the year in Uganda in 2004. Their lea…
Interview: fusion band Ndoto Afrika News
…a County where most of the renowned Luo musicians come from. Ever heard of Otieno Aloka (the famous Ohangla artist)? He is our next door neighbour back at the village. We borrow each other’s salt from time to time. Why is the group called Ndoto Afrika? We represent a dream. A dream every African youth aspires to achieve. We represent the African Dream. Ndoto means ‘dream’ in Swahili, a local African language and Afrika is the Swahili way of spelli…