Day Five: January 22, 2019 Mwanza Continued Story
…He was the Prime Minister of the United Republic of Tanzania, from 2008-2015. He is now a Patron of the Cultural Yamnyausi Foundation. That evening both Ministers hosted a fund raiser for the Foundation and invited Singing Wells members as special guests. We were greatly honoured to be part of such an important evening and enjoyed the entertainment and the MC’s skill as a fundraiser! Meeting with Mizengo Kayanza Peter Pinda….
The Revival of the Entongooli Page
…enga Drums and the Bigwala, has travelled to visit Mr Mukadisi, who is educating a group of children on how to build and play this instrument in the hopes of continuing it’s legacy. Below you will find footage and information about the Entongooli and how the project is working to restore this instrument back to it’s former glory. Skip ahead to your preferred section… A Musical Education Finding the Materials Simple but Effective Tools Getting th…
Andy Patterson Staff Profile
…udied at the University of Surrey as part of their Tonmeister course, graduating in 2005. He has since worked in the music industry in a variety of roles, performing both engineering and technical duties for a wide range of clients, from the world of pop music through to film composers. He has worked with Abubilla Music for around 5 years and has co-engineered and produced all of the releases to date. His past clients have included the late Gerry…
Day 2 – Sunday 2nd July 2017 Story
…e lyrics can change, evolve. They are the fruit of a specific player’s imagination and can be adapted to the occasion and/or to tell the praise of a different person. The fact that Meshack picked up the instrument only once his father had passed away brought about several hypothesis on the meaning of this generational gap and questioned the possibility of an existing cultural taboo concerning two generations of players from the same home playing a…
Day One: 7 March 2022 (Shikangania and Mukumu) Story
…meeting with Johnstone Mukabi since we had previously featured him on the Singing Wells project in April 2018. He later came to Ketebul Music studios in Nairobi in May that year and recorded a few songs that are yet to be officially released. Going through a narrow winding road we arrived at the Small Matters Park, our first location for the day. The Ketebul Music technical crew is well experienced in field recording routine preparations, having b…
Here for the Music? Page
…. For some of our stories, videos and the chance to listen to some of our Singing Wells Albums, head to the links below. Stories Read some of our most memorable stories from the field, featuring stunning photography taken by our team. Learn more about the communities we meet, the instruments that are being played and the background stories behind some of the photohraphy on our website. Albums Head here to see the collection of Albums we have creat…
Imachina Group
…: This is a song that is encouraging the young men to be brave and go forward. Magic Moment: We then did a magic moment isolating the percussion….
Otieno Aloka Group
…g bicycle brake cables. When played with a bow, orutu creates different notes determined by finger pressure against the central stick. It provides a fast-moving, melodic accompaniment, similar to the fiddle in folk and country music….
Shitakha & Balozi Band Group
…a shaker/bell, where two ball bearings of different sizes/tones are welded into metal pouches and then he plays. Moses is considered the best Shikhorli maker in the area. Here’s the band….
Global Influences Project: Loop Library Page
…ral Group – 154BPM Nyatiti group – 158bpm Kidinda Cultural Group – 158bpm singingwells · SW Samples – Adungu Cultural Troupe 111BPM Adungu Cultural Troupe – 111BPM The Adungu Cultural troupe are based in Kampala, Uganda and the main focus of their music is (you guessed it) the Adungu. You can find out more about the band here. You can watch the full visual performance of this song on our Youtube channel by clicking here. Download the loop Aloka Oh…
Kochia Traditional Dancers Group
…nd in 1965, and since then its members have dedicated themselves to entertaining guests at countless national celebrations and holidays, private events, as well 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 pe…
Pius Wafula Group
…founded his own group. Today the group counts 5 members who 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 amaze…
Singing Wells Stories Page
…l the story of their forefathers through music and dance – the dancers imitating the Nile as it snakes through Africa. To find out more about the day of recording the Marakwet, view the field report. To listen to the music of the Kalenjin, check out the Kalenjin of Kenya. To visit the group page for the Sagat Traditional Dancers, visit their page here. If you haven’t signed up to the Singing Wells mailing list – please do. It is the best way to ke…
Global Influences Project: Artist Submissions Page
…n 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 has been transformed from traditional dance accompaniment, to a house track that you could hear in any major club this summer! “It was a thrilling and humbling h…
Field Recording Report by Kahithe Kiiru Story
…y famous player of the litungu– a seven-string traditional lyre, which originates in the Bukusu sub-group of the Luhya community. Namatete started playing the litungu in 1982, but founded his first serious band in 1992. His current band, simply called “Namatete Band – Bungoma” counts five members and performs locally at community celebrations and rituals (such as weddings, burials, etc.), as well as at political rallies and events by the County go…
The Best of Singing Wells 2011 Album
…A collection of some of our favourite tracks from our trip in 2011. NOTE: some of the tracks on this album also feature on the release ‘The Batwa of Kisoro’ under different titles. …