With great care

The festival MAZ Basauri has warmed up the autumn again this year, in its 14th edition, highlighting its feminist character. Year after year it is reflected in its programming, the highlights of this year being two soloists of the caliber of The Well Beloved and Maika Makovski and with a female presence in 60% of everything programmed.

Things done with good taste and care give good results, proof of this was the sold-out on Friday. The first day of concerts opened with Reelercontest winners Rockin. The Biscayan combo of local, Irish, Polish and British origins update the Britpop of the 90s, a scene that is making people talk again with the return of so many groups and the stylistic claim of groups like the Australian DMA’s. The boys’ pop-rock of guitars and sixties brilliance was perfectly defended in their difficult task of opening the recital. They opened with “Say 2 Much”, they brought us closer to the first Radiohead with “Do You Still Think You’re Right?”, they entered the territory of the lesser-known Cast in “A Change In The Heart”, the Supergrass choirs sounded in “Cut Out The Middleman” and how could it not be missed, the wake of the Gallaghers was felt in “Not Everybody Loves The Sunshine”.

The great Maika Makovskiwith her great presence and accompanied by the band from her beginnings, is on tour reviewing her first albums. The raw rock of the Mallorcan, heir to Patti Smith and PJ Harvey, is a slap in the face to the macho imaginary of rock, not very distant from what the always beloved Ainara LeGardon did a few years ago. The band opened with “Body” and the concert grew steadily, passing through the sensual “Chill Out Charles/So Far Sober” and making use of “Exotic Ingredients”. The most emotional moment happened when Mariana Pérez, drummer in the last years of Maika, Basauritarra and well-known in the local scene, came up to accompany the voice and tambourine in “Love You Till I Die”, in front of the clamor of the public.

Rufus T Fireflycoming from Aranjuez, closed the evening, taking the public to an unparalleled psychedelic landscape. The two drums, the multitude of keyboards/synths plus Víctor’s guitar and the sound of the bass create unique atmospheres, breaking the typical structure of pop. They thus manage to give rise to a different way of fitting words into songs, always an arduous task in Spanish. The band reviewed all their albums (since they became psychedelic), with special mention of Julia on vocals in “Ceci n’est pas une pipe” and her incredible work as a drummer. The echoes of the electronic music of the movie Tron, the Muse-like guitar playing in “Pompeya”, the Foals-like closing of “Blue Thunder” and the romanticism of “Jade Nebula” could not be missed. The fantastic play of lights did the rest so that everyone could leave engrossed at the end of the evening.

Rufus T. Firefly

Saturday morning was dedicated to the little ones with Txiki MAZ and in the afternoon the Basautarra street was animated with “MAZ Kalean”, where Reeler they made a double, Silkat They polished their updated postpunk and the great Monkeys They gave free rein to their Planets-Pirates school indie.

Back at Social Antzokia, Fernando Alfaro He surprised with his sweeter and more acoustic side in the presentation of his “Convento Freak”. The incomparable artist came out accompanied by his daughter Lea Leone (Natalia Alfaro), Fernando Vacas and Darío Garrido and was very communicative explaining the meaning of his new compositions: “Renacimiento”, “Terapia”, “Survivir” or “Sur”, among others. His particular universe remains far from pop commerciality, he approaches Velvet Underground without complexes and expresses himself through more than unusual lyrics such as in “Camisa Hawaiana De Fuerza”. As a special guest was the organizer Maite Alaña, who contributed her wild side in “Vampiro”. The band closed with the classics “Fuerte” by Surfin’Bichos and “Magic” by Chucho, key Spanish indie groups that Alfaro has played through, to the great delight of the most fans.

The night ended with the timeless melodies of The Well Belovedgig with greater audience participation. Our wishes after their previous visit were fulfilled when they appeared with a full band, also debuting some eye-catching visuals. The Bilbao native opened with “Ni BIen Ni Mal”, very much in her synth-pop vein and went Latin in “Esto Que Tengo Contigo” from her warmest album “Paprika”. We join Ana exclaiming “Muero De Amor” without caring if they call us tacky bowlers and we dance in a square to the rhythm of “What?” and “A Veces Ni Eso”, good examples of how to use New Order’s tricks intelligently. There was also no shortage of classics from the first album such as “Corpus Christi” or “De Momento Abril” and it closed with “Porque Te Vas” by Jeanette. Undoubtedly the best concert of his that we have seen to date and a perfect final touch for Saturday night. A weekend with a diversity of proposals, an annual meeting place with old acquaintances, a theater with excellent acoustics and a good perspective from any corner, all without the visual and conceptual distortion of the stands of multinationals that They invade the entrance of the big festivals, all at a popular price. What more could you ask for?

To close the festival, on Thursday, November 12, at 6:30 p.m., the third installment of ‘Women and the music industry’a talk guided by Myriam Miranda, in which Afrika Bibang and Lova Lois will openly analyze this hot topic.