Music industry needs proper archival facilities to preserve our music culture —Trigmatic

Ghanaian rap sensation, Enoch Nana Yaw Oduro-Agyei, popularly known as Trigmatic has emphasized the urgent need for proper archival storage facilities to protect Ghana’s music heritage.

According to him, the current lack of adequate facilities poses a threat to the preservation of the country’s cultural identity. While acknowledging the presence of a few storage facilities in the capital, Trigmatic highlighted their poor conditions and lack of resources.

Speaking in a recent interview with Graphic Showbiz, the ‘Wo Sika Nti’ crooner warned that without these facilities, the valuable contributions of those who have shaped Ghana’s music scene could be lost forever.

“If care is not taken, we risk losing all the works of people who have toiled and done so much for our culture, vanishing into oblivion maybe in the next 10 or 20 years.

“In addition to that, it is very worrying that people interested in exploring the country’s music heritage receive very little or no information because there are no well-resourced facilities to cater for such needs,” he lamented.

Trigmatic also expressed concern about the limited access to information on Ghana’s music heritage due to the absence of well-equipped facilities. Drawing a comparison with other countries, he noted the accessibility of music records dating back to the 1950s and 60s in dedicated stores and libraries, a contrast to the situation in Ghana.

He called for greater accessibility to Ghana’s music history, emphasizing the importance of opening up this information to a wider audience.

”When you go to other places, you have streets where you know you can get all the records. In a place such as Cape Town in South Africa, there’s a whole street housing record stores where you can walk in and get whatever you want from the 1950s, 60s, etc.

“It is happening here in Ghana, but it’s in Accra Central. Sometimes, you have to go to the Arts Centre to find some of these records. However, it shouldn’t be a culture where you have to belong to a certain community to get access. We should open it up for people to begin to tap into some of this information,” he explained.

The renwoned artiste further expressed optimism that if policymakers and stakeholders heed his call and invest in facilities such as music museums and libraries, it would allow people to explore the rich music history of Ghana.

He detailed that access to adequate archival facilities would also shape the future by serving as a valuable resource for researchers, artistes and students, noting that it will inspire new generations of creatives, as well as solidify Ghana’s position as a hub for African music and culture.