Music, technology, and humanity: Asɛmpayɛtsia as a compositional-analytical framework for reframing African indigenous knowledge in music theory

Abstract

Contemporary music theory continues to be largely shaped by Euro-American analytical frameworks, which often limit the recognition of alternative systems of musical organisation rooted in Indigenous knowledge. This paper addresses this gap by proposing Asɛmpayɛtsia as a compositional-analytical framework grounded in Akan-Mfantse epistemologies. Developed through practice-led artistic research, the framework translates the narrative and symbolic logic of Kodzi, a Ghanaian oral storytelling tradition, into musical structure through a triadic process of cultural excavation, compositional translation, and audiovisual reinscription. Using the case study Pɛrpl Greyps, the study demonstrates how Indigenous knowledge systems can generate music-theoretical structures. The analysis shows how cyclical temporality informs formal organisation, how loop-based processes shape rhythmic structure, how fixed motifs function as symbolic anchors, and how audiovisual integration extends musical form beyond sound. These features collectively propose an alternative model of musical organisation that departs from linear and hierarchical paradigms commonly associated with Western art music. By positioning composition as a site of theory-making, the paper contributes to ongoing debates in transcultural and postcolonial music theory. It argues that Indigenous epistemologies can serve as cultural content and generative systems for analytical and compositional thought. In this context, digital technologies are regarded as mediating tools that enhance, rather than replace, culturally grounded musical logic. The study ultimately shows how artistic research can broaden the epistemological scope of music theory while maintaining the continuity of intangible cultural heritage.