A Journey In Sound

 

From the churring call of the bird to the voices of our communities, Nightjar carries sound across homelands

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Sound Journey

 

The Nightjar bird journeys across landscapes unbound by separations of geographical or political boundaries. It witnesses the vibrancy of nature and human expression and experiences the beauty of our shared world.

Kwame is the originator of the Nightjar Project. It was he who first saw and heard this bird with two homes and realised it was a kindred spirit. With two homes and two cultures in his own heart, and a lifelong dedication to sharing his heritage through art and music, a movement was born, and an idea took flight.

These short slices of sound allow you to soar alongside the Nightjar and experience the culture of Ghana with Kwame as your guide.

As you listen, we invite you to ask yourself…

What feels the same or different to the sounds you experience in your daily life?

From Dusk Till Dawn and Back Again

Dusk is when the forest prepares itself, alive with quiet movement. From a house on stilts, built to share the ground with snakes and lizards, you hear the chorus of evening — and by dawn, the river carrying its own song.

Buipe Frogs

by Artist Name | In Buipe, the Black River runs through the town. During the rains, one frog begins and others answer until the whole night vibrates with sound — a chorus that can vanish in an instant at the smallest disturbance.

The Penny Bus Station

At the Tro-Tro bus station, destinations are called aloud instead of written down. Voices rise, bargaining, urging, promising. The air hums with human sound: movement, direction, possibility.

Goji Music

by Artist Name | The Goji, a one-stringed instrument, can only be played with your own song. Here a friend’s bow sings, welcoming family and community with the sound of origin and belonging.

The Joy Of Rain

When it rains in Ghana, streets turn to rivers, rushing with danger and force. Yet the rhythm of rain also fills the spirit — cleansing, soul-deep, joyful.

Kids Have Come to the River

The river is never silent. Children’s laughter and play fold into its current, making joy itself part of the landscape.

Damba Festival

The talking drum moves through the harvest festival, calling names, greeting families, blessing food. It is a time when many gather to share music, joy, and good fortune.

Life on the Black River

The Black River speaks in many voices: flowing water, children laughing, old colonial chains clanging as people still grip them to cross. History and living memory bound together in sound.

Story Time

Spoken stories are never the same twice. They shift with the teller, the day, the mood. This tale in Gonga and Ashanti reminds us stories live best when they move, change, and breathe with us.

The Bird Inbetween

The Nightjar has long carried an otherworldly reputation, often linked with lost souls and unseen forces. Its call at dusk can feel mechanical, eerie, and hard to place — a voice that seems to come from everywhere and nowhere at once.

Voices

Nightjars calling from the Forest

A Nightjar Tale for children and families

by Amy Hardingson

A Nightjars Story of mixed heritage

by Adeola Sheehy

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