Mark Lupescu

PERSONAL JOURNEY: My name is Mark Lupescu, I was born in Romania and I immigrated to Germany at the age of fourteen, and I graduated from the Leipzig Conservatory as a percussionist.

In 2001 I traveled to West Africa (Gambia and Mali) and Cuba (2005) where I studied percussion with different masters. In 2003 my journey with the kora began, an ancestral 21 strings harp that opened the space to play in many different bands and recordings. The kora is my main instrument still now.

Music brought me to Barcelona in 2008 where I discovered the power of a new instrument, the handpan. I did play this instrument in different concert halls, yoga rooms, and open spaces so I knew very well which qualities to search for in a handpan: stable and equilibrated note fields, nice timbre, good sustain, and pleasant overtones.

I learned the art of tuning steel thanks to the guidance of master tuner Darren Dyke and as a result of many hours of hammering, I developed my own technique. Five years later, in 2013, I started to build handpans under the brand name “Lupan”. Since then I have been hammering with love.

I have been on the medicine path since 1996 when I sat for the first time with San Pedro (Huachuma) in the Colombian jungle. I have done several Vipassana meditation courses. My first one in 2003 in Dhamma Dvara (Germany) opened the world of self-consciousness and silent observation for me. These two worlds -music and plant medicines- came together in 2009 when I started playing music at ceremonies with Nara Trio and Shaman Laika.

I have recorded several albums with Nara Trio (Leonardo Trincabelli and Binod Katuwal) and I played in other projects such as Rasakan, Nais, and Nakany Kante. Transmitting the energy of music I see myself as a messenger. The influence of different cultures is always reflected in my music, and as a perfectionist, I am always seeking to improve.