By Stefano Sita Nne
It's that time again!
Once again we are heading out to another Singing Wells excursion, this time to Rift Valley and Trans Nzoia.
www.singing wells.com
Together with our partners Abubilla Music (www.abubillamusic.com), we will spend a total of 6 days in the field recording music of the Kalenjin.
The Kalenjin community belongs to the Nilotic ethnic group. These highland Nilotes include eight culturally and linguistically related groups or tribes, namely Kipsigis, Nandi, Tugen, Marakwet, Keiyo, Pokot, Sabaot and Terik. The Kalenjin languages spoken by these groups include the Keyo (Keiyo), Cherangany, Tugen, Nandi and Kipsigis (Kipsikiis, Kipsikis) languages (excerpt from www.kenya-information-guide.com).
The SWP Rift Valley chapter kicked off on the 2nd of March with the arrival of Jimmy, Kathy and Hunter from London. Kathy joins us for the first time as an observer from the Abubilla Music Foundation, who have been supporting the Singing WElls Project from it's inception. Hunter is also a new member to the SWP team, and he joins our video section as Camera Op 03.
Also new to the project is guitarist extraodimaire Eddie Grey. Eddie who justy recently released his sophomore album titled Stories by The Lake, will feature as the influences artist.
THe itinerary for this trip wil see us ariving in Kitale on the 4th of March. With Kitale as the Hq for the first 2days, we will travel to Mt Elgon and Kapenguria focusing on the Sabaot and the Pokot.
On the 7th of March we will head out to Iten and Kapsowar to record the Marakwet and the Keiyo with Eldoret as our Hq.
The 8th of March, our final day of recording, will see us travel to Baringo to record the music of the Tugen, before finally heading back to Nairobi on the 9th of March.
This won't be the end of the project just yet. During the excursion, we will identify singers and performers from the regions visited and bring them back with us to Ketebul Music studios in Nairobi. We will record these artists for our influences sessions over the weekend of the 10th and 11th.
Stay tuned for more updates on the SWP Rift Valley/ Trans Nzoia Chapter. You can also visit FIELD REPORTS on Singing Wells websites for more updates, videos and soundbites from the field.