Rain at Brussels Central Station, hand luggage, and a seperewa. That is where Nana Osei Twum Barima begins “Belgium and Rain“. “I was alone in the rain at Brussels Centrale, just with my hand luggage and my seperewa,” he says. “Over time, I realized that rain is part of Belgium’s culture. I grew to love it. Now, whenever it rains, it reminds me of my beginnings, the survival and resilience.” Released on 27 February through Belgian label Zephyrus Records, the single is the first chapter of his debut album Journey to the Unknown, due on 1 May.

Born in Ghana in 1999 and now based in Ghent, Nana is a singer, percussionist, dancer and seperewa player. The seperewa is a traditional Ghanaian harp-lute, and its bright plucked lines carry the song from start to finish. He studied traditional music and dance at the University of Winneba before moving to Belgium, working within Ghanaian traditions including Kundum, Akom, Palmwine and Nwomkro. Roland Van Campenhout, one of Belgium’s most travelled blues musicians, plays guitar and sings on the track: a voice that has spent a lifetime crossing musical borders meeting one that has just begun.

Nana has also collaborated with Dirk Brossé, Lara Rosseel and Osei Korankye. Journey to the Unknown was written in the years after the death of his father in childhood, which he describes as an impromptu journey into a new life and environment, and the album is now available to pre-order on CD, LP and digital formats. Listen to “Belgium and Rain” via this link.

Listen to “Belgium and Rain” via THIS LINK