From the first concert in the Rekalde Hall of the Old Part of Donostiarra, until today we will meet at the test site of the Rekalde district, it has changed a lot in Koba. The members of the group, the songs, as well as the corner in which they meet. As a tribute to the Necropolis song, they have in the rear of the tanatory a test site shared with two other groups: Koban cave. We have been invited to be voyeur and listeners of the quote from the same assembly as from the essay, but before we have quoted three members of the group for the interview to take place in a more distended environment: At 18:00 at the Casa de Juegos de Añorga.

After surrounding himself with beer, coffee and tea, he turned on the recorder and Elixabete Beraza took the floor to give way to the first. He was the only one who experienced the beginnings of the group that we joined together. Three years ago he joined the group when they prepared the first three or four songs. It was the time of the fall of Kortxoenea at the gates of 2016 and the opening of Tabakalera. The environment is relocated in the neighborhoods of Gros and Egia, the natural habitat of many of the members of the group. The members of Koba at the time were Lide Hernando, Onintza Rojas, Jon Horna, Esti Beraza and Asier Beramendi. Elixabete Beraza entered as a second corista, but then went to the piano. Remember that in those days they were “very green”, but they were not lacking in illusions. “We tried in a garage, cold, in very bad conditions, but we saw that the songs were strong, and that made us feel like it. More than a music group, we were a group of friends.”

There was a lot of change. The first was the incorporation of Joseba Salbide to the group. From their hand, they added an electronic base to the previously elaborated songs, bringing the electroswing label closer to the width. But there was more. Maddi Gerriko started his career in choirs, Jon Hornak and Asier Beramendi left the team and Lide Hernando decided to put his forces on the Liher team. By then, Koban had already acquired a certain fame – among other things, they had made the song of the Gazte Akelarre – and had received offers to play here and there. In the absence of colleagues from the group. Then they formed in the cave and searched for new companions to give him fresh air. This is how Rakel Arenaza and Jone Laspiur joined in the vocals and Xalba Ramírez in the guitar work.

Lifelong learning

Jone Laspiur recalled that they entered the team at a somewhat chaotic time: “I received a message that it was said that you had to have a lead singer, who would sometimes also do as a corist, but would not always sing.” In the same way Rakel Arenaza started: they saved as they could the first concerts that were already united and gradually they have found their place in the group. However, he says that the connection between the members of the group has been very simple and quick: “Our relationship has developed in a very natural way, without distinction between the initial and the most recent group.”

If it has been easy to join Kobane, Arenaza believes that the whole team is immersed in lifelong learning. “It is the first time that a similar group or for the first time we use the instrument that belongs to us. Together we are learning and developing skills.” Laspiur and he have had to do a great job to take the measure of the voice, as learning to make crowns “is harder than it seems.” He's also learning how to use the Arenaza synth. However, they have not been tempted to protect the group under the label of “beginner”. They are demanding of themselves and represent the experience of the years with dozens of hours of trial and individual work. Anyone who has seen it knows that they are recognised as having a concerted improvement concert.

Disk worked with mimo

One of the features of Koban's electroswing is dancing, music is very appropriate for festive and similar environments. They have a strong direct, and that's where they feel most comfortable, that's their natural space. However, when they have proposed to compose the album, they have not been content with a quick recording that allows them to act as a party during the summer. The work that bears the same name of the band is composed of mime, dedication and desire to show the work done for three years. So much so that they decided to abandon the first attempt and do a deeper job: rethink all the songs, balance the participation of the instruments… They have even added on the album a slower song that may be the counterpoint of the rest of the songs (Klimax gaiztoa). This is what Beraza explained: “We had the feeling that people were interested, but we knew we still had to work a lot to be able to live up to. In the end, with a lot of effort, we have taken the step and we are very happy.” The creation of the album has also been a process of continuous learning and for a season, Shot! It has been the second home of some of its members. Study 1. Ander Barriuso has been his indispensable ally. As Arenaza stressed, thanks to him the songs have been rounded up in the study and put them into value. “It has helped us mostly with crowns, and without a crown, this record would be nothing.” They only have one pity: as soon as the recording was finished, part of the studio burned to death, causing huge damage. They hope that some initiative will be organised to turn the hole around and that they will have the opportunity to put their number.

The first line is our

The lyrics of the songs that make up the album deserve special attention. There are stories, there are more metaphorical, and also charged with demands. Rakel Arenaza stresses that the daily problems of the band members are about taking the songs. When we were talking about the song E.E.I.E. The issue that had already been pointed out among those who had to work has emerged: that of feminism. “We have not been asking for little, the first line is ours,” the song cry says. “We wanted to make a feminist song, but we didn’t want to complete it with prefabricated phrases or empty speech. What we wanted was for us to feel identified as women and as a group.” All the women in the group met for that purpose to make a brainstorm. On that basis, Rakel Arenaza and Onintza Rojas have accompanied Izar Mendiguren, Bertsolari and journalist.

Of the seven members of the group, five are women who, besides having a prominent role in the staging, show a firm and determined attitude. Asked whether there is a reflection behind it, they do not entirely agree: yes and no. Jone Laspiur says it is not something that takes very much into account: “We are and we are women. It would be impossible not to do things like that, we do it very naturally.” Elixabete Beraza, for his part, has realized the difference between groups that have many women or not. To some extent, it believes that they can become a benchmark or an example, and that responsibility is taken very seriously. “We believe that on stage we have to demonstrate strength, but at the same time we are like that, that force is our own.” Laspiur considers that situations similar to those faced by women in many areas of their lives also occur on stage and that showing strength is a way to deal with uncomfortable situations: “I have had to demonstrate that strength to deal with certain situations, as I have had to do in many other areas of life.”

Musical Assembly

It’s already past 19:30 by the time we’ve run out of conversation. At the premises of Rekalde Rock the other comrades await us. We've made the road there by car. It's piano, it's synthesizer -- we barely fit everyone in the rehearsal room, but we ended up fixing ourselves. They've taken about 20 minutes to interrogate each other, to prepare their instrument or their corner. They had already announced: “Our essays are also assemblies.” But despite being aware, it's remarkable to see how alive the songs are. Before playing the second song, at least three or four issues have been discussed: what is the claqueta, which is the second voice…

It is clear that what was said in Jolas-Etxea is true: they make the most important decisions among all, although they also delegate some work. Elixabete Beraza has recognised that they spend a lot of time shaping decisions, but he likes the formula. “When you feel ownership of the project, your responsibilities and obligations become more agile. If there was a very clear leader and the others were his collaborators, we would do what we do less willingly.” Rakel Arenaza also agrees: “We spend many hours at a time, and the best way to adapt between us is for us to take all the decisions that affect us.” Jone Laspiur feels that what they do in Koban is comparable to militancy, or at least lives. Beraza has rounded the reflection: “Having a group is much more than making music.”

They have continued to sing with the review of the song, as it could not otherwise be, leaving room for debate. The attention is striking: all members have spoken, if not before, later. But more striking is that in trials too (almost), when there is no one watching, they dance. Are there more obvious symptoms of a group's good health? In the face of the risk that we too get to dance, we leave the peers (for once) reassured and decided to go. “Now come the best songs,” we have been warned, but we have resisted the temptation. Summer begins: whoever wants to find them in the squares.