Ghanaian singer, multi-instrumentalist and seperewa player Nana Osei Twum Barima has announced his debut album Journey to the Unknown, a record informed by his move from Ghana to Belgium, his family’s musical lineage and a period of major personal change. Blending traditional Ghanaian forms like Kunduma and Nwomkro with influences picked up in Europe, the upcoming album has a strong focus on acoustic storytelling. The seperewa, a traditional harp-lute tied closely to Nana’s heritage, is central to the project. “I’m keeping the tradition, but also playing it my way,” he says. The album also features collaborations with Belgian blues veteran Roland Van Campenhout and Antwerp-based sitar player Nicolas Mortelmans.
Journey to the Unknown reflects a leap into the unknown, just like the one Nana took. Moving to Belgium without a clear plan, Nana found himself navigating a completely new environment alone. “I didn’t really have a concrete plan, that’s why it’s a journey to the unknown. I just knew I wanted to build my own world,” he explains. That sense of uncertainty runs through the album, alongside a more hopeful perspective as he puts it, “Sometimes you are lost, but maybe you are lost in the right direction.”
His connection to music goes back generations, but committing to it fully only came after the death of his father in 2017. “I lost my dad on the 1st of January 2017,” he recalls. “It was very shocking. We are five siblings, so after that I had to become a man.” A vivid dream ultimately changed his direction toward music, as he explains:
“I had a dream that I was in a forest, and I was looking for a tree to make an instrument. Then I saw my great grandfather, and he handed me the perfect piece of wood. When I woke up, I knew I had to follow music.”
Nana was also encouraged by his grandmother, also a musician, whose support helped him commit fully. “When I told her I wanted to continue with seperewa, she told me, ‘Now I can die in peace,’ and then she blessed me,” he says. “She started recording stuff for me, because she wanted to give me all the information before she died.”
Ahead of the album’s release on June 12th through Zephryus, Nana has shared two singles. The first, ‘Belgium and Rain’, features Roland Van Campenhout, and draws from his arrival in Brussels and how a difficult first night gradually took on new meaning: “I realised it’s going to rain anyway, so I just have to learn to love it.” The latest single to emerge, ‘Message to My Ancestors’, captures a difficult moment of doubt and questioning, as he explains, “I wrote this when I was really struggling. I am asking my ancestors, Is this what life is about? Why didn’t you tell us?”. Listen to both tracks below.
