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Day 4: the Pokot Tribes Story

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…It’s our forth day of the trip (second recording day in the field) and, despite difficulties with internet connections, we are still managing to keep you posted on our progress and had an extraordinary moment when we received a Skype call from Andy in the Uk and he actually joined in a live Influences session!…

Music of Northern Uganda News

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Steve and Patrick have been to Uganda to carry out a recce for the Singing Wells field visit in December. They spent 6 days doing research for the trip, starting in Entebbe and Kampala and travelling to Gulu, Arua, Nebbi and Pakwach in the north to explore the music of the area. They covered a lot of ground, quite literally as the distances between these towns are considerable!     Entebbe/Kampala The recce started with a meeting with JanWillem v…

Singing Wells – Origins News

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The story of how Singing Wells started…. After two years of planning, the Singing Wells project was launched in March 2011 with our first field visit to Malindi to record the music of the Mijikenda. So, how did Tabu Osusa, one of Kenya’s most successful record producers end up in a remote Kenyan village, teamed with me, an American businessman, and a sound engineer from Gateshead? The Singing Wells project is a result of a chance meeting between…

Day 3: Kitale to Kapsokwony, Kenya Story

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We met for breakfast at 7am, departed from Kitale Club, Kitale at 8.30 and arrived at our first shoot of the trip – Kapsokwony Kenya, 56 kilometers from Kitale. We drove onto the athletic grounds of Chesamis High School to record four groups. Our fixer was ’50 Cows’ – clearly taken from 50 Cent, but taking the Kalenjin love of cattle to a new level. 50 Cows is a local journalist and student at United States International University (USIU). The Mu…

Day 2: Nairobi to Kitale & an interview with Pato Story

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Today we drove from Nairobi to Kitale, passing through Nakuru and Eldoret on the way. Last night, we agreed a late fee of 1,000 bob a minute for anyone arriving at the studio after 9 am. Money talks and the whole crew were there by 09.00. Everyone. That‘s the good news. The bad news was no one brought a key for the studio, forcing Tabu to have to drive home and back. We left an hour later. Drive good, but long (roughly 400 kms) with a few little…

Day 1: In Nairobi, packing and talking to Tabu Story

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We arrived last night in Nairobi. A flawless flight and passport control. The only hitch was actually leaving the car park which had one person taking money and doing various other things at the same time including chitchatting with passerbys. That took almost an hour. Preparations at Ketebul Music studio We came to Ketebul this morning to get ready for our trip tomorrow. Ketebul is buzzing with people getting everything packed up. Steve, project…

Victoria’s reflections on the music of the Batwa Story

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Here is my own report from the SWP trip to Uganda. It’s less about the music which is already well documented and more about my own particular reflections on what was a truly life-enhancing experience. SUNDAY The decision to join the Singing Wells team for this recording trip was a last minute one. Kathy, one of our Abubilla Music Foundation trustees, had to pull out of the trip quite suddenly which left a gap in the team’s resources. Kathy was d…

Return of the Batwa @ Ketebul Music Studios Story

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While in Western Kenya, we made a decision to bring some of the Batwa singers back from Kisoro to Uganda. We spent Saturday and Sunday recording them and the results are fantastic. The whole way back from Kisoro to Kisumu we talked about the Batwa and how much we loved the singers. We thought about bringing them to Nairobi sometime in the future. We then decided the future is now and called Henry Neza to see if he would be willing to travel with…

Day 4: Discovery of the Young Stars… Story

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After a very rainy start, we conclude a brilliant afternoon of wonderful dance and song. And we discover the Young Stars… From our home base of Homa Bay, we drove to Rongo, passed the town of Rodi Company (named because it was first populated by a Road Company). We started in the morning at the compound of Jose Kokeyo, a legendary Luo Benga guitarist, but the rain attacked and we had to move. We ended up at the DRC Rongo in the back garden, recor…

Day 3: Homa Bay and the Kochia Dancers Story

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With Lake Victoria as the backdrop to the studio we recording the visually spectacular Kochia Dancers. We drove from Kisumu to Homa Bay; we’re on Lake Victoria now at Homa Bay (still 1PM on your Lake Victoria dial) but a little more south and a little more west, on the south shore of the Winam Gulf. After a long drive, we set up at the hotel in a beautiful field against the lake – we’re surrounded by camels and pelicans, which is frankly a bit of…

Day 2: Focus on the Nyatiti, Orutu and DRUMS! Story

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We are based in Kisumu, at the Nyanza Club, deep into Luo-land tribal music. Today we are focusing on some of the best Nyatiti and Oruti players around. And we discovered the Keith Moon of Luo drumming. Woke up at the Nyanza Club, outside Kisumu, on the shores of Lake Victoria. This is the view of Lake Victoria we face in the morning before we set out to the next village, Saiya: As we will do six times on this trip, we pass the equator. We can’t…