Playing music can bring anyone who is not a musician onstage. Jon Etxekopar (Gotaine-Irabarne, Zuberoa, 1989) is the singer of the Xiberoots group. The tide of music catches anyone who approaches it: from the ground there are musicians who were no longer musicians on the path of the second album. The event will take place tomorrow afternoon at the Xaia Inn in Urruã±a (Lapurdi).
Jon? Raúl? How will I call it?
Jon, my name is Jon!Raul is the name my friends have given me, in the joke. Now they also call me The Octopus: for the hair. Cu.
The name of the team, Xiberoots, where?
He was captured by his teammate Pette Saragoien. Includes: Xiberoa, Erroak roots in English and Jamaican roots reggae as well.
Where are the roots of Xiberoots?
With Jedi [Foucher] we were in another group, José Replay, but we were committed to creating Guhau's team. So we get together some friends, not necessarily musicians. The first program looked like a day care center! Cu. We taught them to play a little guitar on the canapé, quiet, to love the reggae for those who didn’t know it… So we started to scratch some songs to capture it with reggae chords and vows. Gradually it grew, we even started to write words, like Manimoi.
Until you released the album Maule Muffin.
We started to make choruses, and with seven or eight songs we were already called to give concerts. So we started to give concerts without being prepared! This motivated us to rehearse more and little by little we exercise this way. After three or four years of concerts, we released the album. We haven't done it like everybody else: first the album and then the concerts. But isn't it better to do it without fuss, than to repeat but not to have concerts?
Euskal Herria, Zuberoa, Maule… You know where you are from.
Yes, at the bottom we are happy to live and teach here. We want to show that we are part of the Basque Country. We don't want to sing in English or French, because we're from here. Two of us, zuberotars, are not happy to be here, they love culture.
Then you have also taken out a new song and its video clip: Eia.
As they were going to take the album Kari 40 birthday from the ikastola Epherra, we were called to participate in the project. The boys and girls were able to participate. We also take the song and the video clip against the G7: Flashball, the French police gun. Because Jordi came home with the idea of making a song about it, I wrote two or three words, and because Pette Etxebarria was also motivated, we took him out to make a video clip.
What if a second album comes out?
We'll make a little break to create some new songs. We're all improving musically. It's a great pleasure to change. This time we haven't recorded any song, it's going to be our compositions all written by me. We would like the new concert for the summer to be ready, and then take the album out. We love what we're doing, I guess people will.
What message do your words bring?
They are not meaningless: of the political prisoners there will be a nice song, of the immigrants… Making music is already good to delight, but the songs will have their meaning.
The audience is very large, you have fans of all ages.
Some amatxis love their male even their children! We do our thing, and all the better if people want it! It's a pleasure to see that response from the public.
Why not a French gutural do not pronounce R vibrant?
I want her sonority and act upon her. The former Basque was also like this, and it is to do it like them. When I write, I see the sonority, because words are said one after the other very quickly. We get as close as possible to what reggae or hip-hop groups we love do.