James Allen Staff Profile
…in Africa extensively during that time. Jimmy launched Abubilla Music in 2008, a small label dedicated to developing young recording artists. The following year he began developing the idea for the Singing Wells project with Ketebul Music, sharing their passion for preserving and promoting the traditional music of East Africa. Jimmy has an MBA from Harvard University and an MA in International Economics from Johns Hopkins. He is a dual US-British…
Kangema Mwomboko Dancers Group
…b-location, Kangema District. The group has 45 members and was started in 2000, but the original Mwomboko style was started in 1943. This is a ‘pairing’ dance style, inspired by colonial masters but adapted locally. Mwomboko, Peter Mwangi is the lead singer and plays the accordion. George Kinyua plays the Karing’aring’a (the metal ring). The group played 5 songs plus one magic moment: Mwomboko Ndongomothi Kariara Rumba Jeki Magic Moment: The group…
Introduction: Project overview and objectives Story
…rt is to reassess the original concept based on experiences from the field and to point out encountered challenges and difficulties in meeting concept objectives. Thus, I hope that this document will raise questions for discussion and generally assist in formulating a framework for future recording missions within this specific SW project series. Speaking from the position of research consultant, my recommendations and comments will refer largely…
Behind the scenes with Singing Wells Gallery
…A selection of photos from the field and the studio…….
Uganda: Music from the Central and Eastern Region Gallery
…Images from the Singing Wells field recording visit to Uganda 2013. Our journey took us from Entebbe to Kampala, Kidinda, Bukada, Mbale, Jinja and the small village of Idudi near Iganga where we recorded music of the Baganda, Bagisu, Bagwere, Basoga and Banyoli. We were fortunate to receive sponsorship from The Mara Group and Gorilla Tours for this visit and many of our photos feature our thank you message to both organisations. …
Martin Fredrick Muyeshi Staff Profile
…Broadcasting Cooperation’s Metro FM Radio as a Production intern from Jan 2006-June 2006. With the experience he had gained at KBC he then moved on to Nation Media, where he joined the station’s celebrated investigative journalistsMohamed Ali and John Allan Namu at NTV, working on their investigative feature documentary The Inside story, specifically the episode “Death in Ten Minutes” as a cameraman. In his free time he was freelancing as a musi…
Day 2 – Sunday 2nd July 2017 Story
…chniques vary from player to player, as well as the fact that not all know how to do it correctly. Meshack Okoth Okumu K’orengo then played for us, accompanied with a choir of 5 men of different age, 3 tunes on his nyatiti. The tunes were recorded as follows: Koblo gi long maratong’ Owino Konjwang’ Ojung’ Kogera The recording of songs was followed by a short interview. Probably the most interesting finding of this session was the fact that younger…
Filimbi Instrument
…A whistle. The word filimbi is Swahili for ‘Whistle’, ‘flute’ or ‘pipe’. – so the instrument name ‘Filimbi’ could refer to any whistle or flute type instrument. We heard this Filimbi in use by a member of the group Zaire Ndindingwara on our field trip to record the music of the Mijikenda in 2011, played alongside percussion – as a bed for the vocalist in the group….
Day 3 – Monday 3rd July 2017 Story
…which he had laid a piece of cow skin. This piece was placed on the resonator and installed using nails. He would then wash it with soap. The stages of nyatiti making we could not see were described later in an interview. Sewe explained how he treats siyala wood, from which arms and head of the nyatiti are made. He buries them in firewood to make the wood stronger. His explanation also revealed a more ‘liberal’ usage of many different types of wo…
Day 1 – Saturday 1st July 2017 Story
…define, at least, approximatively, the different stages of nyatiti making before arrival to the field in order to plan on filming economically. According to what was explained by Rapasa, who also makes the instruments, we identified 9 stages of nyatiti making. This would later facilitate following the instrument makers narratives and allow for comparison. Other pertinent information provided by Rapasa during our drive to Kisumu included the types…
Bill Odidi Staff Profile
…ing Corporation in Nairobi with over 12 years experience in media. He also works as a correspondent for Radio France International and contributes articles to the Daily Nation newspaper. Bill specialises in promoting music and arts in Kenya and has worked with Ketebul Music on two projects – Retracing the Benga Rhythm and Retracing Kikuyu Popular Music. Bill says, ‘Music is the heartbeat of a people. Where there is music there is life’. …
Ndaiga Muchiri Group
…Ndaiga Muchiri: He was a founding member of Kangema Mwomboko Dancers. Ndaiga started singing in 1943 and loves to entertain. He’s Kikuyu and plays Mwomboko wa 40 style. Mwomboko: a traditional song where he plays the Karing’aring’a (the ring)…
Hunter Allen Staff Profile
…past three years. He first joined us on our trip to record in Kalenjin in 2012 and was blown away by the talent he saw. Since then he has directed and edited Singing Wells’ first Lost Song Books documentary, which told the story of our repatriation project in 2014. The project involved the returning of recordings by Hugh Tracy to the Kalenjin and Luo communities from which he recorded in the 1950s. Hunter graduated from the University of Cambridge…
Kahithe Kiiru Staff Profile
…dance troupe tasked with the mission to preserve, promote and showcase Kenyan traditional music and dance worldwide. She has been a scientific advisor with Ketebul Music since 2015 and worked on Ngoma Zetu(2016) and Singing Wells Masters of the Nyatiti(2017) and Signing Wells Western Kenya(2018) projects….
We assemble in Kisumu Story
…Hunter have flown in. Jimmy and Hunter flew from London to Nairobi the day before. We are very happy to be joined by ethnomusicologist, Kahithe, and we welcome her to the Singing Wells family. A bit of background: Kahithe is a Ethnomusicologist and dance researcher but is also a dancer, choreographer and dance teacher. She is a skilled researcher with extensive experience in ethnographic research and fieldwork management. She has 8 years of experi…
Tabu Osusa Staff Profile
…, he is the founding Executive Director of Ketebul Music and for the last 30 years has been involved in the music industry as a promoter, producer, composer and band manager. He has been actively involved in shaping the careers and running some of the top recording and performing bands and artists in the country, including the much acclaimed Orchestra Virunga and The Nairobi City Ensemble, and more recently Iddi Achieng,’ Makadem, Suzanna Owiyo, O…