Nippy Noya (born 27 February 1946) is a Europe-based Indonesian percussionist and songwriter, specialising in congas, Kalimba, bongos, Campana, Güiro, Cabasa, shek, Caxixi, triangle and the Berimbau.
Son of Japanese Taiko drummer Fusao San Nakato, he was born on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi and came to Europe in 1968. He began his professional career as a conga player in Amsterdam with percussion-rock band Massada. He stayed with them from 1970-1975 and left afterwards to become an in-demand musician.
Artists he since played and recorded with include Peter Herbolzheimer,[1] John McLaughlin, Jan Akkerman, Hellmut Hattler, Volker Kriegel, Earth and Fire, Stan Getz and Dick Morrissey. In addition he toured with Richard Tee, Eric Burdon, Billy Cobham,[2] Chaka Khan, Peter Maffay, Udo Lindenberg, Gitte Haenning, John Hondorp and Herbert Grönemeyer.
Since 1992, he has been a professor at the Conservatory of Music in Enschede, Netherlands.
Throughout the years he occasionally guested with Massada and is now a fulltime-member again.