Jo Zanders

Born in 1975, found his fathers snaredrum 5 years later. Started playing drumkit at 8 and again at the age of 15. By the age of 20, percussion became far more important.

Jo got started with Moroccan beats and grooves on bendir and darbouka, thanks to mr Luk Mishalle and Abddellah Marrakchi. Later he went to Salvador and Recife in the North-Eastern part of Brasil. Learned pandeiro with Claudio Santana and got very impressed by the Naçao Maracatu Estrelha Brilhante. From then on his love for tambourines was born.

In Leuven he's working with Cirkus in Beweging and the mobile percussion-on-stilts collective "Lokomotiv". Started as batucada, but by now they have their own sound which is more like rock'n'funky balkan drum'n'bass.

A new born is Tupolev, a small percussion/stiltwalker combo with a few drums, sticks and bells. In Brussels he directs "Bagadski", an ethnic trash/punk brassband with loads loads loads of drums, krakeb (Moroccan steel castagnettes) and bombardes (French double reed instrumentes - the electric guitar of the streets). There are also les petits gamins de Fanfakids. Both of these groups are produced by vzw Met-x, formerly known as vzw De Krijtkring. Another Met-x project is "Saxafabra": 4 saxplayers - with many more saxophones - a tubaplayer and 4 percussionists.

One of his favourites is Dazibao: two diatonic accordeons, double bass, electro-acoustic guitar and ... percussion. And of course some duo's, with drummer Louis Favre or Geert Huybens on guitar. My most used instruments: pandeiro, bendir, riq, darbouka, cajon, udu, cymbals, caxixi's & shakers, triangle, snaredrum, repinique, tama, zabumba, alfaia, shekere, ....