Many of us who met you a few years later. What was Napoka Iria like in 2005 that looks so far away?

Look at Narbaiza: I remember we met at the Legarre trial sites in Eibar. Then Ander studied Fine Arts in Leioa and I was still in high school. At that age many things are discovered, and we start to find ourselves in every place…

Ander Mujika: We created a group of four people. “Loess,” your name. We did some tests, and we just gave a couple of concerts. Two of them embarked on another path related to electronic music, and we two started experimenting with some of Miren's songs. After giving some concerts, we recorded in Legarre our first model with six songs.

What do you think of those six songs? Have you passed the years test?

A. Mujika: Even though I was listening now, I really like that model a lot. We recorded it in two days and I think it's very cool. It has things to improve, of course, but it's very careful.

M. Narbaiza: The truth is, it's OK, yeah. It's simple, it's very dignified. I still feel identified with those songs, and we've also played some live songs: Smoke, for example, is back then.

One to the last: In 2013, to learn how to breathe, you published again, according to many wrote, your most comprehensive work. I remember that at Lugaritz's first concert the tickets were exhausted. Was that album also a turning point for you?

A. Mujika: Qualitatively, if there was any change in the album, it was mainly because we worked it much more, because we dedicated it many more hours. A year earlier we left our work to dedicate ourselves to Napoka Iria, and with this decision, we have been preparing the album for a year. The recording was also long and can be seen on the disk.

M. Narbaiza: The reception of the people was also very good. You can introduce hours, but that doesn't guarantee you're successful. It is true that the concerts offered with this album, both in Lugaritz and elsewhere, were spectacular. We used to play a lot, and that's not why we stopped giving small concerts, but it's true that then we got to another audience.

After compaginating him with his studies or work since 2005, how was his trade (also) Napoka Iria?

M. Narbaiza: The decision was simple. We were giving a lot of concerts, and we were both eager to leave our job. We also had illusion. However, I remember being told to friends and scared to death.

A. Mujika: Of course, we were afraid. Pressure is generated: after all, you need money, and that changes a lot. It gave us the opportunity to dedicate a lot of hours and efforts to Napoka Iria, but at the same time that pressure makes you change your mind and leads to wear and tear. However, comparing it with the work I had before, I remember it as a very nice and enjoyable moment.

M. Narbaiza: It's very different that you have your day to day and go out and have a good weekend, or that you're getting ready all week for the weekend. It's OK because it can give you a lot of time, but then you have to worry about other aspects. When you work for someone, you can disconnect, we can't.

A.Mujika: At any rate, by then we had already given many concerts with another work that was almost impossible to reconcile. We had to choose one or the other and we didn't hesitate.

You've also met a lot of people in these 12 years. Seen from the outside, it seems that there are many groups that have achieved some success, and despite the different styles, with a great tendency to collaborate and relate: Willis Drummond, Anari, Joseba B Lenoir… And among you.

M. Narbaiza: The truth is, we're doing it now in a very natural way, but the truth is, in 2005, we couldn't think about playing with Anari.

A. Mujika: For me, for example, having had the opportunity to play with Felix Buff is still a tremendous fortune. It is true that we have met a lot of people, not only musicians, but also a lot of people who, through their voluntary work, are organizing a Gaztetxe and similar programming. That's what sustains our circuit, and many of them are now friends.

M. Narbaiza: However, when it comes to success… I do not know if that is the case. I think there are a few groups that move a lot of people, but to some extent, people have stopped going to the direct ones… We go to the festivals or to see those groups that we like, but we don’t see and meet that group that we don’t know what it is, for example.

A. Mujika: I don't like to say that people are moving very little. But it is true, for example, that festivals are not a very nice place to enjoy music: too many people, expensive prices, artists away… Small scenes and places are despised, but for me, almost everything is better in these places.

You also had your presence on television, making versions of some songs for the Tumatxak program. Does EITB do enough to promote music and creativity in Basque?

A. Mujika: Tumatxak was a very well done program and gave us a good opportunity: both to reach out to another audience and to perform a different creative exercise with great freedom. It’s one of the best things that’s been done recently at ETB, but soon after… I think we don’t say anything new, expressing our disappointment at ETB. So little do I like the model that it promotes.

M. Narbaiza: There are exceptions. Before, for example, we applauded the choice of music by Ur Handitan. EITB Kultura Transit is also on the program, and they do very clean things, but then they only happen at the hour.

A. Mujika: After all, it is a showcase for Basque culture, or it should be. Having such a powerful tool and giving so little space to culture is regrettable… For what and to make content like Telecinco…

To learn how to breathe, again in a later interview you were wanting to start preparing a new album… Is there any song that doesn’t leave the essay venue?

M. Narbaiza: Oh, yeah? I don't remember that. Some ideas and improvisations maybe yes, but the whole song has not remained unheard, no… In addition I think we don’t leave any song out of Learn to Breathe.

A. Mujika: We started preparing a song for a album on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Bonberena Ekintzak. But when we started shaping it, we decided to end the group's journey.

It's a mandatory question. Why?

M. Narbaiza: Because things didn't work as naturally as they did before. We have both felt that we have changed, that we have been thinking about other things for two years, and I, for example, when I try again, have felt different, with other desires. I shared that with Ander and we've made the decision naturally.

A. Mujika: Two years ago, we decided to stop because we were tired, we needed some breath. After these two years, we weren't clear what to do and we did the test. We haven’t found that connection we had before, and it didn’t make sense for us to make an effort…

M. Narbaiza: We felt very respectful and kind, and being so, it was best to act honestly and leave it.

A. Mujika: It was not a dramatic decision. You have to know how to finish, finish some things, start with others. In addition, closure is also an opportunity to look back, value the work done and thank you.

So, farewell concert...

A. Mujika: Yes, we want to end for ourselves, but also for the people and for the people. Enjoy all these songs again...

M. Narbaiza: …and give it the lockdown it deserves. There's something that's not closed if a couple leaves the relationship because you don't get the phone. We, enjoying, celebrating, want to end.

Napoka Iria won't come back to the stage again, but you do.

M. Narbaiza: I play with Drumkopters and Perlak and Joseba B. With Lenoir too. But now I want to delve into my own project, Mice: put forces on it and prepare the album for next fall. It's a big step, but I feel like it. It will be the first time I act alone, against myself and myself.

And you, Ander?

A. Mujika: Right now I'm playing with Anari and at the same time preparing Jabier Muguruza's new album. I have also started to bring hiring stuff to friends musicians, with Amorante, etc., and that also gives me a little time…