hiru truku: three musicians, third records
Ruper Ordorika’s clear voice tries to dispel any doubts there might be. He does so too. He enriches the questions, arouses passions and enhances the pleasure of conversation. It grows with him. Hiru Truku (Three Turks, Three Tricks). That’s the reason why we’re here. The whole story is rich with tricks and Turks, moors and foes, magic and melody. Story. Well, song actually. Because music is the reason why we’re here.
Bixente Martinez, Joseba Tapia and Ruper Ordorika seemingly get along very well together, and they say that makes things all the easier to do. The trio have just released their third record: “Nafarroako Kantu Zaharrak – Old Traditional Navarrese Songs”. The first two albums – “Mendebaleko Euskal Baladak – Ballads from the West of The Basque Country” eta Mendebaleko Euskal Kantuak – Songs from the West of The Basque Country” – centre on the Basque dialect known as Vizcayan. This time around these musicians have turned their attention to Navarre. “About eight years ago, when we were up and down the country playing shows, everybody kept asking us when we were going to do something with old songs from Navarre. And I remember joking with Bixente and Joseba, telling them they had better get me a grant to go and live in Baztan (Nothern Navarre) so I could learn these old songs. Later on, I kind of started looking into the whole thing myself, and I surprisingly discovered that lots and lots of the melodies used in Basque songs are from Navarre” says Ruper Ordorika. That said, most of the songs on the record will not be familiar to listeners. “We wanted to record songs that aren’t really well known at all. There are many ways of approaching a traditional song. We wanted to do our own version of the songs” states Ordorika.
Wicked and tricky to boot.
It seems as if there should be someone holding up a warning sign to us. No need to worry. It’s just a game. A game that combines words and melodies. A Romance poem called “Jaunzuriano” appeared on the first record, and it fearured a character by the name of Trukukumia or Trukua. Ruper carries on from here, “I think this charater is a Turk, an enemy of Christianity, wicked. They still really distinguish between the goodies and the badies (the Turks) in pagaents in Zuberoa (Northern Basque Province). The Turks are wicked. In the song it says that the charatcer has come from afar, dressed in a foreign fashion, you know, as a Turk, as a Moor... We really liked the meaning behind the story and that’s why we chooose it as a name. Wicked and tricky, and you only need one word to say it”.
Where are the antipodes to creativity?
When I asked why they got together, the singer from Oñati replies, “Hiru Truku wasn’t started up as a full time band thing. We have a ball together and we really love what we do. We’re fans of this music”. One thing that can’t be ignored is the name the band have made for themselves on the folk scene at home as well as internationally. “Even though people may think differently, it’s much harder for Ruper Ordorika to make a name for himself thant Hiru Truku because once you leave the Basque Country, and especially in Spain, people will much more readily accept old songs sung in Basque than new ones. Maybe it’s because new songs also imply greater sophistication”. Traditional songs do have a charm that more contemporary ones don’t: the pleasure in researching into them, the joy of discovery. “We get to do what we love most and sometimes we come across the strangest things. Some people might say that we are the antipodes to creativity but that’s just not true. It’s really easy to sum up the reason why we are doing this sort of material: we don’t sing these songs because they’re old but because their beautiful”.
The end of this year and the beginning of next year sees them playing concerts all over the Basque Country. What they’d most like? “We’d like as many Basque people as possible to hear these melodies”. There were no definite answers forthcoming when the subject of what the future holds was broached. Probably better that way. As Ruper puts it: “When we did the second record, we thought that would be the end of it. We even said as much ourselves. Yet here we are with the third record. Who knows what’ll happen on the future?”
Bixente Martinez, Joseba Tapia and Ruper Ordorika seemingly get along very well together, and they say that makes things all the easier to do. The trio have just released their third record: “Nafarroako Kantu Zaharrak – Old Traditional Navarrese Songs”. The first two albums – “Mendebaleko Euskal Baladak – Ballads from the West of The Basque Country” eta Mendebaleko Euskal Kantuak – Songs from the West of The Basque Country” – centre on the Basque dialect known as Vizcayan. This time around these musicians have turned their attention to Navarre. “About eight years ago, when we were up and down the country playing shows, everybody kept asking us when we were going to do something with old songs from Navarre. And I remember joking with Bixente and Joseba, telling them they had better get me a grant to go and live in Baztan (Nothern Navarre) so I could learn these old songs. Later on, I kind of started looking into the whole thing myself, and I surprisingly discovered that lots and lots of the melodies used in Basque songs are from Navarre” says Ruper Ordorika. That said, most of the songs on the record will not be familiar to listeners. “We wanted to record songs that aren’t really well known at all. There are many ways of approaching a traditional song. We wanted to do our own version of the songs” states Ordorika.
Wicked and tricky to boot.
It seems as if there should be someone holding up a warning sign to us. No need to worry. It’s just a game. A game that combines words and melodies. A Romance poem called “Jaunzuriano” appeared on the first record, and it fearured a character by the name of Trukukumia or Trukua. Ruper carries on from here, “I think this charater is a Turk, an enemy of Christianity, wicked. They still really distinguish between the goodies and the badies (the Turks) in pagaents in Zuberoa (Northern Basque Province). The Turks are wicked. In the song it says that the charatcer has come from afar, dressed in a foreign fashion, you know, as a Turk, as a Moor... We really liked the meaning behind the story and that’s why we chooose it as a name. Wicked and tricky, and you only need one word to say it”.
Where are the antipodes to creativity?
When I asked why they got together, the singer from Oñati replies, “Hiru Truku wasn’t started up as a full time band thing. We have a ball together and we really love what we do. We’re fans of this music”. One thing that can’t be ignored is the name the band have made for themselves on the folk scene at home as well as internationally. “Even though people may think differently, it’s much harder for Ruper Ordorika to make a name for himself thant Hiru Truku because once you leave the Basque Country, and especially in Spain, people will much more readily accept old songs sung in Basque than new ones. Maybe it’s because new songs also imply greater sophistication”. Traditional songs do have a charm that more contemporary ones don’t: the pleasure in researching into them, the joy of discovery. “We get to do what we love most and sometimes we come across the strangest things. Some people might say that we are the antipodes to creativity but that’s just not true. It’s really easy to sum up the reason why we are doing this sort of material: we don’t sing these songs because they’re old but because their beautiful”.
The end of this year and the beginning of next year sees them playing concerts all over the Basque Country. What they’d most like? “We’d like as many Basque people as possible to hear these melodies”. There were no definite answers forthcoming when the subject of what the future holds was broached. Probably better that way. As Ruper puts it: “When we did the second record, we thought that would be the end of it. We even said as much ourselves. Yet here we are with the third record. Who knows what’ll happen on the future?”
