Fermin Muguruza (born 20 April 1963) is a

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 ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

musician, singer, songwriter, producer, record label manager, and co-founder of the

ska punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music. Ska punk tends to feature brass instruments, especially Horn (instrument), horns such as trumpets, trombones and woodwind instruments like saxophones ...

band

Kortatu Kortatu was a Basque ska punk band from the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community formed in Irun in the summer of 1984. Kortatu was born in the context of the first democracy years in Spain in 1984. They had a big ...

, active from 1983 to 1988, and of the

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Music Albums * ''Cross Over'' (album), a 1987 album by Dan Peek, or the title song * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'', an album by Intrigue * ''Crossover'', an album by ...

group Negu Gorriak, active from 1990 to 1996. Born in

Irun Irun (, ) is a town of the Bidasoaldea region in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. History It lies on the foundations of the ancient Oiasso, cited as a Roman- Vasconic town. During the Spanish Civil War, ...

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa ( , ; ; ) 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 department of Pyrénées-Atlantiqu ...

, Basque Country, he is the brother of musicians and and is one of the personalities interviewed for the documentary film '' The Basque Ball'', released in 2003.

Musical career

Muguruza has taken part in more than twenty albums, and is one of the most important artists from the Basque Country. In 1983 he founded a fusion

band called

with his brother Iñigo and drummer Treku Armendariz, among the first to popularise

ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...

in Spain. They were influenced by

the Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

, in fact, Muguruza decided to create the band after seeing Strummer's band in a gig in Donostia on May 2, 1981. His song "Sarri, Sarri", a Basque cover of

Toots & the Maytals The Maytals, known from 1972 to 2020 as Toots and the Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group, one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music. ...

' "Chatty Chatty", grew into a highly popular song during the 80s, where he makes an explicit reference to Joseba Sarrionaindia's artful escape from prison in 1985. In 1988 the group disbanded, but Fermin and Iñigo would come together again in 1990 to create the

group Negu Gorriak, along with Kaki Arkarazo, who had produced Kortatu's last records. In 1997 he collaborated with . More recently he has developed a solo career, always defending the use of the

Basque language Basque ( ; ) is a language spoken by Basques and other residents of the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country, a region that straddles the westernmost Pyrenees in adjacent parts of northern Spain and southwestern France. Basque ...

and the need for

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

Views on society and politics

In interviews he has persistently denounced the policies of the Basque, Spanish and French governments and police bodies, as well as those of Spanish nationalist groups. At an international level, Fermin Muguruza holds left-wing views that lead him to criticize the

U.S. government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, executi ...

, corporations and the

globalization Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...

process, all of which he denounces as imperialistic and homogenizing. In an interview with Freemuse, Muguruza speaks about his experience as a musician under the democracy of today. He has performed in concerts where

fascists Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social h ...

would come to his concerts with bombs, threatening him and his Basque hip-hop music. However, he experiences censorship within Spain for his political and social messages, but still performs and makes music, saying "authorities are afraid of my music because it is a tool against ignorance. And these authorities want the ignorance so that they can do what they want". Musically, he has been inspired by what he regards as the oppression of Spain over Basque Country. And although most of his lyrics are in Basque, his compositions are a melting pot of different cultures, with a big influence of Jamaican and

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

(especially

drum and bass Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...

), which he commonly mixes over Basque instruments. In his track "Euskal Herria Jamaika Clash!, Fermin Muguruza mixes Jamaican rhythms with sounds from Basque traditional musical instruments to produce unique musical hybrids that feature Basque heritage and culture.Muguruza, Fermin.
Euskal Herria Jamaika Clash
. YouTube. 20 May 2006. 15 Apr. 2008.

Discography

Kortatu

*''Kortatu/Cicatriz/Jotakie/Kontuz Hi!'' (1985) *''

'' (1985) *'' El estado de las cosas'' (1986) *'' Kolpez kolpe'' (1988) *'' Azken guda dantza'' (1988)

Negu Gorriak

*'' Negu Gorriak'' (1990) *'' Gure Jarrera'' (1991) *'' Gora Herria'' (1991) *'' Borreroak Baditu Milaka Aurpegi'' (1993) *'' Hipokrisiari Stop! Bilbo 93-X-30'' (1994) *'' Ideia Zabaldu'' (1995) *'' Ustelkeria'' (1996) *'' Salam, agur'' (1996) *''1990-2001'' (DVD + Live CD) (2005)

Fermin Muguruza eta Dut

*'' Ireki ateak'' (1997)

Fermin Muguruza

*'' Amodio eta gorrotozko kantak (1984-1998)'' (1998) *'' Brigadistak Sound System'' (1999) *'' erREMIXak'' (1999) *'' FM 99.00 Dub Manifest'' (2000) *'' Korrika''. mundu bat euskarara bildu (2001) *'' In-komunikazioa'' (2002) *'' Irun Meets Bristol. Komunikazioa'' (2003) *'' Sala Apolo, Barcelona 21/01/04'' (2004) *'' 99-04'' DVD + CD (2005) *'' Xomorroak'' (Bizitza lorontzian) (2005) *'' Euskal Herria Jamaika Clash'' (2006) *'' BASS-que Culture'' DVD + Remix CD (2006) *'' Asthmatic Lion Sound Systema'' (2008) *''

Asthmatic Lion REMIX + beste harribitxi batzuk Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of whe ...

'' (2009)

References

External links

*
www.negugorriak.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muguruza, Fermin 1963 births Living people Basque musicians Basque-language singers Spanish male songwriters Basque singers Spanish rock singers People from Irun 20th-century Spanish singers 21st-century Spanish musicians 21st-century Spanish singers Rock en español musicians 20th-century Spanish male singers 21st-century Spanish male singers