Ambassador of Rhythm and Togolese Music
Christian Elo Gaba, AKA Gabelo, is a singer-songwriter and percussionist enamored with his African roots, and particularly his native country of Togo. His lyrics, sung in Mina and French, draw upon spirituality and philosophy.
Laureate of the first Togolese songwriting festival, Gabelo enrolled in the conservatory of Dijon, France, in the 70s to study saxophone. While in school, he founded his first band, AMEGAN, with whom he toured Europe and Africa. After completing his degree, he returned to Togo and it wasn’t until marrying his French girlfriend and the birth of their first child Fabrice that he returned to France.
Although far from his country, his passion for the rhythms of his motherland grew stronger. His dream became to educate the world on the cadences of his youth, known as Akpesse, Kamou and Agbadja. So in 1990 he founded the Association for the Promotion of Black Rhythms (“A.P.R.Y.N.O”) in Lyon, France and began teaching percussion in several music schools around France. He returned to school and became a professor of African Music Therapy, creating the concept “Kool & Zen,” which promotes teamwork within companies through group percussion classes.
Through the years, Gabelo had less time to invest in his career as an artist and his music became harder to find beyond the borders of Togo - he himself didn’t own copies of his records. Nonetheless, his son Fabrice, who grew up listening to his father’s sounds decided to find his father’s lost records and formed TakeOff Publishing to create a home for them. In 2013, Fabrice was able to buy Gabelo’s vinyls online (for an astounding $93 each!) and reacquire the rights to the music along with the rest of Gabelo’s catalog (including more recent work). Fabrice’s goal is to fulfill his father’s dream to spread his music around the world.
Gabelo is also a storyteller and writer. His many performances as a storyteller have pushed him to write these wonderful tales of our grandmothers, uncles, aunts..., from the African oral tradition. Two books of tales from Togo have also been released: “Le tam-tam des animaux”: Ed l’Harmattan (2012) And “Misségli”: tales from Togo: Ed Yévi. (2013) “
In addition, we could also see Gabelo as an actor in the movie "Don Juan" by Belton Brecht (Compagnie Michel Belletante) (1992), on television "We will not go to the woods" FR3 (1996 ), but also "The moon eater" by Dai Sije (June (1993), "The cry of the heart" by Idrissa Ouedraogo (1994), making him a very complete artist.
The texts of Gabelo's songs are philosophical, pedagogical and spiritual. They value humility in life (Ama Ama), love for others, prudence, sharing (motus), education of children in Africa (Kossiwa). Gabelo's latest albums are praise and worship to the Lord.
