Trans-Europe diatonique was Kepa’s fourth album and marked his first international venture. It was recorded in just four days at the GAM studios in Waimes, Belgium, near the German border. Sharing both studio and accommodation with him were Riccardo Tesi, the experienced diatonic accordionist from Pistoia, and John Kirkpatrick, a leading figure in British folk and specialist in concertina and melodeon. Far removed from distractions, the trio spent entire days composing, rehearsing, eating and resting in the same place. The album was released by the Paris-based label Silex, known at the time for publishing world music artists such as Justin Vali, Patrick Vaillant, Beñat Achiary and, naturally, Riccardo Tesi himself.

The project had actually been conceived several years earlier with different protagonists. Riccardo Tesi recalls that in 1987, during an accordion concert organised by Italian promoter Gigi Bresciani, he, Marc Perrone and John Kirkpatrick got together to improvise at the end of the performance. The chemistry between them was so positive that the idea emerged of forming an accordion trio capable of approaching music with the complexity of a string quartet. When Marc Perrone left the project, Riccardo thought of Kepa, whom he had met years earlier at the La Bouèze festival in Brittany. After a soundcheck, it became clear that Kepa brought an extraordinary level of musicianship, to the point that none of the others wanted to play after him. The trio continued performing around Europe before eventually deciding to record the album.

Kepa contributed four pieces: three original compositions (“Al-Andalus”, “Faxdango” and “Triki-gnosis”) and a reinterpretation of Biscayan dances titled “Bizkaiko dantsak”. John Kirkpatrick suggested including The Beatles’ “Yesterday”, with an arrangement of his own that Riccardo compared to Bach. Communication between the musicians was conducted mostly in French, though each added touches of English and Basque. Despite the age differences, the atmosphere remained entirely collaborative. Among the anecdotes from the recording sessions is the memory of Kepa asking John to pronounce “CNN International” with an American accent, or the recording of Duke Ellington’s “Accordion Joe”, in which Kepa even sang in Basque. These final sessions were never released.

Record label: Silex. Production: Riccardo Tesi, John Kirkpatrick and Kepa Junkera.