07 - Lapurtar motxak- 3´02
'The Slow Lads of Labourd'
(Music: Traditional)
(Arranged
and produced by Joxan Goikoetxea
& Alan Griffin)
Recording
engineer: Joxan Goikoetxea
Recorded at Aztarna Studio (Hernani, Gipuzkoa) throughout 2017
Mixing
and Digital Mastering:
Mikel F.Krutzaga – Musikart Studio (Amezketa - Gipuzkoa)
Joxan Goikoetxea: piano,
accordion and keyboards
Alan Griffin: whistle and
flute
Iain MacLeod: mandolin
Arkaitz Miner: fiddle
Juanjo Otxandorena: bouzouki
This is a jauzi from the northern Basque provinces. Originally jauzis were only performed by men, but have now become social dances for everybody all over the Basque Country.
Arkaitz,
Juanjo, Iain and I had been playing this dance together for a long time,
so it was natural for me to ask them to record it with us.
The tune wasn’t in Joxan’s repertoire, but it was easy to
convince him to do it once he'd stopped laughing at the demo I showed
him. Nowadays, 'Lapurtar motxak' is also played at Edinburgh sessions,
courtesy of Iain.
How is it possible to play a long dance like this without having studied
it? Easy:
I used to hear it on Thursdays at the sessions in the Kixkal bar in
Hernani.
It seems to be one of Alan’s favourites and was very popular there, with people jumping up to dance it. Was this because of its likeness to the hornpipes of the Islands up there, I wonder?
To please my companion I recorded a piano, a bass and a snare drum,
belting out rolls as fast as my wrists allowed.
Every time you hear it you want to dance...
