Ghana: Kwan Pa to premiere new film honouring palm-wine music

Titled Sweet Palmwine and helmed by Wahala Productions, the project – according to frontman Asah Nkansah – strings together stories from the group’s recent six-track EP Palm Wine Music.

“Instead of working on individual videos for all the songs, we decided to pick the stories in the songs and then put together a movie,” Ansah told Accra-based Joy 99.7 FM. 

Sweet Palmwine combines music drama and romantic comedy. Drawing inspiration from Egbert Adjesu’s 1970 classic I Told You So, the film’s cast features established actors Frank Amugi and Pascaline Edwards alongside fresh faces like Aaron Adatsi, Ophelia Walker, Rosa Korkor Mensah and Willie Chembez.

Palm-wine music, which began among the Kru people of Liberia and Sierra Leone in the 1920s, derives its name from a traditional alcoholic beverage made from fermented palm sap and serves as a key influence on highlife and other styles. It is defined by its two-finger guitar plucking and syncopated 4/4 meter, with Ghana’s Agya Koo Nimo widely recognised as a leading figure.

The four-piece Kwan Pa, active since 2017, incorporates traditional instruments associated with the genre, such as the Seperewa (harp-lute), Frikyiwa (castanet), Dawuta (twin bell), Shekere (big rattle), Gome (square bass drum), Kpanlogo drums, and acoustic guitar.

“We believe that African music is never outdated or perhaps irrelevant as some people may perceive it to be,” the band said. “It is with this rich music heritage in mind that Kwan Pa seeks to explore some of these styles and present them in exciting performances to create a tranquil and entertaining ambience for people to come to terms with African music, and further enjoy it. This will, in turn, promote African music since the performances are not geographically limited but move from audience to audience.”