Kalakan is a music band from the northern Basque Country composed of Jamixel Bereau, Xan Errotabehere and Bixente Etchegaray. It is characterized by minimalist arrangements (

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

percussions A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Excl ...

) of

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

traditional songs. After having collaborated and toured Europe with pianists

Katia and Marielle Labèque The Labèque sisters, Katia (born 11 March 1950) and Marielle (born 6 March 1952), are an internationally known French piano duo. Biography Education and first performances Katia and Marielle were both born in Bayonne, on the southwest coast ...

, the trio become more widely known when they collaborated with Madonna during

The MDNA Tour The MDNA Tour was the ninth concert tour by American singer Madonna, launched in support of her twelfth studio album, '' MDNA'' (2012). Comprising 88 shows, the tour began on May 31, 2012, in Tel Aviv's Ramat Gan Stadium and concluded in Cór ...

Career

Formation: 2009–2010

Kalakan was created in 2009 by Paxkal Indo and Thierry Biscary from their

txalaparta The txalaparta ( or ) is a specialized Basque music device of wood or stone. In some regions of the Basque Country, (with ) means "racket", while in others (in Navarre) has been attested as meaning the trot of the horse, a sense closely relate ...

duo. After touring Europe with pianists

, performing an arrangement for two pianos and Basque percussion of Maurice Ravel's Boléro, they invited percussionist Frédéric Chambon to join them to form a trio. Before going on their first

artist in residence Artist-in-residence, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...

program to prepare their first record, Chambon was replaced by singer and percussionist Jamixel Bereau. Their album ''Kalakan'' was recorded at Laguna Records in Biarritz and mixed at studio K in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

by producer David Chalmin during autumn 2010.

recorded "Kantuz" with a piano arrangement made by Joël Merah, and Basque choir Anaiki from

contributed backing vocals to "De Treville-n azken hitzak". This first album was co-produced by Basque

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

ZTK Diskak, representing Paxkal Indo, and Italian

KML Recordings, representing

. 2000 discs were duplicated, with a portion of them being distributed by Abeille musique (

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

) and Elkar ( Basque country).

Increasing fame: 2011–2012

After some promotional concerts in support of their first album, Paxkal Indo was replaced by singer and percussionist Xan Errotabehere. After this, Kalakan reached greater successes. The first thirty concerts given in the Basque country and in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

were successful. Kalakan won the 2011 edition of the Transhumances musicales festival in

Laàs Laàs (; oc, Lars) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. Neighbouring villages include Orriule to the north, Andrein to the north-west, Narp to the east, Barraute-Camu to the west, and Montfort to t ...

. Most ''Kalakan'' albums were sold after the shows and they sold out completely before autumn 2011. During the summer of the same year, Kalakan were introduced to Madonna by

during her holidays at their house on the coast of the northern Basque country. For her 53rd birthday on August 16, 2011, they performed their version of

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

's Boléro and some of their songs. Madonna liked Kalakan and asked the trio members to accompany her on tour in 2012. After a workshop in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

in February 2012, participation of Kalakan in

the MDNA Tour The MDNA Tour was the ninth concert tour by American singer Madonna, launched in support of her twelfth studio album, '' MDNA'' (2012). Comprising 88 shows, the tour began on May 31, 2012, in Tel Aviv's Ramat Gan Stadium and concluded in Cór ...

was confirmed. During the show rehearsals from March to May, Kalakan proposed different arrangements of Madonna's hits and some traditional Basque songs. The majority of the musical propositions were approved by musical director Kevin Antunes and Madonna. She decided to sing a verse of "Sagarra Jo!" in

. The MDNA Tour visited

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

, North America,

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

and the artists did more than 80 shows in seven months.

Music and influences

In Euskara, "Kalakan" means "chatting". The band members love their mother tongue and its musicality. They arrange

traditional songs to give them a contemporary sound, using for example the verse-chorus structure used by pop and

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...

musicians. Kalakan plays Basque

percussion instrument A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

s (pandereta,

, tobera, ttun-ttun, atabal),

body percussion Body percussion may be performed on its own or as an accompaniment to music and/or dance. Examples of countries' folk traditions that incorporate body percussion include Indonesian saman, Ethiopian armpit music, palmas in flamenco, and the hambone ...

s and handcrafted large drums. Giving rhythm to old melodies or interpreting new songs

a capella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

, they mark a break with the Basque song that has developed in the Basque country since the 1970s.

Discography

* 2010: ''Kalakan'' * 2015: ''Elementuak'' * 2018: ''Elementuak II'' Also appears on: * 2011: ''Baionatik Bilbora'' (compilation) * 2013: '' MDNA world tour'' (live album) * 2013: ''Silex'' (collaboration with OrekaTx)

Filmography

* 2011: ''Elementuak''. Video clip by Baxter & Rojos productions. Also appears on: * 2012: ''The Labeque way''. Documentary by Felix Cabez * 2013: ''Katia et Marielle Labeque, rock et baroque''. Documentary by Fabrice Ferrari and Constance Lagarde * 2013: '' MDNA world tour'' (live DVD) * 2015: ''Faire la parole''.

Eugène Green Eugène Green (born 28 June 1947) is a U.S.-born French film-maker and dramatist. He is notable as an educator, training a generation of young actors in the revival of French baroque theatre technique and declamation. Films * 2001 : ''Toutes ...

documentary

References

External links

official web site
{{Authority control Basque music bands Basque-language singers French world music groups