'Cosmopolitan' would be a fitting description for Kristo, a guitarist and vocalist from Cameroon. He was born in Paris and grew up with his grandmother in the forested area of southern Cameroon. Hearing the music at ceremonies such as baptisms, weddings and wakes had a profound influence on Kristo as a young boy. He began composing songs for children and was most interested in the percussion he saw and heard around him.
Kristo's grandmother ran a bar in Eséka and on the radio there he heard a great variety of music, such as classical, jazz, r& b, rumba, high-life and makossa - "a very colourful music world" as he himself expresses it! When he was 12 years old Kristo received his first guitar and began playing all the music he had heard on the radio. He joined one of the bands at his school and then at age 18 formed a trio to play his own compositions.
The music that captivated Kristo's attention most was 'Assiko', which can be described as village music. He draws inspiration for his music from the rhythms of the forest.
Kristo finished high school in Douala, studied Economics at the University of Yaoundé, then went to Paris in 1986.
In Paris Kristo was very much attracted to working in advertising and he was successful in getting a technical qualification and worked in a studio for 4 years. From there he moved into music studios, becoming a studio bass player. Kristo relates a time when he met Stevie Wonder and realised it is essential to record compositions: "In December 1994, I was touring in Ghana with an African