Ketebul Music: A Year in Review News
…ld can see the young sing their songs. And the young can hear traditional music. We used a lot of current hip hop artists to work with us. We are launching the CD at Kenya 50 in December and we also have video as well. Music without visual doesn’t have the impact we need. Each of us has our favorite song from this. Mr Lenny and Makadem did a song called Harambee, done originally by Daudi Kabaka. The kings of the Baganda performed Kabakawhich we lo…
Preserving Threatened Heritage News
…spaper, New Vision, warns about the need to preserve ‘Bigwala’, the royal music of the Busoga region. Bigwala music is performed at ceremonies such as coronations, funerals and, recently, other social events. It is the music of gourd trumpets and is accompanied by a specific dance. UNESCO cites Bigwala music as playing ‘a significant role in contributing to unity among the Basoga people’, as it narrates the history of the Basoga people, especially…
Report from Womex 2013 News
…lculated that music is their biggest export and so has set up the African Music Forum to make it easier for musicians to make a living – from visas and flights to financial support. It is an exciting time, and seems to chime in with what Eddie Hatitye announced for Music in Africa. Members of the Music Producers Guild led a discussion on ‘What do producers actually do?‘ – the answer seems to be ‘everything’. The role of producer has many meanings,…
SWP Uganda 2013 – our proposed itinerary News
…Tales from the Acoustic Planet’ won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album. Day 7 & 8: Music of the Baganda and ‘Influences’ After five days travelling in the field we will head back to the city for our final two days of recording which will focus on the music of the Baganda and also the recording of new newly arranged songs for our Influences series. First, our Baganda musicians. We will be recording Albert Bissaso Ssempeke, who…
The Birara Batwa Community Story
…ndah and it was there that we recorded our first ‘Influences’ session – a fusion of Batwa music from the Birara singers and contemporary music from Winyo, including ‘Imparake Yagahinga’, a song in celebration of the National Park which used to be the forest home of the Batwa. The Birara Singers stayed in Kisoro for the next two days and the female vocalists recorded more songs with Winyo. Francis also recorded two traditional Batwa songs: “Inanga…
A recording studio which fits into the back of an SUV Story
…ic production. The microphones we have chosen are industry standard models used in studios the world over but, most likely, not seen in the villages of East Africa. The equipment has been carefully selected so it can easily fit into a few holdalls and four rugged peli-cases which protect everything while in transit, whether it be on a plane from Nairobi or in the back of the van on a bumpy track to one of the remote villages we are heading for. We…
The Key to Sustainable Aid in Africa? Perhaps we should follow the music. News
…icians and dancers, sound and video engineers, and a bit to pay African drivers to bring us to the villages. These monies are used to pay the performers and record the performance. These monies are used to keep the music alive and to help in a small but very critical way to keep the performers focused on the music, so the music can support the village, so the village can support the communities and the communities can become a channel for aid and…
What people say about Singing Wells News
…cked out your project…it’s great that you are dedicated to keeping indigenous music alive. Very best wishes and I hope we can keep in touch.” Scott Mathews, Music Producer, California: “…what you are doing as a non-profit is very special and soulful. I firstly want to congratulate you on your efforts and achievements and secondly let you know I am here in California wondering if there is anything I can do to help out…? If the timing wasn’t so tigh…
The New Singing Wells website News
…oney will go back to the performer, wherever possible. Search facility We’ve added a search facility so you can easily find the information you’re looking for. And finally… Please get in touch with us via Twitter or Facebook and let us know what you think of the new site! Our thanks go to Wes Burden and the team at Nebulo Strata who worked tirelessly on the site. …
The Singing Wells supports Ketebul Music’s ‘Kenya at 50’ project News
…Salaam for Hi Fielity promotions. In later life, he was involved less in music and his business interests widened to include that of the Photo Me franchise in Kenya. His daily diaries between the years of 1970 and 2003 are comprehensively written and prove and interesting insight into life in Nairobi at this time. His diary writings tail off towards the end of his life. He died in Nairobi, on the 24th January 2004, aged 84. Colmore was a keen pho…
The Beat of Kenya News
…drea explained that she was planning an exhibition of traditional African musical instruments and during her research she had come across Singing Wells. We were able to provide Andrea with some information about the instruments and, importantly, some photos and videos of the instruments being played, which are from our field trip to Western Kenya in November 2011. The instruments now on display at the Manitoba Museum were donated to the museum in…
A quick summary of the Singing Wells Project News
…nd of Freedom, some of them playing the Likembe. The government forces in frustration spared the extended band and went to the next village. Again, the elder led the village men in a rendition of Uganda Land of Freedom. They went to village after village and everyone could play the song and everyone was a member of the band. The band leader had learned after the slaughter of the village next door two years before and has spent the months in betwee…
73,603 views on YouTube News
…. The music is performed by Kamuntu ‘Tiny’ Moses accompanied by our Influences artist Winyo. And in first place with over 21,700 views is ’71 Hours to Monday’- a global track from Abubilla Music featuring musicians from Sao Paulo, Nairobi and London which was produced to support the launch of the Singing Wells project in 2011. Keep watching! …
Victoria’s reflections on field trip to Northern Uganda News
…leader, the follower So sing us your story and dance us your life And show us your world that is hidden inside Sing us your history and dance us your life In musical words where your heritage lies We travel a road of music discovery The map and the route to cultural recovery We witness your history, your stories unfurl We capture your memories to share with the world You travel a road and must keep on walking And peddling the wheels that keep your…
The Influences Series from Singing Wells News
…Wells team embarks on a 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. Newly released Influences song – Missing March 2013 saw the release of an ori…
Music of the Batwa: video playlist News
…ory of their history, culture and the problems they face today. To read the daily field reports from this trip, click here. Video playlist The trip was facilitated by the generous support of donors to our charity the Abubilla Music Foundation, including a grant from the Institute of International Education….