Santoo Govi (born February 27, 1949) is a new age and ambient German American musician. Each of Govi's albums have reached Top 10 on Billboard's New Age chart.

Biography

Govi was born as Werner Monka in Germany. During his teens, he lived in Minden, Germany, near Bielefeld. There, he performed as the lead guitarist in bands including Blackbird (1962), Virus (1971), and Weed (1971, with Ken Hensley of Uriah Heep ). These experiences led to his first live performance as a member of a group that won a national band competition and a recording contract that allowed them to tour throughout Germany. Although a native of Germany, Govi decided to leave Europe. He sold his electric guitar, a Gibson Les Paul, to pay for the flight to India, where he changed his name first to Govinda, then Govi. He spent eight years living in India. He started playing the mandolin, mandocello, sitar, bouzouki, charango, and the eight string ukulele. While in India, he established a friendship with the German new age artists Deuter and Karunesh. Deuter co-produced Govi's first album Sky High, throughout which Deuter can be heard playing flutes and keyboards. Govi has released 19 albums. His fifth album, Guitar Odyssey, became one of the most successful albums in its genre, reaching the top ten of the Billboard new age albums, eventually climbing to number three. In 2022, Govi released a new extended play featuring four new songs. Govi currently lives in Kula, Hawaii. He often collaborates with German musician Karunesh, who also lives in Hawaii.

Discography

Studio albums

Other compilations

Other compilation appearances