Erick YANOU was born the 04 march 1973 in NKONGSAMBA, a little town in the western side of CAMEROON, where he also passed his very tender childhood. At the age of 8, his family moved to DOUALA, and there he studied and got his college degree. In 1993, after getting the first university diploma at the YAOUNDE University, he moved to Italy alone, with the intent of going ahead with the studies.Since in his family there were no musicians, he came up enjoying music just as every child of his age, playing with everything he could find and witch could provide any sound and later would be able to build his own rudimental instruments. Any way, his parents could not allow him to get involved in music practicing. Till the age of 20, he didn’t have the opportunity to touch any modern musical instrument as guitar, bass, keyboard, drum, horn… and has not even considered music as a possible career for himself.A few months after he arrived in Italy, he started singing in a choir composed exclusively by young African university students, and so he started interesting himself in music practicing. He also got a pair of congas to provide the rhythm for public exhibitions of the choir. In 1995, some friends decided to make a band, and collected the necessary amount of money to buy the instruments. He started practicing on the guitar. After only a month, the bassist went away, and the band got a new guitar player. So he started the bass. For more than two years, Erick played every tune using just the root and the fifth of every chord. In 1997, a friend of him gave him some cd, and he discovered NATHAN EAST, MARCUS MILLER, JACO PASTORIUS and AB LABORIEL. This has been the beginning of a love story between Erick and the bass. He decided to abandon the university and started the studying of music. His first music teacher will be ATTILIO ZANCHI, with whom he got the first degree at the C.P.M. of Milan. Erick continued studying alone and started playing both afro and western music with many bands in Italy. The discovery of traditional jazz, blues and funk deeply affected his personal vision of music, and is providing new and very important stylistic elements to his musical personality.Erick has played with Liz Mc Comb, Myriam makeba, Tunde, Xalima, Bantu Band, Kamakiriad, Canto Sospeso, Alafia, Felix Ek…In spite of the fact that he started playing very late, he is becoming a very on demand bassist, especially for studio recording sessions. Now working as sideman bassist (studio and live) in the southern part of France, he is also preparing his first solo project.
Erick YANOU nasce il 04 marzo 1973 a Nkongsamba, piccolo centro urbano nell’ovest del Camerun. All’età di 8 anni, la sua famiglia si trasferisce a Douala, dove effettua tutto il ciclo scolastico. Nel 1993, dopo aver conseguito il primo diploma universitario in biologia animale presso la università di Yaoundé, si trasferisce in Italia per proseguire gli studi…Nonostante nella sua famiglia non ci siano stati musicisti, la passione per la musica lo invade, e solo la rigidissima educazione ricevuta dal suo padre, e l’opinione negativa di quest’ultimo riguardo ai musicisti in generale gli proibisce ogni sogno di praticare la musica. Erick vede e tocca per la prima volta uno strumento musicale moderno nel 1994, all’età di 21 anni. Si avvicina dapprima alla chitarra, ma dopo meno di un mese, prova il basso elettrico. Inizia la pratica da autodidatta, privo di ogni conoscenza di teoria, armonia ecc… Solo l’orecchio lo guida. Per tre anni si diverte a suonare con amici studenti. Nel 1997, un amico gli fa scoprire bassisti come Jaco Pastorius, Marcus Miller, Nathan East e Ab Laboriel. Questo è l’impulso che lo spinge a voler diventare un musicista professionista. Si iscrive al C.P.M. di milano e studia per tre anni con Attilio Zanchi. La scoperta del Jazz, del blues, della soul music e del funk plasma il giovane musicista che continua il suo viaggio alla ricerca di una personalità e di una impronta musicale.Erick Yanou nel suo percorso ancora molto breve, ha suonato con Liz Mc Comb, Myriam makeba, Tunde, Bantù Band, Xalima, Kamakiriad, Canto Sospeso, Alafia, Felix Ek...
