Mikel Laboa Mancisidor (15 June 1934 – 1 December 2008) was one of the Basque Country's most important singer-songwriters. Considered the patriarch of Basque music, his music has had an influence on younger generations. A testament to this is the tribute album ''Txerokee, Mikel Laboaren Kantak'' ("Cherokee: Songs of Mikel Laboa"), published in 1991 by various younger-generation rock and

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

groups. His album '' Bat-Hiru'' ("One-Three") was chosen in a reader poll by the local '' Diario Vasco'' newspaper as the greatest Basque album in history. Nearly all of his songs are sung in

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 ...

Biography

Mikel Laboa was born 15 June 1934 in

Pasaia Pasaia ( es, Pasajes) is a town and municipality located in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community of northern Spain. It is a fishing community, commercial port and the birthplace of the famous admiral Blas de Lezo. Pasaia ...

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French de ...

. He spent nearly two years of his childhood in the town of

Lekeitio Lekeitio (; es, Lequeitio) is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Spanish Autonomous Community of Basque Country, northeast from Bilbao. The municipality has 7,307 inhabitants (2019) and is one of the most importa ...

, Bizkaia. In the 1950s he studied medicine and

psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry. Initial p ...

in Pamplona-Iruña. He would constantly balance his artistic career with his medical career, which began at the Children's Neuropsychiatry unit at Patronato San Miguel in San Sebastián, where he worked for almost 20 years. During his student years he became interested in music, influenced by artists such as

Atahualpa Yupanqui Atahualpa Yupanqui (; born Héctor Roberto Chavero Aramburu; 31 January 1908 – 23 May 1992) was an Argentine singer, songwriter, guitarist, and writer. He is considered the most important Argentine folk musician of the 20th century. Biography ...

and

Violeta Parra Violeta del Carmen Parra Sandoval (; 4 October 1917 – 5 February 1967) was a Chilean composer, singer-songwriter, folklorist, ethnomusicologist and visual artist. She pioneered the Nueva Canción Chilena (The Chilean New Song), a renewal a ...

. Following in their footsteps, Laboa would likewise identify himself as a "political artist." In 1958 he made his debut at the Teatro Gayarre in Pamplona. During the 1960s he, along with other Basque artists including singer Lourdes Iriondo,

Xabier Lete Xabier Lete Bergaretxe (Oiartzun, Gipuzkoa, April 5, 1944 - Donostia, December 4, 2010) was a Basque writer, poet, singer and politician. He started to write from an early age and he often published articles in the magazine "Zeruko Argia". In 1965 h ...

and

Benito Lertxundi Benito Lertxundi is a Basque singer-songwriter born in Orio, Gipuzkoa, Basque Country in 1942. He is an acclaimed and veteran figure in Basque music, who spearheaded with other key figures its revival in the 1960s and following years, showing a ...

, founded the cultural group ''

Ez Dok Amairu EZ or Ez may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * E-Z Rollers, a British drum and bass group * EZ Rock, a brand of radio stations in Canada * Ezekiel "EZ" Reyes, a fictional character in '' Mayans M.C.'' * E.Z. Taylor, a fictional character ...

'' ("There is no 13"), which in many ways sought to revitalize Basque culture, long dormant under the

Francoist regime Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spa ...

. They dedicated their focus on the revival and social status of the Basque language. Within this group Laboa came into his own, emerging along with Benito Lertxundi as a prime example of what was called " new Basque music." Laboa's music can be described as a combination of tradition, poetry and experimentalism, in the songwriting style of the 1960s and 1970s, but endowed with a strong personal touch and a unique voice. His work combines old standards reinterpreted in modern style, lyrical poetry from authors such as

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

, and suitable compositions. Deserving special mention are his ''Lekeitioak'', experimental songs based on shouts and

onomatopoetic Onomatopoeia is the process of creating a word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Such a word itself is also called an onomatopoeia. Common onomatopoeias include animal noises such as ''oink'', ''m ...

sounds. Laboa was a creative force for 35 years, continuing well into his old age until his fragile health kept him away from the stage. He would collaborate often with jazz musician

Iñaki Salvador Iñaki Salvador Gil (born 10 April 1962, San Sebastián) is a Basque Spanish jazz and classical pianist, arranger and composer. He is known for his Basque classic studies of piano, accordion, harmony, and counterpoint. He often collaborated with Mi ...

and worked with the

Orfeón Donostiarra The Orfeón Donostiarra is a concert choir based in San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain. History The choir was formed in 1897 in San Sebastián. The first music directors were Miguel Oñate, Luzuriaga and Esnaola. In June 1906 the group was ...

and other orchestral groups from the Basque Country. Some of his most well-known songs are featured in ''

La pelota vasca ''The Basque Ball: Skin Against Stone'' ( es, La pelota vasca: la piel contra la piedra; eu, Euskal pilota: larrua harriaren kontra) is a 2003 Spanish documentary film written and directed by Julio Medem. Overview The film's purported intention i ...

'' ("The Basque ball"), a documentary by

Julio Medem Julio Medem Lafont (born 21 October 1958) is a Basque film director, producer, editor, and screenwriter. Biography Medem was born on 21 October 1958 in San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain and showed an interest in movies since childhood, when ...

. On 11 July 2006 he gave his final performance, opening for

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

at a "Concert for Peace" held in the city of Donostia-San Sebastián. A curious feature of his album titles is the fact that they are numeric. This custom began in 1974 with the release of his two-disc ''Bat-Hiru'' (1–3). The album ''2'', with songs based on the writings of Brecht, had been banned by

Francoist Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

censorship. This was followed by the double LP ''Lau-Bost'' (4–5) and ''6''. His ''Lekeitios'' comprised albums 7 through 11, although only a compilation of these was released through low-key marketing. These were followed by ''12'', and Laboa skipped number 13 in homage to the group ''Ez Dok Amairu'', whose name means "There's no 13" in Basque. Afterwards, he released ''14'', and his live albums ''15'' and ''16''. Not including compilations and posthumous editions, his last release was ''17'' (''Xoriek''). His final collaboration was with the

group ''Naizroxa'', where he contributed to the first and only song on the first disc, "Iqharaturic." Mikel Laboa died 1 December 2008 at a hospital in Donostia-San Sebastián at the age of 74.

Honors

* 2000: ''Medalla de Oro'' of the UPV-EHU * 2008: ''Medalla de Oro'' of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa * 2018: a square in the quarter Antiguo of San Sebastián is named after Laboa

Discography

Throughout his life, Laboa published 17 records. Three more appeared posthumously. * ''Azken'', 1964 * ''Mikel Laboa'', 1966 * ''Bertolt Brecht'en lau poema Mikel Laboa'ren abotsean'', 1969 * ''Mikel Laboa'', 1969 * ''Bat-Hiru'', 1974 * ''Lau-bost'', 1980 * ''6 (Sei)'', 1985 * ''Euskal Kanta Berria'', 1987 * ''Lekeitioak'', 1988 * ''12 (Hamabi)'', 1989 * ''14 (Hamalau)'', 1994 * ''Mikel Laboa'', 1995 * ''Zuzenean'', 1997 * ''Gernika-zuzenean 2'', 2000 * ''60ak+2'', 2003 * ''Xoriek – 17'', 2005 * ''Lekeitioak'' (2-CD), 2007 * ''Mikel Laboa (1934-2008)'' DVD, 2009 * ''Mikel Laboa "in memoriam"'', 2008 * ''Gernika (Lekeitio 4) 1972. Remix, 1937-2012. Bi bertsioren arteko elkarrizketa. Diálogo entre dos versiones''. 2012

References

External links

Mikel Laboa
Biography, recordings, songs, bibliography, newspaper library and other documents.
Mikel Laboa Chair
created through a collaboration agreement between the

University of the Basque Country The University of the Basque Country ( eu, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, ''EHU''; es, Universidad del País Vasco, ''UPV''; UPV/EHU) is a Spanish public university of the Basque Autonomous Community. Heir of the University of Bilbao, initiall ...

and the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council
Mikel Laboa in Auñamendi Encyclopaedia (''www.euskomedia.org'')

Interview in ''Berria''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laboa, Mikel Basque singers Spanish male songwriters Basque-language singers 1934 births 2008 deaths 20th-century Spanish singers 20th-century Spanish male singers