Govi


Govi is a new age/ambient Hawaiian-German musician. Each of Govi's albums has reached the Top 10 on Billboard's New Age chart.

Biography

Born on February 27, 1949, his birth name was Werner Monka. During his teens, he lived in Minden/Westfalen, near Bielefeld. There he performed as the lead guitarist in bands like Blackbird, Virus and Weed that played everything from rock to blues. These experiences led to his first professional gig as a member of a group that played original material and won a national band competition and a recording contract which allowed them to tour throughout Germany.
Although a native of Germany, Werner Monka decided to make a radical change and leave Europe. He sold his electric guitar, a Gibson Les Paul, to pay for the flight to India. There he changed his name first to Govinda, then to Govi. He spent eight years living in India. He started playing the mandolin, mandocello, sitar, bouzouki, charango and the 8-string ukulele. While in India, he established a friendship with the German new age artists Deuter and Karunesh. Their mutual admiration and respect led to Deuter co-producing Govi's first album Sky High, throughout which Deuter can be heard playing flutes and keyboards.
His fifth album, Guitar Odyssey, became one of the most successful albums in its genre. In 1997, it reached the top ten of the Billboard new age albums, eventually climbing to number three.
After some years in Mill Valley, California, Govi lives in Kula, Hawaii. He often collaborates with a fellow German musician, Karunesh, who also lives in Hawaii.

Discography

Studio albums