Shitakha & Balozi Band Group
The band was founded by Eric Shitakha in 2007 and is from the village of Likhovero. There are normally 8 people in the group. All songs are traditional but arranged by Eric and his partner Moses Alusa. Their style is Milbo. They use drums and shiriri, but also a Shikhorli which we haven’t seen before. This is a shaker/bell, where two ball bearings of different sizes/tones are welded into metal pouches and then he plays. Moses is considered the be…
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…
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. …
Bakuseka Majja Matta Group Group
…te 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”: If a woman refuses you, you go with a match and burn down her grass thatched house. “Atyamiisa Asekerera Adagha”: A person who is doing well will always laugh at one who is struggling. “Otabona Bukaire”: Even if I am old now, I’…
Bungoma Roots Band Group
The band, Bungoma Roots Band, started in 2005 when all the members were young men at the Kumugui Secondary School, in the Michimeru Village. Wilbert and his school friends formed a band and competed with other school bands. They were quite good and had all their school fees paid for. During breaks from playing at the school they took up ‘Marketing’ and showed up at any events that were being held. The band members held day jobs, mostly in constru…
Bigilia Group Group
…a Kusema: Includes a song with Leo, which is ‘I want to say’ Utalikologa Utalinywa: If you mix it, you will drink it. Kiingereza (English) This is Leo’s song from his album, Bangili (bangles)…
Winyo Staff Profile
…om the Lake Victoria region of Western Kenya) for “a bird”. The reason for this becomes apparent once you hear him sing. His voice has been likened to that of a singing bird. He is a singer/songwriter of great sensitivity and an acoustic guitar player, backed by his 5-piece band of accomplished musicians. Winyo derives his music and musical strength from his fore fathers whose African music was rich in melody and traditional harmonies. His musical…
Mr Bado Group
…n the coast region, earning him a performance slot at Safaricom Live in 2010. He has performed internationally, including in the USA as part of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2014. He released his album Kama Kazi with Ketebul Music. He mixes an impressive combination of styles, and part of his mission is to help preserve styles such as Taarab which are fading on the modern music scene. To do this, he performs at cultural events with his father…
Serengeti Group Group
This group, formed in 2016, was from the community of Kuria and played in the Ritungu style – this style refers to the form of dancing where the two lead dancers ‘nodded’ their head in almost a trance like way to the music and to their large eight-stringed instrument. We were mesmerized. Their instruments included the: Zeze, Virandi (shakers), and Ritungu (eight stringed instrument, huge Nyatiti). The group had three musicians in ‘red’ and two da…
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…
Nile Beat Artists Group
…previous member of the band was Seby Ntege, who left Uganda in the early 2000s and moved to the UK, keen to evolve his sound. He plays the Kora, and much of his writing combines West African instruments with an East African writing style. Song Meanings “Ikobo Kobo”: It is a type of herb. It is a song about a girl who is very bitter because her mother will not let her play with her friends freely. The mother explains to her that she was barren but…
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…r any settings between visits – such as what worked the last time you visited. They also help to make our Music Map work properly, so you can enjoy the music of the Cookies are also responsible for making sure that you don’t have to view the ‘Splash Screen’ each time you come to the site – thanks to cookies you only see it the first time. Opt-in It is possible to configure your web browser to either accept or reject cookies from a website. If yo…
Day 2 – Sunday 2nd July 2017 Story
…as followed by a short interview. Probably the most interesting finding of this session was the fact that younger traditional players do not (or only exceptionally) compose new tunes, but replicate existing old ones. Within the nyatiti tradition, tunes remain the same, whereas the 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…
Toroka Uje Group
…yanga – the shakers, made of empty tins filled with small pebbles….
Fanuel Amimo Group
…ately lost his sight but still as ever before continues to play omutibo. Raised in a family of musicians, Amimo started playing in early childhood. H recorded his first single in 1964 with David Amunga as producer, in a studio owned by Andre Crawford and Betty Tete. His second record was produced by Sammy Osere for Lamore record label, while his third song led to his fall out with Polygram records in 1974. After that, he started producing himself…
Influences songs from Singing Wells Group
…field recording visit we are joined by a talented musician who works with us on ‘Influences’ songs. They work with us in the field and also in the Ketebul Music studios in Nairobi to produce this new material. We believe our Influences series will refresh the origins of East African music and make it discoverable to a new generation of music fans….