Itoiz

Lost Vinyl has a knack for unearthing rare Basque rock groups. The only catch is that you have to be careful to check out what axis they fall in. For all intent and purpose, Enbor is a straight melodic rock group with some Anglo progressive influences. Of their Basque cousins, like Itoiz, Haizea, Izukaitz, or Oskorri, Enbor are perhaps the least folky (except for heavier groups like Lisker or maybe Sakre or Koska) and the influence can only be felt in the structure of the melodies.
Enbor's debut is a collection of shorter songs with a melodic softer rock base. There are a lot of gentle and breezy vocal harmonies which float in a typically Spanish or Basque manner over the music…

Errobi - 1975-1984 (2003) {Elkar BC-008 5CD Box}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.26 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 455 Mb
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© 1975-84, 2003 Elkar | BC-008
Rock / Prog Folk / Prog-Rock / Basque Folk Prog

After the death of Franco in 75, Spain started enjoying a cultural revolution, with the youth expressing themselves in a rocky manner, but a few years behind. Sure there were some rock and jazz-rock groups that took advantage of the last years of the regime, which slowly loosening its strong conservative/fascist grip, because of tourism bringing fresh amounts of cash to a country that was isolated for three decades. But the full explosion of the progressive movement happened in the second half of the decade, and the different regions of Spain, where now making obvious references to their musical traditions.

A nice one-off entry in the genre of Basque folk rock. Itziar's music resembes the first Haizea album in that it is more folk rock than prog folk of the sort that Itoiz delved into. The album, which does have a bass/ drums rhythm section, is dominated by chiming guitars, usually nylon string, with touches of electric guitar (even some solos), flute, sax and some background synth. The female lead vocalist mixes traditional singing with some distinct Joni Mitchell influence at times- very pleasant. As on pretty well all Iberian music, the group vocals as a whole are excellent. Sonically, the Basque folk element is strong, of course, but there is also a resemblance to Beau Dommage's jazzy folk-rock style in Quebec during the same era.