Emilien Sanou
percussion, chant, balafon

Emilien SANOU comes from Burkina Faso. As a teen-ager he discovered English rock in the 70s and played bass and guitar. In 1978 his meeting with the founder of the band Farafina, Mahama KONATE, master of the balafon (the african traditionnal xylophone), led him to adopt it as his main instrument, although he also sings and masters many percussion instruments like the "djembé" drum.

The name of his band, “Lamogoya”, means 'the family' in Bobo-Fing, in a broad sense, including cousins, friends etc... like the music of the band integrating African and jazz music with many other influences as well, played on a great variety of instruments : African balafons and drums, Afro-cuban and Brazilian percussions, marimbas, piano, saxophone, flute etc...

Since his arrival in Belgium, Emilien has played with numerous artists in Europe, Canada and even Asia, and has created his own method to teach percussion used in his school "Lamogoya, World Rhytm Academy" in Brussels.