José Ángel Hevia Velasco, known professionally as Hevia (born October 11, 1967 in Villaviciosa, Asturias), is a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

bagpiper – specifically, an Asturian gaita player. He commonly performs with his sister, María José, on drums. In 1992 he was awarded first prize for solo bagpipes at the

Festival Interceltique de Lorient __NOTOC__ The (French), Emvod Ar Gelted An Oriant (Breton) or Inter-Celtic Festival of Lorient in English, is an annual Celtic festival, located in the city of Lorient, Brittany, France. It was founded in 1971 by . This annual festival takes ...

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. Possibly his most recognisable composition is the 1998 piece ''Busindre Reel'', from his first album ''Tierra de Nadie''. Hevia is known for helping invent a special brand of

MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and ...

electronic bagpipes, which he is often seen playing live. The instrument was developed with Alberto Arias (pupil and computer programmer) and the electronic technician Miguel Dopico. Two of Hevia's tracks, ''La Línea Trazada'' and ''El Garrotin'' (single release), appeared on the cross-platform video game '' Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense''. His music was also featured in

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, just before the nightly IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth fireworks show.

Early years

Hevia first came into contact with the bagpipes in 1971 during a procession in Amandi when he was with his grandfather. It was there that the image of a man and his bagpipes influenced the very young Jose Angel. The unity between the pipe player, his music and the instrument seemed magical to him. Hevia then began bagpipe classes. Three times a week, after school, he took the bus to

Gijón Gijón () or () is a city and municipality in north-western Spain. It is the largest city and municipality by population in the autonomous community of Asturias. It is located on the coast of the Cantabrian Sea in the Bay of Biscay, in the cent ...

. Armando Fernández taught him in the traditional style and then accompanied him back to the bus. He arrived home at 12 o'clock at night and the following day practiced what he had learned in class so he hardly had time for other leisure activities.

Discography

*''Tierra de Nadie'' (''No Man's Land''), 1998; released 1999 in worldwide *''Al Otro Lado'' (''At the Other Side''), 2000 *''Etnico Ma Non Troppo'', 2003 *''Obsesión'', 2007 *''Lo Mejor De Hevia'', 2009

References

External links

Official website

Myspace

Italian website

1967 births Living people People from Villaviciosa, Asturias Musicians from Asturias Bagpipe players Players of Spanish bagpipes Spanish folk musicians Celtic folk musicians {{asturias-stub

Early years

Discography

See also

References

External links