Mikel Laboa

Mikel Laboa was born in Pasaia (Gipuzkoa) in 1934, and spent his childhood in Lekeitio (Bizkaia). He doctored as psychiatrist in Iruña (Nafarroa) and worked for many years as psychiatrist in Donostia (Gipuzkoa). He died after a long disease on 1st of December of 2008. In 1958 he acted for the first time in public. On that time he was inpired by artists like Atahualpa Yupanqui, Violeta Parra or Tom Waits During the 60s, together with artists like Benito Lertxundi took part of the cultural collective Ez dok amairu, of experimental nature and heavily influenced by the spulptor Jorge Oteiza, this collective became cradle of the Euskal Kanta Berria (New Basque Song). His double album "Bat Hiru" - 1974 (One Three) is emblematic. It contains songs like the poem for freedom "Txoria Txori", and the missing "two" in name makes direct reference to what the work is missing: The censored Bertolt Brecht poems. Mikel Laboa is a meeting point for traditional popular songs, poems of artists like JA Arze, Bertolt Brecht, Xabier Lete, Joseba Sarrionandia, Bernardo Atxaga and his own poems, but the contribution of Mikel Laboa to music goes far beyond and he is best know for his tireless experimentation with language and voice, his love for abstract art was also expressed in the covers of his albums, all by the painter Zumeta The most abstract works of Mikel Laboa can be found in the compilation "Lekeitiokoak"- 1988