Junkera culminates his trilogy opening the Basque music to non-latin rhythms.

Published in the newspaper ABC
16-11-2010 / 14:10 h



Published in the newspaper ABC
16-11-2010 / 14:10 h


Bilbao, NOV 16 ( EFE).- The trikitilari (a basque word meaning the person who plays the diatonic accordion) Kepa Junkera has culminated his trilogy of folksongs in Euskera (the Basque Language) interpreted by musicians and singers outside of the Basque Country with the album, Herria (Town), in which the interpreters come from Non-Latin musical cultures.


This project started off in 2008 with Etxea (House), in which Junkera surrounded himself with musicians of the Caribbean and Iberian Peninsula and were sung in euskera; Miguel Bosé, Ana Belén, Loquillo, Jaime Urrutia, Santiago Auserón, María del Mar Bonet, Estrella Morente, Michel Camilo and Dulce Pontes are some of the voices that took part in that first record.

In Kalea (Street), the Latin Americans were the ones that interpreted and sang the Basque song: Juanes, Lito Vitale, Viticus, Pablo Milanés, Julieta Venegas ...

Now, this project closes with "HERRIA" in which "the collaborators” from countries like United States, Madagascar, Greece and Korea are musicians in the area of folk music.

“The sounds are a slight different with new instruments", Junkera has said in the presentation of his new album in Bilbao.

“HERRIA” includes 23 songs recorded in Paris, Istanbul and Casablanca and in the North American cities of New York, San Francisco, St. Antonio, Los Angeles, Oakland, Boise and Hawaii.

The album reflects the cities´ music’s of where it was recorded, so that the Basque songs appears with different versions as the rhythms of the Indian tribes, tex mex , with the musicians of Flaco Jiménez, jazz of New York by the hand of Dave Douglas’s quartet, gospel or the sound of the lyre, the ukulele or the wind instruments of Armenia and Turkey.

Junkera has explained that in the album "truly talented" musicians have worked with him although the names may not be all grandiloquent like the ones in the first two albums, especially because, "the Anglo-Saxon world is much more unknown to us".

The trikitixa's interpreter has highlighted that in the three albums the participating musicians have had the freedom to make of Basque folksongs "theirs" with "no limitations", although "the main thread is the strength of the Basque songs" and Euskera. Junkera has thanked the writers José Saramago, who passed away last June, Bernardo Atxaga and Xabier Aumuriza for the prefaces that they made for these records.

Junkera has recognized that the most difficult one was making the first of the three albums, mainly because until then he was accustomed to collaborate with other instrumentalists and not with singers, but he has said that, once "Etxea" was recorded, the whole project remained established the "philosophy and the work dynamics"

I am very proud of what I have achieved and all the people that has helped me out, the balance of the whole project is "very very positive", Kepa has said before thanking the writers José Saramago, who passed away last June, Bernardo Atxaga and Xabier Amuriza who wrote the prefaces for these records.

Kepa Junkera, that will now dedicate himself to the promotion of "HERRIA" till the end of the year to discuss new projects for 2011. He has pointed out that is would be "very pretty" to give a "grand finale" concert with the musicians and singers of the three albums, explaining that it is "very complicated" to organize it.
EFE maf/em.