About Knock on Wood
Knock on Wood is a partnership of two musicians and music enthusiasts originally established in 1980.
Andy Wilson - the founder of Knock on Wood - is a self taught musician and composer whose duo ‘Akimbo’ toured Britain (in venues from Ronnie Scotts to Glastonbury), and also Europe and the USA for 8 years . He plays piano and tuned percussion (mbira, xylophone, santoor, tongue drums) and writes music for short films using a combination of electronic and acoustic sources. Andy has run several hundred music workshops over the years introducing primary school children to the wider world of musical instruments and, more recently, has taken his collection into botanical gardens education programmes around the country, relating the instruments and their sounds to the living plants they are made from.
Ianto Thornber joined Knock on Wood in 1989 bringing his own 'BOAB' didjeridu business, and a fine technique learned on a recent trip to Arnhem Land. He went on to perform didjeridu with the legendary Bushgiants, and was a member of the Bradford & Leeds School of Samba for 5 years. He then caught the djembe bug, and his group Carabali grew out of the classes run at the Knock on Wood shop. He has trained in djembe with Nansady Keita, Seckou Keita, Mamady Keita and Iya Sako, and is the author of the acclaimed ‘Djembe Guide’ books.
We are based now in a warehouse and showroom in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales and we offer a unique range of instruments, recordings and tuition materials from hundreds of sources around the world, from Fair Trade operations in Africa and Latin America to some big name brands such as LP, Pearl, Meinl, Toca, Gope, RMV, Contemporanea, Schlagwerk and Kambala.
We are a business run by musicians for musicans, so whether you need a top quality djembe drum, a handmade xylophone, a sweet toned kalimba, a noseflute or a complete Brazilian samba kit we have played it, compared it, taken it to pieces and put it back together again! There's plenty of tuition to help you on your way - tutors for didjeridu, bodhran, bongo, conga, darabuka, tabla, marimba, mbira, samba, djembe or cajon.
We can't claim to be experts in every field of world music, just enthusiasts who are keen to make a wider world of music accessible to all, with respect and support to the communities of origin. So we wish you a happy shopping experience at Knock on Wood with sound and video samples to help you with your choices
