Makala, What?
For those of you who do not know who Makala is, here are a few clues.
Born Mikel Unzurrunzaga Schmitz on 23 May 1970 in the Basque town of
Zarautz, his professional life has revolved around his two passions,
surfing and music. He first broke onto the music scene in the '90s,
going by the name of Makala. Over the years his sessions have embraced
an ever increasing range of musical styles: from afrobeat to funk, soul
to reggae, ska to hip hop, boogaloo to dub, rocksteady to jazz, all
mixed, cut and ready to be enjoyed.
His fascination with all types of black music has turned him into both
a collector and expert on the subject and he has even written articles
for magazines as "The Balde", "Entzun!"... Makala also has performed in Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Czech Republic, Belgium, Holland, France and Portugal, as well as
having frequently toured Spain and having performed at the most
renowned festivals as Popkomm 2002, Sonar 2000 and Elektronikaldia 1999-2000 (working in this last San Sebastian´s music festival as artistic co-director in combination with Javi Pez between 20002005). He has undeniable talent. He currently combines his
DJ sessions (on the radio and in clubs) with performances by the Makala
Banda or his Makala Sound System. Since two years, has his own production studio at his home town Zarautz, called Funkel.
The experience gained behind the turntables led to his first digipack
CD - Makala plays Novophonic - (Novophonic / So
Dens / Universal, 2002) under what was then the Europe-wide acclaimed
San Sebastian record label. It is a stunning session in which Mikel has
mixed the Novophonic tunes, demonstrating his ability to maintain
excitement without losing the beat, an essential skill for any decent
DJ. The recording got Mikel hooked on producing and the album includes
his first original track ..Novocut..n..Pastephonic.., made using the cut
'n' paste technique with samples from the album itself.
After this first adventure, Mikel went on to produce a steady flow of
his own singles and compilation tracks in which his musical influences
abound. His songs feature on "No borders, No nations, No wars"
(Duplikat Records 2003 Berlin), "Basque Electronic Diaspora vol. 3"
(Metak, 2003), "Basque Planet" (Wagram, 2004), "Kaffeeburger der
Sampler 1" (Duplikat Records, 2006) and as a bassist and singer he
collaborates with, among others, Javi Pez Orquesta on "Sports" (Hitop
2004) and Gailu on "Pil Pil Sessions V.1" (Metak, 2002), while the
culmination of his work is the CD digipack recording "Hondartzan"
(Metak, 2005). This is the first album in which Makala composes, sings
and plays on all the tracks, supported by an array of Basque musicians.
This album has gained cult status, being one of the most recent
references to another great Basque label: Metak.
"Hondartzan" catapulted Makala back into the spotlight and gave him the
chance of having his own radio slot on the public basque radio station
"Gaztea" (EITB) His programme "Boom Shaka Laka" mixes a host of styles and bands past and present, and is the fruit of the daily updating of Mikel's musical files. His last compilation album is created from a nexo system like one of those
radio sessions: real sounds from black roots created by basque producers. This is precisely what he set out to achieve and it is the
outcome of a logical and sustainable progression in Makala's
distinguished career. It is also proof that in life these things can be
achieved in an honest, tasteful and dignified way without involving
deceit or bad feeling. This is today's sound from the Black Basque
Country!!!Txarly Brown. Barcelona. 11/11/2006--------------------------------------------------
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For info or bookings about Makala,
send an email to [email protected]
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