The txalaparta (zaldi-parta / horse-walking sound) reflects the resounding,… Read Full Bio ↴The txalaparta (zaldi-parta / horse-walking sound) reflects the resounding, irregular but balanced, haughty and nimble movement of a horse. It is also an eminently Basque percussion instrument, a primary musical object, played by two musicians, like the two legs of a same person, a living being that moves, walks and runs, four wooden makilas or sticks of wood sharing a magical and evocative trot awakening the most liberal and wildest of intimate and collective emotions.

At the time when basque culture was still spread over a spattering of farmhouses (practically until the 60s), the txalaparta was played only very rarely and was principally related to the making of cider. The technique, like the very essence of the instrument itself, was then on the verge of disappearing and was played by no more than a few couples (the Zuaznabar or the Goikoetxea brothers for example). But thanks to the effort, work and enthusiasm of Juan Mari Beltrán and of the brothers Jexux and JosAnton Artze, the baton transmitting knowledge of the instrument started once again relaying from hand to hand, going on to make the txalaparta known, embellish it and greatly increase its potential, thus saving it from extinction and reinstating it as a part of tradition. Thanks to their endeavours, more recent generations have been taught their knowledge, hence opening new roads to the recovery of the instrument¹s authentic and primitive sensitivity. Today, the txalaparta is an essential instrument as far as percussion is concerned, and has become a feature of cultural distinction, with a touch of ethnic flavour giving our music its own special ³mark², a particular stamp setting it apart from others.

Igor Otxoa and Harkaitz Martínez, the members of OREKA TX, are the direct heirs of this living and vibrating tradition, which they likewise endeavour to transmit by means of a revamped, stronger and more attractive variant.