IZUKAITZ

This is yet another mostly unheard of seventies folk outfit that’s not really particularly progressive but will likely appeal to most progressive folk fans anyway. Their main distinguishing characteristic is the fact that they come from the Basque area of Spain and all their vocals are sung in that strange tongue. In addition the band employs several

The album opens with pizzicato violin notes on “Zikiro Beltza”, so right off the bat you know you’re in for something folksy and not particularly reverent. I’ve rarely seen a violinist pluck strings on a tune without that tune being something that makes you smile. And the violin is one of the more prominent instruments throughout the album, along with a wooden flute and all manner of percussive hand instruments. One note about the flute: there are at least two woodwinds here, the flute and a txirula, the latter of which is some sort of Basque flute-like contraption. I’m not sure which is which when listening to the music, but one has more range and the other seems to have a more melodic tone to it. The band seem to like their woodwinds, because there’s also heavy use of an alboka throughout, another Basque traditional instrument that looks a bit like a fox hunt horn but is wooden (or maybe bone) so obviously has a softer sound.

Like I said these are really ethnic folk tunes, so the tendencies are toward rather melodic music that is heavy on the hand drums and other percussion, pretty upbeat, and overall earthy-sounding since most of the instrumentation is acoustic. If that’s the kind of music you’re into then you’ll undoubtedly enjoy this album.

The first half of the album comprises the more upbeat and percussive tunes and female vocals, while the back half features less percussion and seems to focus more on acoustic guitar strumming, picking, and male vocals. There are a few interesting curios as well. The opening riff and arrangement of “Xori Bele” sounds an awful lot like “Oye Como Va”; the violin and flute on “Xalbadorrena” take on a decidedly Celtic tone; and for some reason the band chooses the closing number “Agur” to introduce a piano as the featured instrument, along with a female/male vocal duet that results in something closer to a contemporary pop number than a folk work. I don’t really care for that particular tune, but the rest of the album is solid.

The original vinyl issue was on some unknown Spanish label and I doubt you’ll ever find one. This was reissued on vinyl in limited edition and those are a bit pricey as well, but there’s also the Elkar CD reissue which is more reasonably priced. That one has some sort of glitch on a couple of tracks those, and I believe this was a result of an error made in copying the master tapes used to produce the CD.

I don’t know much about these guys and nothing about the Basque culture or language so I’m sure there are all kinds of nuances here that are lost on someone like me. But despite that the music here is quite good, very well-played, and interesting on many levels. I’m torn between three and four stars here, and whenever that happens it seems appropriate to err on the side of the artist so four stars it is. Recommended for prog folk and world music fans.

peace