w.m.o/r 28
CD with 12 p. booklet
Released 22.12.2006
Edition of 500

Josetxo Grieta
'Euskal Semea'

Castellano (Euskara en progreso)
Reviews

EUROPEEAR SEMEA I - version for 20 guitars, broken glasses, 3

watering cans and voice

for Delmore Schwartz and Eduardo Haro Ibars

EUROPEEAR SEMEA II - live at MRB | AMM, Arteleku 11th August

2006

Josetxo Anitua : voice & radio

Piji: drums

Mattin: voice & guitar

EUROPEEAR SEMEA (435hz)

EUROPAR SEMIA HIL DOZU

GAZTIEN GAINEAN TXISTUKA

ARGI AZULEK EZ DIEZ, EZ TA?

HOBE DOZU AGURTZEA

HEY, HEY, ADIO, BYE BYE.

DIRUZ BERDETU DOZUZ HORMAK

YOU WANT TO MAKE LOVE TO THE SCENE

HOBE AGUR ESATIA,

PAILAZOAK

AGUR ESAN DOTZU

Our dear Alvaro Matilla, who runs the Brutus zine in

Barakaldo asked us to do a version of 'European Son' by

the Velvet Underground. He is preparing a tribute cd

and a concert presentation to celebrate the 40th

anniversary of the first release by the Velvet Underground:

the classic 'Banana Album'.

'European Son' was Lou Reed's particular hommage to his mentor Delmore Schwartz, poet and professor at Syracuse University.

The year before the album's release, Schwartz had died from heart

failure, most likely caused by years of alcohol and barbiturate abuse.

A poet of brutal emotional landscapes anchored in the commonplaces

of daily life, Schwartz's attention to simple vernacular

language made a lasting impression on Reed. In the words of Sterling Morrison

“Lou was closer to Delmore than I was, he was pretty hard to get close to when you think about it, but he

was a good poet. No one needs me, or Lou, to say that.

‘European son’ is dedicated to him, it’s just not on

account of content although it does talk about an

European son, so it’s like the European Jew in exile

in the United states, but that’s not really why:

Delmore despised rock and roll lyrics, he thought they

were ridiculous and awful, and ‘European son’ has

hardly any lyrics so that meant that was a song that

Delmore might like. He didn't care about the music

part of rock and roll, he just hated the lyrics, so we

wrote a song that Delmore would like: twenty seconds

of lyrics and seven minutes of noise. I think Delmore

was a good poet, but I didn’t treat him as my personal

messiah the way Lou did. Lou really liked him, but

Delmore was crazy, made worse by alcoholism, he was an

incredible juicer.�

Schwartz reportedly told Reed at one point,

"You can write-and if you ever sell out and there's a

Heaven from which you can be haunted, I'll haunt you".

You killed your European son

You spit on those under twenty-one

But now your blue car's gone

You better say so long

Hey hey, bye bye bye

You made your wallpapers green

You want to make love to the scene

Your European son is gone

You'd better say so long

Your clown's bid you goodbye

Within these cryptic lines, Lou Reed is attacking the

established power structures of the so called white

collars and aligns himself with the European

history of rebellious poets.

We brought the song to our close environment, taking advantage of the meaning of the lyrics, as well as the improvised nature of the original song, which actually is very

related to the modus operandi of Josetxo Grieta.

We decided to translate the lyrics to Euskera, which is

supposed to be the oldest living language of Europe.

That simple action brought to the table a whole new perspective on the meaning of the word ‘son’, especially if this ‘European Son’ is actually a Basque one (Euskal Semea means Basque Son).This Basque son has of course a place in the construction of Europe itself. But his position has been eluded by law makers who only contemplate him as a consumer unit dislocated from a land that has been completely sold thanks to the disregards of the ones that made him an outlaw in an occupied land between two countries.

Questions arise from the way culture is shaped towards the construction of a national identity, to the way that we as individuals are forced to define ourselves between the

dichotomy of being Basque or not. This question avoids the whole grey scale between white and black, scoring like a pinball among origins, upbringing and education today’s ultraglobalized reality, after centuries of dominion by the French and the Spanish.

We first approached the song by re-constructing the bass line and keeping the original open ending. We recorded six different improvised takes using that bass line, while applying La Monte Young’s Dream Syndicate tuning techniques (noted on Tony Conrad’s web page) to our guitars. For the seventh take we added drums and recited mixed verses from works by Schwartz and the Spanish poet Eduardo Haro Ibars, preacher of counter-culture during the later years of Franco’s dictatorship and the transition to democracy in the late seventies. Afterwards we mixed the seven takes, synchronizing them to the bass line.

In the second version a Basque asks another Basque if being hit and hitting back is the only way to learn in this mousetrap that is carefully prepared for us. Lyrics are sung in Spanish, written among the three of us, using the process of automatic writing.

1.CLASIFICACION 2.DESHUMANIZACIÓN

We´ve built up big walls Y ahora que estás muerto

As big as your prejudices y ahora que no sientes

As big as my fears te encuentras lleno de vida

I don´t know you de vida caducada

But don´t like what I see que te produce vómitos

What is it? What isn´t it? y te provoca arcadas

Don´t like what I see quieres, pero no sale nada

My eyes are blind -estás vacío-

My mind is blank quieres, no sale ni aire

I sold out my soul -no tienes alma-

And bought sunglasses Y ahora que estoy muerto

With thick black bricks y ahora que no siento

They don´t let me see me encuentro mucho mejor

I see nothing manipulado hasta los dientes

I don´t know shit desalmado, pero vivo

Just that you´re there errante, pero con sangre

And I don´t like you podrida, pero con sangre

while you don´t like me Pistoletazo de salida

And we don´t give a fuck y la carrera comienza

We´re both blind con meta en ninguna parte

We´re both clowns y es que no hay meta

We´ve lost our brains sólo una huida hacia adelante

And bought a brand new TV no mires atrás, no mires adelante

To see lots of nothing cegado por la nada

Let´s kill each other guiado por lo absurdo

Genocide is back Primer premio: fracaso

3.EXTERMINACION 4.NEGACION

You can call the doctor Sólo ha sido un sueño

You can call the cops sólo ha sido un sueño

You can call your mom sólo ha sido un sueño

But it´s too late sólo ha sido un sueño

You better say goodbye sólo un mal sueño...

Pray if you want un sueño irreversible

Fight or you´ll crack realidad irreversible

It´s you or them vida irreversible

This is your prize miras atrás

This is your time ves que has ganado

This is your moment lo has conseguido

Show all you can do no, no has conseguido NADA,

Your day has come sino la NADA te ha conseguido

Now you´re important pero sólo ha sido éso,

Now you´re the god sólo un mal sueño más

While they´re the scum vuelves a la cama

But I don´t believe you pero ya no puedes dormir

And I don´t believe them el insomnio eterno

You mean nothing to me tu ceguera de por vida

I´m talking shit again ¿podrás vivir con ello?

Castellano

Reviews

Antoine Chessex Blog 14. 1. 2007 Berlin

Euskal Semea

1.24.2007

Josetxo Grieta - Euskal Semea (w.m.o/recordings CD)

Last of the recordings Mattin sent my way is from the Josetxo Grieta trio, which features Mattin as well as Josetxo Anitua and Inigo Eguillor. The premise for "Euskal Semea" is that the group were invited to do a reinterpretation of the Velvet Underground's "European Son" in tribute to the VU's legendary self-titled album on which the song in question can be found. The title of Grieta's version is derived by translating "European Son" into the Basque language Euskera and the literal translation then turns back into "Basque Son", thus giving the new piece a decidedly personal ramification for all musicians involved.
Presented here are two different versions of "€peear Semea", one for (supposedly) 20 guitars, three watering cans and voice and the other for drums, voice, radio and guitar. In the first version, seven different takes on the song are edited together to form a deliriously swirling din that only really resembles "European Son" in terms of anarchistic aesthetic. Apparently the original bassline is retained and worked around but even that is a challenge to dig out (although it really is there throughout all 22 minutes). I can't confirm for you if that many guitars and watering cans were actually used but with all the overdubbing taking place here, who knows for sure. What does come across is a slow-lurching blackened sun drone, akin to taking a bath in an oil can during a thunderstorm. Digital-sounding blips and whirrs are puked out every so often and quickly re-ingested like a hurricane simultaneously sucking in and tossing out everything it comes into contact with. The result is impressive, if not overly long, and maybe even something that Lou Reed himself could've come to grips with, though I doubt it. Also noteworthy is the fact that all guitars were tuned to La Monte Young's "just intonation" technique. Hmmmmm... "€peear Semea II" is described in the booklet as "a Basque [asking] another Basque if being hit and hitting back is the only way to learn in this mousetrap that is carefully prepared for us". I'm of no qualification to answer that so I'll just stick to the music (which I'm still of no qualification to talk about but hey, you've gotten this far, you might as well finish reading!). This 28-minute piece is largely percussion oriented, with Eguillor delivering thundering, hypnotic, and downright lively rhythms from the drum kit, an impressive feat of stamina in that he's able to keep the energy level up for a good 20 minutes. Other sounds accompanying him are Mattin and Anitua's treated guitars and voices, both shouting lyrics in Spanish and churning out malevolent bolts from their strings. The last nine minutes are a sort of post-apocalyptic coda to the proceedings, all three sounding down and out and letting out final gasps from their instruments and/or throats before the sounds finally collapse on themselves. I probably liked "II" better but that's also because it was better at immediately holding my attention. With more listenings I'm sure I'll be able to appreciate the intricate workings of the first version just as well.
I don't know if it bears repeating anymore but like all Mattin/w.m.o/r product, you can obtain the tracks here for free on Mattin's website, along with all pertinent liner note information. A lot of people say a lot of things about Mattin but what strikes me most is the attention to detail given to each one of the releases, despite the fact that anybody can go grab them off his website at will. They all come with (or in) thick, glossy booklets or fold-outs with text and photos and various epherma. I encourage you to at least investigate his website and send some cash his way if you like what you hear. I can think of less deserving parties!

Ruta 66 (Abril 2007, Barcelona)

 
)

The Sound Projector (by Ed Pinsent 11th April 2007)

Josetxo Grieta is here with Euskal Semea (w.m.o/r 28), which on the face of it comprises two lengthy cover versions of ‘European Son’ by The Velvet Underground, and printed texts in the package intellectualising and contextualising the decision (even filling in some historical background on Delmore Schwartz, the poet and English teacher at Lou Reed’s University). Josetxo’s text asks pointed questions about national identity, particularly as it obtains in 21st century Europe. Mattin forms part of this deconstructionist trio, adding guitar and voice to the radio work of Josetxo Anitua, and the drums of Inigo Eguillor. Actually this record could turn out to be a very rewarding slab of noise, and more than just ‘cover versions’, perhaps an interesting commentary of sorts on the music of The VU and their status in musical history. The high-impact cover art is a witty pastiche of the first VU LP, except this Basque banana is peeled, bitten, and dipped in some vile red sauce; the strands of banana peel fall in odd patterns and make it resemble a yellow and black stick insect.

Mondo Sonoro (May 2007)

The Sound Projector (London)

A very odd one indeed...Josetxo Grieta is an ad-hoc group, comprising
Josetxo Anitua on voice and radio, Inigo Eguillor on drums, and our old
Basque friend Mattin on voice and guitar. They were commissioned to
record a version of 'European Son' by The Velvet Underground, as part of
the project by the editor of music zine Brutus to stage an event in
honour of the 40th anniversary of that famous LP. The CD contains two
very long pieces of brutal noised-up versions, now retitled '€PEEAR
SEMEA I' and II, of which the second version was recorded live and the
first version is a radical re-interpretation of the original, reworked
for 20 guitars, watering cans, broken glasses and voice...both are
simply splendid assaults of powerful avant-rock noise, compelling and
remorseless in equal measure, paying particular attention to that
brutalist, primitive rhythm to propel the songs; both remain totally
true to the real spirit of The Velvets. On strength of what you hear
alone, many progressive listeners will find this hard to resist.
But stay! Josetxo Grieta also have an underlying concept to the release,
explained in detail in the pamphlet enclosure of which the cover art is
a sickening satire version of the famous banana LP cover by Andy Warhol.
Jesetxo's riposte to that iconic image is his photograph of an old,
browning banana of which the top has been bitten off and dipped in a
vile red sauce. It looks repellent. Inside, a concise paragraph of
research reminds us that the original 'European Son' was dedicated to
Delmore Schwartz, who (as all VU fanatics already know) was the poet and
professor at Syracuse, and Lou Reed's personal mentor. He's remembered
to this day as a crazy man, an alcoholic and drug addict, and a violent
enemy of rock music, especially what he regarded as the banality of its
lyrics. In fact the band attempted to curry favour with him by recording
'European Son', a song that comprises only 20 seconds of lyrics, and
seven minutes of noise.
Analysing the scant ten lines of the 'European Son' lyric, Josetxo
Grieta conclude from it that 'Lou Reed is attacking the established
power structures of the so-called white collars, and aligns himself with
the European history of rebellious poets'. Inspired with agitational
zeal, the band decided to make their version of the song into a critical
statement, attacking modern culture and politics. They translated the
lyrics into Euserka, an archaic European language which is allegedly the
oldest living tongue in the continent. In the process, the European son
suddenly changed into 'Euskal Semea', meaning a Basque Son. In depicting
the plight of the Basque ('an outlaw in a land occupied between two
countries’), this leaves our critical trio free to explore ideas of
oppressive law-makers, consumerism, globalisation, and the work of the
Spanish poet Eduardo Haro Ibars, an icon of counter-culture in Spain
during the Franco years. Like all good Marxist-inspired thinkers, our
libertarians can't forget the weight of history, and continue to
complain bitterly about 'centuries of dominion by the French and the
Spanish'. It's not all politics thankfully, as the trio used their anger
to create new lyrics for their recordings, generated using automatic
writing, and sung in Spanish; these lyrics depict a simple morality play
exposing the folly of internecine violence, and hope to expose the
'mousetrap that is carefully prepared for us'.
Accordingly, their version of 'European Son' is now dedicated to two
poets, Schwartz and Ibars, and (even if you don't dig the political
angles) this gives a satisfying conceptual coherence to their statement.
ED PINSENT 29/07/2007

Autsaider Magazine (Ukraine, May 2007)

JOSETXO GRIETA
Euskal Semea
CD, w.m.o/r, 2007


Josetxo Grieta – це тріо баскських музикантів Маттіна, Хосетхо Анітуа та Ініґо Еквіллора. Проект, створений народити на світ Божий чергового культурного монстра. В цьому випадку монстром виступає перекладена на баскську мову присвята Лу Ріда своєму наставнику Делмору Шварцу, викладачу університету м. Сіракузи і поету. Десь зовсім поряд блукає привид Velvet Underground: цей диск фактично замовили Маттіну як інтерпретацію їхньої пісні “European Son” (вона ж присвята Шварцу) зі славнозвісного „бананового” альбому. Звичайно, на баскську перекладено й назву пісні, але в перекладеній версії вона стала звучати як „Сини басків”.

Маттін явно захоплюється грою в культурні посилання, навертаючи павутиння змістів, які напряму виводять до проблеми, до якої він весь час повертається в інших своїх роботах, – баскської незалежності. Диск напрочуд адекватний – і як свіже явище в європейському авангарді (який досі марить строгістю форм, відкидаючи психоделію як метод), і як формальне вираження того ступеня абстракції, до якого не дотяглися свого часу Velvet Underground і Ніко, і як нове прочитання присвяти одного похмурого типа іншому – Ріда Шварцу. Справа в тім, що Шварц був важкою людиною, одержимим демонами алкоголіком, але він був справжнім поетом – його вірші переборювали його одержимість.

Музика на диску важка, вайлувата, невесела, вона рухається вперед навалом, не розбираючи дороги й щохвилини втрачаючи напрямок руху. Проте не можна сказати, що вона незграбна чи неповоротка – навпаки, вона викликає враження живого тіла, яке – попри те, що воно спотикається на кожному кроці, що від нього весь час відвалюються шматки – готове в будь-яку мить спурхнути і полетіти у нас над головами. Цей альбом – безсоромне вираження культурної свободи в самому центрі світу, в центрі, охопленому постколоніальними настроями. Він – образ Країни басків, землі, оточеної та здушеної з усіх боків агресивною європейською нав’язливістю, землі, в повітрі якої досі відчувається запах свободи.

Я нічого не знаю про Країну басків, я ніколи там не був, я ніколи не дихав її повітрям. Але Маттін та його тріо все про неї знають, і вже через це диск є цінним. Так, ніби нам дали вдихнути цього повітря, і ми самі раптом почали уболівати за долю досі незломлених басків, за долю одержимих демонами поетів і – врешті-решт – за історію вільної музики, за звільнення її від тиску культурного авторитету Старого Світу.

English

JOSETXO GRIETA

Euskal Semea

CD, w.m.o/r, 2007

Josetxo Grieta is a trio of Basque musicians Mattin, Josetxo Anitua and Inigo Eguillor. It’s a project designed to give birth to another cultural monster. In this particular case, a Basque translation of Lou Reed’s homage to his teacher Delmore Schwartz, a professor in the University of Syracuse and a poet, is the monster. A ghost of the Velvet Underground is wandering somewhere around: Mattin was actually ordered to produce this disc as an interpretation of their song “European Son (To Delmore Schwarz)” from the famous “banana” album. Of course, the title is translated into Basque too, but the translation changed it to “Basque Sons.”

Mattin is obviously fascinated with playing with cultural references weaving a web of senses that directly point at the problem which he constantly adverts to in his other works – Basque independence. This disc is surprisingly to the point as a fresh phenomenon in European avant-garde (which still goes after rigidity of forms and throws away psychedelia as a method), as a formal expression of the extent of abstraction the Velvet Underground and Nico failed to achieve in their time, and as a new perusal of one gloomy guy’s homage to another, Reed to Schwartz. The fact is that Schwartz was a tough guy, an alcoholic possessed with demons but he was a true poet, his verse transcended his possession.

The music of this record is massive, heavy-footed, joyless; it recklessly goes ahead over hedge and ditch and minutely loses the direction of movement. However, one can’t say that it’s awkward or cumbersome, on the contrary it produces the impression of a lively thing which despite the fact that it tumbles over its every step, its chunks falling off all the time, is ready to take off and fly over our heads. This album is a shameless expression of cultural freedom right in the centre of the world, in the centre abuzz with post-colonial sentiments. It is an image of the Basque country, the land surrounded and suppressed by aggressive European officiousness, the land in the air of which one can still scent freedom.

I know nothing about the Basque country, I’ve never been there, and I’ve never breathed its air. But Mattin and his trio know all about it, and that’s the very reason why this disc is so valuable. It feels as if we were allowed to breathe this air, and we suddenly started to care about the destiny of the Basque people still unbroken, of the destiny of poets possessed with demons, and finally of the history of free music, started to support its liberation from oppression of the Old World’s authority.

Denis Kolokol

Tranzistor (by Nicolas Absurd, Athens)

the trinity's holiday makes you change your habits and moving hours...
having as a target a nice breakfast in one of my favest places i start a
small derive around the city with the exception of some coffe shops that
also sell sandwiches and pies that didn't fancy make me go on.. at
thermopylwn st. my beloved bougatsa shop 'i nea anoixi' is closed... kinda
walk i walk to adrianoupolews st but marina as well with her beautiful
russian recipies and the lovely potato piroskas is also closed. am thinkin'
of sitting at 'nostimia' but i change my mind and leave. i end to 'nea
ellas' one of my favest pastry shops in town, unfortunately no baked rice
pudding so i fancy a lovely piece of a substantial walnut pie... some of my
beloved coffee shops are closed. stucked of whether i should sit for a
coffee in a coffe shop in the city's main square or not. i am walking down
platonos st, ali memet oglou's coffee shop is open, in the background of
the shop i can hear the voice of the muezzin coming from a radio, nearby
'new art' has a delivery of dresses for young muslim girls. i stop at
'spanidis' bookstore and watch the books that are displayed in the
showcases, i realize that 'estia' has published in greek the book of
vryonis around the events of '55 in instabul and i recall that a week ago
there was the book's presentation in thrace. i walk more enjoying my last
hours in the city, stucked in my discman is euskal semea the insane tribute
of josexto grieta to the european son of vu (the title in basque means
'european son') done on the ocasion of the 40th anniversary of the
'banana''s issue. 2 pieces, one for 20 guitrars, broken glass, etc the 2nd
a live one togehter w/ mattin (in a stellar sound/contribution) and iatigo
eguilor. rotten, dirty, sick, fuckin' amazing, torn, freepunknoiserock in
its bloodiest best moments. intense sounds that fit perfect to my last walk
in town.

jacknapier.blogspot (Italy)

Euskal Semea