Hannah interviews Evelyn Ojok – Acet, Northern Uganda News
…nly performed by the women). Today the reason there was a man playing the drums is because one of our women is sick, normally there are no men in the performance. In Gulu when I want to meet with the other women I play drums and they all come, usually in the evening. I want to push the music to it’s highest level so that we can get some sponsorship from NGOs or from the Ugandan Government. I have opened up a bank account for us to make this easier…
Northern Uganda: Day 6 – Soroti to Kampala (a driving story) Story
…well paved two lane road. We have moved from sheer terror that we will be run off the road by Mac trucks to a growing lack of confidence that we will arrive in Kampala before the hotel kitchens closed. Given that we forgo lunch as a rule we find ourselves highly dependent upon night time eating. Just over the sounds of speeding trucks and crashing bikes on the shoulders, you can begin to hear the faint rumblings of our tummies. Two lane nice road…
Northern Uganda: Day 5 – from Pakwach to Soroti (a road trip) Story
…the party in power it seems – at least by our road test. During the day, trucks are trucks. They lead a lot, overburdened with their cargo and the dozen or so folks hitching a ride to supplement the drivers income. Then there are the ‘taxi’s’ – in Uganda, these are the white vans with English names, ferrying folks up and down the highway. They are fun because each is covered with decidedly random words, like Gorgeous, Amen, Big Mama, Jesus Love,…
Singing Wells – The Story So Far News
…110 page book is a detailed representation of our mission to celebrate and share the unique cultural music heritage of East Africa. Support the Singing Wells project and buy a copy! You can buy a copy of the Singing Wells book at the Blurb Bookstore – just click this link: Singing Wells – The Story So Far The profits we receive from the sale of each book go directly to our UK charity The Abubilla Music Foundation which supports the Singing Wells…
Northern Uganda: Day 4 – night recording at Fort Murchison Story
…antastic, especially given the full day of travel. They had about 15 bul (drums) and 2 drummers and a smallish ndara (xylophone). Their lead male singer was about 6 foot five and commanded the whole group and the growing audience with a loud voice, great dance and fun drumming. They sang Myeli, Wuon Nyaci, Cwara Rac, Ngeta Romo, Atyekedec Gen, and Apako Orang’a. Each of their songs followed a rough pattern: the lead singer sang out the main theme…
ATTA is following Singing Wells News
…bout the project. Earlier this month I was their guest at the World Travel Market at Excel and I met representatives from a number of organisations and companies in the travel and tourism industry operating in the East African counties we are visiting during our field recording trips. I met Nigel Vere Nicoll, Chief Executive of the African Travel & Tourism Association and explained a little about Singing Wells and our aims to record and celebrate…
Reporting back on recording trip to Kisoro, SW Uganda News
…soro. Dear Victoria, The Batwa of Kisoro as a result of your visit felt an international belonging and recognition. Through the generation of money by the Abubilla Music team to the Batwa who performed their cultural dance, the Batwa managed to acquire things like goats, clothes, seeds, utensils, beddings and tarpaulins/tents to cover their leaking houses. Eating good food among Batwa families was also another priority and change. After the visit…
Northern Uganda: Day 4 – Pakwach to Widiang’a, Nebbi Story
…dara (the amazing Ugandan xylophone) The Rigi-Rigi (similar to the Kenyan orutu) The Agwara (trumpets) The Adungu (the harp we’ve encountered every day now) The group was formed in 1993 and is professional, touring Kampala and other parts of Uganda, sponsored by NGO’s and typically campaigning for things like HIV Awareness, Cultural preservation, etc… Except for the fact they wear clothes under their animal skins, they work very hard to be as trad…
UOBDU report on Singing Wells visit to the Batwa, Kisoro Uganda News
…to record the music of the Batwa. Since then we have been pleased to hear news updates from our friends and hosts at UOBDU about the Batwa communities we visited. This week UOBDU Coordinator Zaninka Penninah sent a detailed report to us with feedback about all the music groups who performed for the Singing Wells project. The good news is that being involved in the project seems to have given the groups a new and added pride for their music and ha…
Northern Uganda: Day 1 – Entebbe to Gulu Story
…for bikes, cows and children to wander on the shoulder. The big horrible trucks that have haunted us in trips past were rare and passing was generally safe. Still, each of the cars counted about 5 ‘brushes with death’, any one of which would be a lifetime of stories for London. We drove. We ate our packed lunch. We drove. We drove. And we raced faster and faster to make it to Gulu before DARK, our true horrible enemy on drives. Darkness just fell…
The Tribal and Musical Structure of East Africa – Worldmap Research News
…g and wind instruments are played together: Distribution of all string instruments Distribution of all wind instruments What was most difficult about this field of research? Tati handled most of the primary research, and, naturally, this was difficult as information on the subject is fairly scarce and sometimes contradictory. However, the beauty of the map (as with search engines and online encyclopedias such as Wikipedia), it is…
African Strings: The Nyatiti and The Adungu News
…ed upon to play at weddings or funerals, as it can be played as a solo instrument. The intsrument is often performed with a dance, called ‘Goyo Otenga’. Otenga is the Luo word for eagle, and so dancers move their shoulders, arms, fingers, legs and feet like an Eagle. The Luo often use the nyatiti in ‘Benga music’, a genre of Kenyan popular music. Guitarists from Western Kenya sought to imitate the instrument, and so in Benga, the electric bass gui…
Day 9: Ketebul Studios with Ben Kisinja Story
…pace for videos. We recorded right through to 9PM and the ‘northern folks’ rushed to the airport. The Ketebul crew continued to work in the studio, led by Jessie who loves bringing Singing Wells musicians into the studio. Hunter and Jimmy will board our flight at about 11PM and with a 12 midnight wheels up, we will officially end the ‘field visit.’ Now the hard work begins of producing all the videos… Jimmy March 11th, Joma Kenyatta International…
Background on the Music of Northern Uganda News
…ere the men drum around the outside and women dance in the middle without drums (typically in Uganda, drums are only for men). A group of elderly men would perform it during the time of crowning the chief and then when he dies. It is also performed to entertain important personnel on big occasions. Being the only royal dance, it is one of the most important of the many dances of the Acholi: 2. We then plan to record a group performing the Otole wa…
Day 8: Ketebul Studios with the Otacho Young Stars Story
…ing throughout it all. Other than recording, we continued to blog our little hearts out, write up trip reports, strategies, lessons learned, etc… The good news is we have now fully planned out field visits through 2014. Jimmy 10 March 2012…
Day 7: In Nairobi – sponsors, blogs and strategy Story
…he Van Group, having suffered a more fundamental breakdown wakes up in Nakuru facing a morning of car repairs and an afternoon drive home to Nairobi. The Jeep group spent the morning on blogs, the afternoon with sponsors and the evening working on the Singing Wells Strategy through 2014. In discussions with sponsors, one of the major themes was how to ensure the music we discover and capture from the field is truly relevant to new generations. We…