It has been a fruitful year for Beñat Oribe and Gari Uriarte. They make up Pair, a group founded and rooted in Agurain. They just released their new album, “From a Town Called Agurain”. For those who don’t see it at first glance, DUPLA would be the work’s acronym. Because that is the essence of the album, Beñat and Gari’s.
The new album, the Japanese tour… where do you get the energy to perform without even stopping?
Music and people give us energy. It’s something we’ve loved since childhood, it’s hard to imagine our life without music.
Being a couple will make such matters easier, won’t it?
It has its good things and its bad things, we are a couple, but in our relationship eleven other people get into our bed… Try it, reviltaliza mucho la pareja, hehehe.
‘De Un Pueblo Llamado Agurain’, always referring to the town, but always far from the town’s historical music scene.
Always coming and going. The word town, especially those who do not live in a town, associate it with various preconceived ideas. The people and their culture are something in motion, they have never been something static.
Between the two of you, you’ve produced everything so far, but this time you’ve added a new element to the equation, Mikel Irazoki. Was it easy to work with him?
Yes, it’s a capo de la música. We are left with his musical criteria and way of negotiating musical directions, but that cannot be told here…
What was the intention of this album, to play?
Enjoying and giving music the time and importance it deserves.
The diversity of styles has been remarkable once again, but there is one song, ‘Tirikitrauki’, which is a bachata. Well bachata… Ska and electro music are also added to it. Whose crazy idea is this?
Beñatena, bachata zalea da, he likes the social dance thing.
You also had collaborations on the album. How did you choose them this time and what were the reasons?
The music dictates the collaborations, and we just made the calls to make it happen.
“It’s always a challenge to launch a new show. That challenge is what motivates us the most”
Matters of age are mentioned in various everyday matters, but in the song ‘Otsaportillo’ you mentioned something that happened during the 1936 war.
The stories that happened during that war have a strong connection with time and age. It takes years to understand history well. The story we tell in the song Otsaportillo is a legend taken from a daily newspaper, a true legend that has always been heard at home and in the village.
You will start in the halls with the album presentation. It will be nice, but also a challenge, right?
It’s always a challenge to launch a new show. This challenge is what motivates us the most.
When presenting the previous album, you wanted to give a twist to everything with the lighting design. What should we expect this time?
Bring sunglasses, no kidding.
However, what do you prefer, playing in halls or being in front of full squares?
Indoor concerts are the best because people have made a conscious and upfront decision to invest their money and time in them.
I say this because you have turned many squares in the Basque Country upside down. You have a nice interaction with the public. How do you live all this in yourself?
The people help us to understand all this. Going shopping in house slippers helps a lot, for example.
Once the halls are finished, will we see you in the squares? Ready to dance a lot this summer, right?
Let the people decide, for the moment we have focused all our energy on the concerts in the halls.
You may even say ‘Ronkola’ to yourself, but do you see in the squares how new ‘mixes’ are created from the stage? That is, is there a ‘Tirikitrauki’ in sight?
It’s a secret, we’ll tell you at the concerts 😉