Nana Osei Twum Barima - Message to my Ancestors (Zephyrus) [African Music]

Hailing from Ghana, but now resident in Ghent, Belgium, Nana Osei Twum Barima is a seperewa (an ancient harp-lute) playing, percussion striking, keen collaborator, dancer and singer, rooted in African tradition - which he studied at the University of Winneba, with an open mind to where these traditions should go next.

The first thing that strikes you on hitting play is the deeply soulful Ghanaian vocals with an ancestral echo that glide through the speakers, ushered by a distant throb and most surprisingly a guiding sitar light from Nicolas Mortelmans. It's an evocative scene, and inventive global fusion, that conjures images of early explorers and merchants pioneering trade routes from India, across the Middle East, East Africa and over to the continent's West Coast, probably at great, even the ultimate expense.

The lyrics are apparently about the trials and tribulations of adulthood, and the reality dreamed of as a kid not meeting those youthful expectations. And apart from a subtle, bubbling bass line and the faintest of metronomic percussion that's about it, and really, you just don't want any more. There's a purity and an essence here that doesn't need diluting by overproduction and endless layering; a deep soul that needs baring, and a consummate African music rooted, global fusion sound from an accomplished, inventive artist that needs a wider audience. Tune in.

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Playlist Companion

Find Barima in the Slow World Playlist.