Negu Gorriak

Inspired by a 1988 Public Enemy concert in Paris, Fermin Muguruza, Inigo Muguruza, and latecomer Kaki Arkarazo abruptly abandoned Kortatu to explore a harder-edged sound rooted in hip-hop and hardcore on Negu Gorriak. Fermin Muguruzas pit-bull snarl centers the brawling rock-bordering-on-metal guitars and drum-machine backbeats on their first venture into shaping the hip-hop DJ style and sample culture sound to their own ends. But if the musical vehicle changed, the militant lyrical message remains the same as Kortatu. The opening "Esan Ozenki" translates as "Say It Loudly" and the lyrics link Public Enemys "Fight the Power," the Clashs "White Riot," and James Browns "Say It Loud! Im Black and Im Proud" to the Basque experience. Even that rarest of Negu Gorriak beasts, a love song ("Amodiozko Kanta"), revolves around memories of a 55-minute prison visit. The racehorse pace of "Iraktasi Ziguten Historia," the old reliable "I Cant Explain" chords of "Radio Rahim," and "Malkoak" show traces of Negu Gorriaks later full-fledged attack while "Ragamuffin Jaia" maintains the Jamaican root. The primitive sound collages and the learning-as-you-go approach leaves Negu Gorriak as a spotty but valuable blueprint for the music to come. ~ Don Snowden