Q & A with Kepa Junkera

On Friday, January 16th, Kepa Junkera (above left) played to a sold out Dinkelspiel Auditorium on the campus of Stanford University. Before the performance, Kepa participated in a discussion session, which was moderated by Xabier Berrueta (above right). Here are some excerpts:

X: Gaubon / Good Evening eta Ongi Etorri, We have with us this evening a jewel of the Basque Country – Euskal Herria – he is a master of music in many means not only in traditional Basque but has composed in other methods of music as well and he’s jumped across the pond to the West Coast and is with us this evening and we will start off with some questions that we've had and then will open to the audience and go from there. 

X:What first drew you to the diatonic accordion ?

K: Good evening and welcome, first of all I come from Bilbao, the biggest city in the Basque Country, and traditional music comes from the rural areas, so initially it was difficult to get in touch with traditional music, my aitite (grandfather) played tambourine, which is the traditional instrument that is played with the accordion, and my mother played tambourine and danced to traditional music, and that is how I was introduced in the first place. When I first heard the accordion I liked it because it was quite lively and happy, so a friend of mine leant me one and I started playing it for fun, and that’s how I started to play.

X:The trikitixa (diatonic accordion) is a rather complex instrument. What were some of your experiences growing up as you attempted to teach yourself how to play it?

K: The music is complex, and the trikitixa, my accordion, is not more complex than any other instrument. When I started it was like a game for me and I did not expect to make a living at it and I just started to play melodies for fun

X:As a cultural style, Basque trikitixa music is not always written down and often the only way one learns it is from the elder generation. Who were your musical influences?

K: I listen to what music I could get a hold of but there wasn’t much at the time. Some of my musical influences are Mikel Laboa, Oskorri, Benito Lertxundi. 

X:You were raised in the city rather than the small hillside villages. How were you able to absorb so much of the native culture into your music?

K: I was exposed to more traditional music since I played other traditional instruments like txistu and pandero (tambourine). You have to think, that this was in 1975, and the end of the Franco dictatorship, and many young people were researching their cultural origins. 

X:You have collaborated with some of the finest musicians in the world and infused numerous cultural influences into your own music. Are there any particular artists or musical styles that you would like to explore that you have not as of yet?

K: I’ve been really lucky to play with people that I admire, and that I’ve been able to convince them to play with me. As I collaborated I realized how little I knew. My first dream was to play with Oskorri, a very popular group in the Basque Country, and my recent dream has been to play with Pat Metheny at the Vitoria Jazz festival this past summer. 


X: What parts of your Basque heritage do you try to express in your playing? What do you want your audiences to feel?

K: I’m very proud to be part of the Basque Culture and try to represent what Basque culture is all about and I’m also very proud of the collaborations that I do with other artists, I feel like a citizen of the world, and enjoy the mixtures of cultures. 

Questions from the audience

A: What are the differences between the diatonic accordion and other types ?

K: The accordion was introduced to the Basque Country at the end of the 19th century, which really isn’t that long ago. There are a few theories on who introduced the accordion to the Basque Country. First are all the sailors that came to the Basque Country and played the instrument, and an other theory is that Italian railway workers introduced the instrument while working in the mountains. The difference between the accordions is that the diatonic has two sounds when you press the button, depending on the direction of the bellows. 

A: I was curious when I saw you perform before that you use four different accordions, and I wonder if they are in four different keys or why do you rotate the four accordions?

K: Well to tell you the truth, I have a CD player in each accordion! Just kidding! Some of the accordions have limitations, so I need to use different ones depending on the song being played. Each one is a different key as well.

A: How have the Basque People reacted to the way you have mixed Basque music with other kinds of music such as jazz ? 

K: I’ve been criticized but it doesn’t matter, since I love music and it’s always evolving.

A: What are your future dreams?

K: I’m expecting my third child next month. Some of my other dreams are to meet people like I am tonight. I’m very happy as well with these Basque communities abroad that come to see me – a dream come true for me.