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. 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. 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, taking me to 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, and the Institut Français in Casablanca, as well as opening for well-known acts like Gnawa Diffusion, Natasha Atlas, Tiken Jah Fakoli, La Rue Ketanou… Alchimix came to an end in January 2020. Since then, I’ve continued to perform solo, sharing my music with my two Handpans which together cover a full chromatic range. I play acoustic or amplified, accompanied by my looper. I perform for all kinds of audiences and events — yoga and meditation gatherings, private concerts, performances in schools and retirement homes… For several years now, I’ve also been dedicated to teaching, sharing my knowledge and my intuitive, oral approach to world music through workshops and individual lessons. Come and discover my blended universe — an invitation to relaxation and inner travel.