Bill Odidi reporting on Singing Wells from London News
…ucted a number of interviews with Kenyan musicians who are now based in the UK. They also had the chance to visit Kenya House in Stratford as a guest of our friends at the Kenya Tourist Board. Here’s Bill’s article published in Business Daily Africa: http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Where+the+world+got+real+flavour+of+Kenya+in+London/-/1248928/1480860/-/djb5mf/-/index.html Photos from Kenya House …
Victoria’s reflections on the music of the Batwa Story
…of green hills, all covered with a patchwork of fields or lush vegetation. Clouds settle in the valleys. Willy can’t believe he’s actually above the clouds so I take a photo to prove it. We manage to record three songs before the rain comes so we move everyone under the cover of a tin roofed shelter. The kids gather round and are amazed to watch the dancing through the back of the video camera. Many of the children are wearing western style clothe…
How to Map 2: The Map Outline News
…e > Add Data > Add Data or select the Add Data icon. This will open a box; click this icon till you reach ‘Home – Documents/ArcGIS’: From here click on Folder Connections. This is where you will connect folders from elsewhere on your computer to ArcMap. Click on this icon: and select the folder where all of your GIS files are to be saved, in this case C:\How To Map. The folder will appear under Folder Connections. You can now go into the folder to…
Day 4: Discovery of the Young Stars… Story
…s://youtu.be/yP3s7QyT750 https://youtu.be/34kILyMgZbM https://youtu.be/XTfrBuyept0 https://youtu.be/viY2RgM0ZJE https://youtu.be/yv07MFvC7zQ https://youtu.be/4tQvFzqxbxA Kanindi Jazz Band The second group were the Kanindi Jazz Band, great dancers who also introduced us to our first Africa venture with the Vuvuzelas. They also had a wonderful Teng’ (the horn): Here’s the full band. The leader is second from right. The two lead dancers are third fro…
Day 3: Homa Bay and the Kochia Dancers Story
…(ref: for a great article on the Ramogi dance of the Luo, by Helen Odwar, click here): https://youtu.be/_qVuMFLJ9-M https://youtu.be/pwVlHnpw8Io https://youtu.be/B_M_OFRzDoU https://youtu.be/6AjxDKLPLkg https://youtu.be/2iGUcQRLRp4 Photo gallery Here is the chief drummer… Here is the coolest Kochia Dancer you will ever meet in Homa Bay: The band in full dance: One of the dancers plays the Tung’, the Luo horn: Note how beautiful the long head-dres…
Day 2: Focus on the Nyatiti, Orutu and DRUMS! Story
…hut. And here’s a close up of Organda: Now, let’s hear and watch him play: https://youtu.be/6Ayrekb9Qm0 https://youtu.be/Mqj8LYmbEJw https://youtu.be/B60npf2yLqU https://youtu.be/BQYtWOBQyBQ https://youtu.be/MJcIi3aY9zI Aloka Ohangla Group Fantastic group featuring the Orutu, the second major instrument of Luo music. If played by a master it takes on the role of the ‘fiddle’ in Irish or US Country music. This band played it well…. but the highli…
Day 1: The music of the Luo – starting at Rang’ala Village Story
…teng’s band, the Sega Sega Band: 5-6 vocalists and a couple of guitarists. https://youtu.be/pp_O-MYVbjg https://youtu.be/BUttehOfnKk https://youtu.be/-uRDY4G3_mo https://youtu.be/Z8N3nkdSB5g The Dodo Group Featuring Ogoya Nengo. The group sings in the Do Do style. Ogoya has exremely strong vocals and there are four ‘shaker’ players and amazing drummer and a set of dancers. https://youtu.be/k3vA-sSgurw https://youtu.be/VOhmHrO8E7s https://youtu…
Christine Kamau – “The Jazzist” News
…tine BBC Africa Beats: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17831507 Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thejazzist Reverbnation: https://www.reverbnation.com/christinekamau …
Day 6: The Studio @ Traveller’s Rest Hotel, Kisoro Story
…two vans. Both groups were fantastic, the first was the Gatera Community: https://youtu.be/ab4ZEqPNYpE https://youtu.be/yMq_r9XSXM0 https://youtu.be/lrowXUbwTSU https://youtu.be/lu1YXMKnJts https://youtu.be/BulZceL6gXs Kabahenda Batwa Community We now think we know where James Brown got “the act” from. You know the one – he dances and dances and pretends to be exhausted then falls to the floor. Handlers come over to get him and he shrugs them o…
Day 5 (much later): The Micyingo Group – guitar and bass! Story
…spirited song and dance… and this lady is their wonderful lead vocalist… https://youtu.be/pZzgr2PXZ3s https://youtu.be/gt4_CaZNN2c Then the guitar and bass took to the stage….if you are wondering where the bass is, the plastic bag turn out to be significant. We were bemused by this magic plastic bag, but it turns out it was covering a clay pot that supplied the song. The musician simply ‘beat boxed’ into the pot. And we soon figured out how to m…
Day 5 (PM): The ‘Togetherness Group’ from Kanyabukunga Story
…unity, telling them that they are beautiful. A lovely song for us to hear! https://youtu.be/MIxv2AOZ7XU https://youtu.be/iYuE_b8lzF8 https://youtu.be/bApTXsrdZ3A https://youtu.be/nh9LxM8OrfE https://youtu.be/CPJ5H7XvdT0 https://youtu.be/qQK5NiF7aSk ‘Abagyeni Beza’ https://youtu.be/7i3F5hPSPg8 The afternoon session wraps up at about 5pm. We say our farewells and head back to the Traveller’s Rest for the evening recording session. The Singing We…
Congratulations Singing Wells! News
…is wonderful to see these fruits of their expertise and enthusiasm. Janet Topp Fargion, Lead Curator World and Traditional Music, British Library website: http://www.bl.uk online gallery: http://sounds.bl.uk main catalogue: http://cadensa.bl.uk/cgi-bin/webcat…
Day 5: Recording the Mperwa Dancers Story
…u.be/wxzzC5qcweU https://youtu.be/mhzNpJLsZFA https://youtu.be/h_mVjup7_6s https://youtu.be/1zjh68iNClw Jessie leads the first Influences session and Winyo accompanies the lead singer and drummer on another…… …and then serenades one of the women outside her hut! The children like to get involved in what we are doing. These young boys enjoy exclusive access to the sound recording area, keeping a close eye on Andy and Willie and enjoying listening t…
Day 4 (later): Recording for ‘Influences’ with the Birara Dancers Story
…ecorded earlier. They have to sing into a mic. Often they are asked not to clap. Often they are asked not to dance while they sing. We do it to focus on sound quality, but we are fully aware that we are putting these fantastic musicians into an alien environment. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. With the Birara Dancers over the three days we worked with them it worked very well. Here they are on the first night. One thing to remember, whi…
Day 4: UOBDU and the Birara Dancers Story
…the ‘studio’ ready to record the Birara Dancers: The key sound engineers do a final check before we begin: Steve, Andy and Jesse do a final sound check before we begin. https://youtu.be/l-1IG790EOs https://youtu.be/u38YYaTQMIY https://youtu.be/uNeC4Dw4bu0 https://youtu.be/9FZeFgg4jKI https://youtu.be/VhR6f97o_6o https://youtu.be/ET41BPYiYXA https://youtu.be/aSxGwZ3k1eA…
Kenya (Coast): Day 3 – our final recording day Story
…er of the social centre and a key member of the Zigidigi Cultural Troupe.. https://youtu.be/KSzaveOB7SA https://youtu.be/N14zZK0dMQA Muungano Kayamba The groups is led by Futuma Ali Mwacheruve, dancing and singing in the Kayamba style (which is also the name of the wonderful percussion). It was our first ‘harvest dance’ (Mavuno), which celebrated the harvest and the arrival of the new baby. Lots of ‘props’ including a baby doll, hay stack and lo…