Dirty Linen #71: A Basquet of Apples

A Basquet of Apples:
Music from the Basque Country
by Steve Winick

The Basque country, a region of Europe famed for breathtaking mountain gorges and flocks of sheep, unspoiled forests and orchards of crisp apples, straddles the border of France and Spain, encompassing the bay of Biscay and the foothills of the Pyrenees. The origin of the Basques is truly a mystery; their language is completely isolated and apparently unrelated to any other recorded language in human history. Because of their isolation, and the historically repressive policies of both France and Spain toward linguistic and cultural minorities, Basque culture was once in danger of dying out. Now, however, it is undergoing a healthy revival, especially since the death of Franco in 1975. One of the notable areas of Basque revivalism is music; there are many excellent singers, songwriters, musicians and bands performing traditional Basque music as well as original music and song that draws on Basque roots. Recently, we received a shipment from Elkar, a book and music publisher in Bilbao that has been on the cutting edge of Basque cultural revivalism for some time. Here, then, are the latest apples from the Elkar orchard.

The best-known and longest-lived band playing new Basque folk music is Oskorri, who have been around since the early 1970s. Their latest recording project is a live double CD called 25 Kantu Urte [Elkar KD 453; KD 454 (1996)], recorded live at a celebratory concert that marked Oskorri's twenty-fifth anniversary with some of their best-known songs. Oskorri is a big group, seven people plus guests, and they feature full-bodied instruments like bagpipes, alboka (a kind of sharp-toned clarinet), accordion, saxophones and electric guitars and basses, together with the more delicate sounds of ocarinas, flutes, and mandolins. They can be restrained, but often they are not, and a jolly wall of sound with a spirited rhythm ensues. The selections of energetic dance music, touched with a spirit of jazzy improvisation and inspired by the Celtic revival, remind me of the Breton groups Bleizi Ruz and Gwendal; members of the latter group, in fact, appear as guests. Many of the songs, which include both traditional and original pieces, are sung in a spirit of defiance, like "Zalaparta," which begins with the Basque for "Blockhead, blockhead, blockhead!" Some of the singing, on the other hand, is gentle; a beautiful love song sung by Ruper Ordorika, and guest vocals by Martin Carthy and Gabriel Yacoub are all simple, heartfelt and sensitive. The appearance of so many friends from the European folk community is particularly fun for listeners not yet familiar with Basque music. Liam O'Flynn's uilleann pipes are surprising enough in this context, but the truly astonishing performances are put in by Carthy and Yacoub, who contribute excellent lead vocals to one song each - in Basque and in their respective first languages. The crowd's vociferous cheering for each is a clear indication that proud Basque audiences appreciate anyone who goes out of his way to learn something about their culture and language.

25 Kantu Urte comes packaged as a small hardcover book with CD-holding teeth glued to the center of each cover. On the plus side, the booklet contains all lyrics in Basque, French, Spanish and English, plus photos and credits - quite a wealth of information. On the minus side, once the cardboard covers have bent slightly, the teeth don't hold the CDs anymore, so they're rolling around on the floor! No awards for packaging, I'm afraid, but the music and song are inspiring.[NB: Since Dirty Linen #71 went to print, Elkar changed the packaging. Now the book has twin pouches for the CDs rather than teeth, which work much better!]

For those who want to hear Oskorri in a more controlled environment, they have no fewer than 15 studio albums available from Elkar, dating from 1975 to the present. Their latest, Landalan [Elkar KD-414 (1995)], is a collection of traditional songs and original numbers rooted firmly in Basque traditional music. The sound is somewhere between a traditional band and rock, with light, undistorted electric guitar dominating many of the songs and solid electric bass booming along under otherwise acoustic instruments. Like 25 Kantu Urte, Landalan features several musical guests, so that Oskorri's bagpipes, flutes, bouzoukis and violins are supplemented by Flaco Jimenez's Tex-Mex accordion, Luis Delgado's Spanish-Arabic percussion, Xose Manuel Budiño's Galician bagpipe and other aural treats. The material is mostly gently nationalist in nature, telling of toasts with Basque wine, the smell of Basque apples and the sounds and sights of Basque towns and forests. More overtly political numbers refer to refusal to do military service, of the negative stereotypes of Basque people, and, frequently, of the spiritual and political power of song. The main lyricist and center of the group's creative identity, Naxto de Felipe, has even written a rather precious song about the origins of Oskorri, "Amaiaren Ipuina," in which Felipe (referred to only as "a fat man") goes out into the unspoiled forest, plays his guitar and finds all the animals gathering around to listen. A sweet image, however unlikely, from an unlikely and sweet CD.

A sound somewhat similar to Oskorri's, but mostly acoustic, is achieved by Ibon Koteron, Kepa Junkera and their guests on Leonoen Orroak [Elkar KD 449 (1996)], a new CD celebrating the uniquely Basque alboka, a type of double clarinet made of two cow horns, a double-bored pipe and two cane reeds. The alboka, played by Koteron, is joined on most tracks by diatonic accordion, tambourine, and txalaparta (a big Basque percussion instrument made of boards and stones that sounds like one of the larger African xylophones) played by Junkera. Many guests, including members of Oskorri and Spanish group La Musgaña, add a range of sounds including flutes, bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy, bouzouki, mandolin, percussion, electric bass and piano. The tunes are all newly composed by Junkera and Koteron, in order to expand the alboka repertoire and, they hope, to popularize the instrument. Bright melodies, catchy rhythms and intricate textures make the instrumental numbers compelling, from the simplest tunes to the most dense and layered arrangements. Though the disc is mostly acoustic, Naxto de Felipe and Anton Laxta of Oskorri, and several members of the band Maixa Ta Ixiar sing a few songs as well, making this as well-rounded as it is satisfying.

Despite its intention of concentrating on the alboka, one of the dominant sounds on Leonoen Orroak is that of the diatonic accordion, or trikitixa in Basque. This instrument has become one of the most common in traditional Basque music, and groups consisting of diatonic accordion, tambourines and voice have been among the most common combinations for many years. From that tradition, a whole vibrant scene has emerged, of "traditional" trios and "progressive" bands armed with trikitixa, tambourine and whatever else they feel like playing. The different sounds and styles within this scene are nicely captured on Triki 1: Diatonic Dynamite [Elkar KD-431], the first CD on Elkar's subsidiary label, Triki. Basque accordionists favor a brisk, intricate and highly-ornamented style of playing, replete with staccato triplets that are underscored by the skittering of the tambourine. Most of the tunes here are lively, happy dances appropriate to festivities; asthe sleeve notes say, "the trikitixa is dynamite at any festivity." While some of them are essentially "traditional," and a few are even old recordings of the previous generation of players, some of them take the trikitixa into jazzy territory. This disc is a terrific introduction to trikitixa music, and has moments to please all accordion lovers.

For folks who like the more exploratory edge of traditional music, there are a few more albums that draw on the trikitixa tradition. The most progressive of these is undoubtedly the Tapia eta Leturia Band's self-titled CD [Elkar KD-412 (1995)], which draws on reggae, rap, punk and rock in ways that suggest the Basque radical rock scene. This is a step beyond what this band has achieved before, drawing more out of the rock players in the group. The songs are a little strange - one of them is about what a bummer it is to be a suppository, another is about how being a cannibal is better than eating filth - but you'll only find this out by reading the translations. At first listen, this is an interesting and catchy blend of intricate accordion playing and pretty hard rock and roll. Not for traditionalists, or for weak stomachs, this is to Basque music about what the early Pogues were to Irish music.

A similar, but more accordion-driven, sound is the province of Maixa Ta Ixiar, who, like Tapia and Leturia, began as a trikitixa-tambourine duo and evolved into a larger band with rock influences. In the case of Maixa Ta Ixiar's first recording, Uhinez Uhin [Triki-Elkar KD-432 (1995)], the rock influences are confined to a relatively restrained use of drums and bass. Most of the melodic lines are carried by the strong, wailing voices and the accordion, but guests do add electric guitar, Spanish guitar, alboka, keyboards, and other instruments as well to keep things lively and interesting. Maixa ta Ixiar may also be singing about suppositories - I can't tell because there are no translations in the booklet - but somehow I doubt it. They sound like a Basque version of some of the "girl groups" out there on the folk and world scenes; sort of the Heartbeats meet Värttinä. If brisk, rather light accordion-driven pop appeals to you, this is your best bet.

Finally, for a more subtle and virtuosic collaboration, listen to Kepa Junkera and Julio Pereira, whose CD Lau Eskutara [Triki KD-428 (1995)] is one of the most impressive here. Junkera, the same Trikitixa player featured on Leonen Orrak, is one of the most sought-after session musicians on the Basque scene; he appears on most of the CDs I've mentioned here. Pereira is a Portuguese player of mandolin, cavaquinho and guitarra braguesa, all tightly-strung, fretted instruments. Together, they explore their own compositions with a pleasing conceptual looseness wedded at times to extremely tight and inspired playing. Pereira's roots in Portuguese Fado come out here and there, as do Junkera's roots in the trikitixa tradition, but most of this is new acoustic music with swing and style.

Finally, the best introduction to new Basque music for the neophyte is undoubtedly Elkar's double CD compilation Euskal Herriko Musika (Music from the Basque Country) [Elkar KD 416/417]. From modern traditionalists (Azala, Txomin-Amaia, Olatz Zugasti and Erramun Martikorena) to the most important Basque singer-songwriters (Benito Lertxundi, Txomin Artola, Mikel Markez and Ruper Ordorika) to accordion masters (Tapia eta Leturia, Zaldibobo, Jabier Murguruza and Kepa Junkera) to folk revival groups (Oskorri, Ganbarra, and Sorotan Bele) and political singers (Xabier Lete, Pantxoa eta Peio and Imanol) and on to rock and roll (Niko Etxart, Itoiz and J.C. Perez), this compilation covers the field of Basque roots music admirably. The double disc is packaged with two booklets containing notes and lyrics in Basque, French, Spanish and English, and a third booklet that is a mini-catalogue, containing information about the artistsand their many recordings. If you want to get started building a Basque collection that suits your personal tastes, this would be the most logical starting point.

This is the full text from the current issue of Dirty Linen

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