BIOGRAPHIE

I’m Théo Poizat, and I grew up in the South of France.

Origins and first percussions

As a teenager, I began playing music with my friends and discovered a passion for percussion, which I learned on my own. In the 90s, I started playing the Djembé (West African percussion) and the Darbouka (Middle Eastern and North African percussion), then the cajon (flamenco percussion), Cuban bongos and congas, and Indian percussion instruments such as the Tabla and the Mridangam from southern India. At just 19, I set off for India in search of myself and discovered a new musical and spiritual world.

Musical travels around the world

Over the following 15 years, I returned regularly to India and traveled to many other countries (Mexico, Brazil, Senegal, Morocco, Peru, etc.). In every country I visited, I formed friendships with local musicians. Little by little, my experiences and musical influences came together to give me an original artistic identity. Since 2009, I’ve added Handpans to my percussion set — they have since become my favorite instruments.

Aligansah, Alchimix and flagship projects

In 2011, after a trip to Senegal where I met an artist who became a true source of inspiration, I returned to France determined to form my first band, Aligansah, an original quartet with long-time friends. In 2012, I invited my Aligansah friends and two other musicians to play on my first album, « Nomad Soul ». At the end of that same year, I gathered four friends to spontaneously compose and record the album « Sadhaka – A Chakra Experience », which I designed and produced. In 2014, I formed the duo Atma and the collective Alchimix, giving birth to two new CDs and many concerts across France, Europe, India and Morocco. Alchimix evolved into a trio and became my flagship project for 6 years, allowing me to play in many festivals and concert halls such as Jazz à Vienne, Arabesque in Montpellier, le Rêve de l’Aborigène, the Institut du Monde Arabe and Radio France in Paris, as well as the French Institute of Casablanca and many opening acts for well-known groups such as Gnawa Diffusion, Natasha Atlas, Tiken Jah Fakoli and La Rue Ketanou.

Today: solo Handpan and teaching

Alchimix ended in January 2020. Since then, I continue to perform solo, sharing my music with my 2 Handpans which form a chromatic scale. I play acoustically or amplified, accompanied by my looper. I perform in front of all types of audiences and events around yoga, meditation, also for private concerts, animations in nurseries and schools. For several years, I have also been involved in a teaching activity aiming to transmit my knowledge and my intuitive, oral approach to world music through workshops and lessons.

Discover my mixed universe that invites relaxation and inner journey.