Written by Ambre Montespan - Updated on Jan 28, 2026
Table of contents:
Have you heard of the handpan duo Yatao? Want to know how this musical pair came together? Who are its two members? What became of the group that helped shape the world of handpan for several years?
I’ve followed the group’s journey since the beginning, so I can walk you through everything you should know about Yatao. You’ll quickly learn how they became a legend in the handpan world thanks to their one-of-a-kind songs and melodies.
Once you’ve finished reading, you’ll know everything there is to know about:
- How Yatao formed and evolved
- The best-known tracks created by this duo
- The concerts these artists performed
Along the way, you’ll also explore Yatao’s discography and see how they rose to the top with compositions of unmatched warmth and harmony.
Now, let’s take a closer look at how Yatao came to be.
How was the handpan group Yatao formed?
Yatao was formed in 2014, shortly after two men—Malte Marten and Alexander Mercks—met at a small music festival in northern Germany. Influencing each other, they each decided to buy a handpan and start a duo they named Yatao. In 2015, Malte Marten and Alexander Mercks became full-time street musicians. They also launched their YouTube channel and, starting in January 2016, began posting videos of their performances, mostly on Malte Marten’s personal channel. While Marten focuses solely on the handpan, you can sometimes see Alexander Mercks playing other instruments, such as the didgeridoo and other world percussion.
Around the same time, the duo began playing their first concerts and festivals. They took part in bigger and bigger events and gradually stepped away from street music starting in 2018. Almost all of Yatao’s events were free to attend, supported by voluntary donations—pay what you can, or nothing at all. In 2018, they also began offering workshops for beginner handpan players to their fans.
The year 2020 brought the COVID-19 pandemic, which put an end to all the concerts and festivals in which Yatao participated. It is only thanks to the workshops set up a few years earlier that Yatao was able to survive financially. That same year, Malte Marten and Alexander Mercks launched the Yatao Shop, their own handpan store. They offer classic models tuned in D Kurd, E Amara, and C# Pygmy at prices around $1,500 to $2,000—which is still a bit pricey in my opinion.
However, according to official information on the group’s website, the lockdown also put an end to the friendship between the two musicians. They gradually drifted apart from 2021 onwards, finally dissolving Yatao in 2022. The last video on the duo’s YouTube channel, posted on July 29, 2022, features an excerpt from a concert performed in April 2022 in Berlin, Germany. The specific reasons for this split have never been publicly discussed by the two musicians. Each then began a solo music career. I discuss Malte Marten in this article and Alexander Mercks in this one.
During the group’s career between 2014 and 2022, they performed hundreds of concerts. The two handpan players have racked up more than 50 million online streams and have succeeded in forming a community of players around the world. Their YouTube channel containing all their albums can be accessed here, although most of their well-known melodies were originally posted on Malte Marten’s personal channel.
What are this musical duo's most popular songs?
Among Yatao’s most listened-to and appreciated tracks are “Phoenix,” “Listen to the Mountains,” “Holy Ganges,” and “Shadows of the Great Tree” from the albums “Drops to Oceans,” “Mana,” and “Imagine.” It’s also worth noting that some tracks were released under the name Yatao but feature only one musician. These solo recordings, mainly from 2020 and 2021, arrived as the pair began drifting apart to pursue individual paths. Examples include the tracks "Two Faces" and "Gio's Handpan" by Malte Marten and "Follow the Sun" by Alexander Mercks.
You can listen to “Phoenix,” their most popular song, below:
Is it still possible to go to a Yatao concert to appreciate their talent on the hang drum?
While you could once easily catch both artists performing together in concert or on tour, that is no longer possible following the group’s breakup. So, from now on, you’ll have to attend one of their solo performances or wait for a hypothetical reunion of the group, which is not on the agenda at the moment.
Become a true artist with an exceptional instrument
Made up of two excellent instrumentalists, Malte Marten and Alexander Mercks, Yatao gradually made a name for themselves in the minds of millions of listeners around the world. Moving from street performances to concerts on tour throughout Europe, lockdown broke the friendship between the two men, leading to the demise of this hang drum group. With the information you’ve gleaned from this article, you now know the whole story of this legendary duo.
However, if you too would like to venture into the world of the handpan, it is important to choose your musical instrument with care. With this in mind, the Instruments du Monde online store offers dozens of high-quality models that will allow you to compose thousands of harmonious songs with ease and serenity. Personally, I recommend this 10-note model that I own, which produces sublime sounds.
Treat yourself to a handpan with wonderful acoustics by clicking on the image below:
After following Yatao's journey, discover that of Sam Maher, an Australian who went on a road trip for almost a year in South America, living almost exclusively on the income from the sounds of his handpan. Having been discovered through a video shot in New York, he is one of the most recognized handpan playersin the world.
