Zetak or how to achieve the resurgence of Basque mythology chanted by thousands of people in Basque

From starting singing in Gaztetxes (squatted social centers) or at town festivals practically free to filling the Navarra Arena in Pamplona up to twice, with 15,000 people every day or getting three ‘sold out’ in the Illumbe bullring in Donostia. This is what Zetak, the Basque-language electronic pop music band led by Pello Reparaz (Arbizu, Navarra, 1990), has achieved in just over five years. His first album, which bore the name of the band, Zetak, composed in addition to him by the musicians Leire Colomo, Iban Larreburu and Gorka Pastor, had great success and was proof that a commitment to electronics also made sense. in Basque. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic arrived and they created ‘Zeinen ederra izango den’ (How nice it will be), an album and a song with that title that had a video clip created with images of the band’s fans being happy.

After the pandemic, in 2022, came ‘Itzulera’ (the return), a song sung with Erramun Martikorena, a renowned singer in the Basque Country whose career began in the 70s. ‘Itzulera’ marked a before and after in Zetak’s style, since it includes the ‘txalaparta’ (traditional Basque percussion instrument) and the dance group Kukai Dantza participates in the video with the choreography ‘Oskara’ that will be key in the following works they publish. “Why is all this madness arising around Zetak? Trips, interviews, thousands and thousands of people at concerts… I believe that Zetak is a firm proposal and behind all this there is something unique: Basque,” ​​explains Reparaz himself in the documentary that tells his story that began in Vendetta group at only 17 years old.

The documentary, which bears the name ‘Hau ez da kontzertu bat’ (This is not a concert) is the first of the last steps that the group has taken and that has led it to become recognized outside the borders of Euskal Herria. In the latter, his latest album, ‘Aaztiyen’ (a word that means recently in Basque), published in 2023 and which mixes traditional music and Basque mythology with electronic rhythms, has played a key role. Zetak, in addition to Basque, has dared to use Catalan, with songs like ‘Hitzeman’ with Oques Grasses or with a version of ‘Pa amb Oli I Sal’ by the group Blaumut, but another of the novelties of ‘Aaztiyen’, which It also includes the Catalan with ‘Entre carn i os’ with Marala, it is the Galician with Fillas de Cassandra through the song ‘Anguleele’. The latter criticizes sexual violence and learning about sex through pornography. These steps have brought the Catalan and Galician public closer to Zetak’s music, especially in Catalonia and Valencia where the group has been participating in festivals for years.

Zetak’s last stop was Navarra Arena, which for two days, January 4 and 5, was the stage for Mitoaroa, a creation that Reparaz himself had spent months ensuring that “ez da kontzertu bat”, “it is not a concert ”. “It’s a crossover mythological with characters and an experience that goes beyond what a concert is,” Reparaz explained. And so it was. From singing in a water tank or on the floor after an “attack” by the demons that chased him around the stage, not metaphorically, to dancing and jumping over fire. The group managed to revive the history of Basque mythology and having 30,000 people sing in Basque was a milestone. Beyond mythology, carnival characters such as Unanuko mamuxarruak, Iturengo joaldunak, Tuterako zipoteroak, Altsasuko momotxorroak, Zubietako joaldunak, Arbizuko txatarrak and the Lanz Carnival were found on stage.

Reparaz managed to sing with Erramun Martikorena his famous ‘Itzulera’, a moment in which both – and a large part of the audience – were moved, and Martikorena sang his version of ‘Xalbadorren Heriotzean’ by surprise. “In an interview with Berria I said that everyone deserves, at least once in their life, to hear Erramun sing Xalbadorren Heriotzean. And here it has been possible,” said Reparaz, visibly moved in a concert in which he had the participation of other artists such as Neomak, Marala, Vendetta, his previous group with which he sang one of his most legendary songs, ‘Begitara begira’ or Maixux Zugarramurdi with whom he sang the last song that the group has published, ‘Hileta kantu nafarra’, dedicated to Reparaz’s grandfather who recently passed away.

The second concert – the one on January 5, which was broadcast by ETB2 – featured an unexpected visit: that of the former Osasuna coach, Jagoba Arrasate. Arrasate appeared on stage with a mask that he took off and began to sing a ‘bertso’ dedicated to the defense of Basque in Navarra. When he received the offer to broadcast the concert on EITB, Reparaz assured that his request was that the concert be broadcast on ETB2, the Spanish channel, instead of ETB1, the Basque channel, so that “all Basque television would be in Basque.” ”. Beyond Basque, Mitoaroa had other demands through Reparaz himself, such as that of public health, which he defended with a thank you to Osasunbidea, the Navarrese Health Service, for caring for two of his relatives who have gone through diseases whose cost is high.

Once the stage lights went out at the Navarra Arena, a question rang out: “What now?” It didn’t take long for Zetak to announce other concerts. First, a date: September 5 to end the ‘Aaztiyen’ tour. Hours later, tickets were sold out until there were three dates: September 5, 6 and 7 in Illumbe, the bullring in Donostia. “It is fact and fiction. We have mixed one world with another and something has come out. That’s nice and necessary. We started working, we continued without stopping and we have arrived at Mitoaroa and the feeling now is that we have arrived at something new. I think Mitoaroa is something that is alive and we don’t really know where it will lead us. In Donostia we will close the ‘Aaztiyen’ tour and, from there, more things will come,” Reparaz promises after five years that make it clear that Zetak has opened the door to a new universe that will rescue Basque traditions and defend the Basque language, showing that they are alive beyond the limits of Euskal Herria.