Leonen Orroak is a tribute to the alboka, a pastoral instrument of ancestral origin with a limited repertoire, as well as to the last traditional albokaris, Leon Bilbao (Artea, 1916) and Silbestre Elezkano Txilibrin (Igorre, 1912), both from the Arratia valley in Biscay. Kepa met Ibon around 1991 during the performance Jalgi hadi dantzara by the Kukubiltxo group alongside the Gaiteros de Bilbao. Initially, the album was intended to be released solely under Koteron’s name, but the label eventually decided to include Kepa as co-author..

Of the album’s 16 tracks, four are original compositions by Ibon written during the previous eight years. Among them stands out “Leonen orroak” (Leon’s Roars), whose title emerged from a play on words; the albokari recalls that the piece required a special technique, playing the alboka in two voices on almost every note, which inspired the name as a tribute to Leon Bilbao. The basic tracks were recorded at El Cometa studio in Madrid with the participation of Kepa, Ibon and percussionist Luis Delgado.

The album’s acoustic and folk character was enriched by exceptional collaborations: Carlos Beceiro’s cittern (La Musgaña), Xosé Manuel Budiño’s Irish bagpipes, Rafa Martín’s hurdy-gurdy, Tomás San Miguel’s piano and various wind instruments played by Javier Paxariño (Radio Tarifa). In Donostia, vocals by Natxo de Felipe and Anton Latxa were added to the opening kalejira “Odolaren boza” (with lyrics by Edorta Jiménez and a final nod to Maurizia), along with strings by Bixente Martínez and backing vocals by Maixa Lizarribar, Ixiar Oreja and Garbiñe Sagastibeltza on “Hamaika kolore”, and Leturia’s pandero on “Leonen orroak”. Final mixing was handled by engineer César Ibarretxe.

Ibon recalls using up to six albokas, as the instrument tended to go out of tune quickly. After one session in Madrid, he had to completely re-record the alboka part for “Leonen orroak” while Kepa was at the masseur’s, and both Luis Delgado and César Ibarretxe showed infinite patience. The repertoire, largely composed by Kepa, combines minimalist pieces such as the jota “Dringilin dango”, the porrusalda “Hamaika kolore”, “Txirikila” and the fandango “Atxular atea”, with more elaborate kalejiras like “Baltzolara bidean”, Ibon’s virtuosic technique in “Leonen orroak”, and the infectious arin-arin “Zirkinipez”. The album design, created by Iñigo Ordozgoiti, reinforces its ethnographic aesthetic and tribute to the rural world. Years later, at the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow, a spectator approached Ibon and said: “–Ibon Koteron? –Yes –‘Leonen Orroak’, very good!”.

Record label: Elkar. Production: Kepa Junkera.