Kortatu

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Kortatu were a ska and punk group from the Basque Country formed in Irun in the summer of 1984.

Although labeled from the beginning as a radical Basque rock, Kortatu tried to fight against any classification. They also faced some censorship problems, especially when they tried to add a picture of Spanish monarch Juan Carlos I depicted as a robot. In the five year life span of the band they moved from ska to hip hop, eventually disbanding the formation after seeing Public Enemy in Paris and creating Negu Gorriak. Although their lyrics also evolved from "party-ska" to "combat-rock" (in their last record all the songs were sang in Basque) the main tone stayed intact: police torture, oppression of the Basque people and the need for social justice are themes very present in their songs.


[edit] Members

[edit] Discography

  • (No title) (Soñua, 1985) together with Cicatriz, Jotakie and Kontuz-Hi!. Reedited on CD by Oihuka in 2000.
  • Kortatu (Soñua, 1985).
  • A la calle (Maxi single featuring 3 themes) (Soñua, 1986).
  • El estado de las cosas (Soñua, 1986).
  • A Front Line Compilation (best of) (Red Rhino-Organik, 1988). Reedited on CD by Oihuka in 1998.
  • Kolpez kolpe (Oihuka, 1988). Reedited on CD by Esan-Ozenki in 1998.
  • Azken guda dantza (live, double album) (Nola!, 1988).


Some CD reeditions included bonus tracks and/or modifications:

  • In the CD reedition of Kortatu (Oihuka, 1998), two songs were included: Mierda de Ciudad y El último SKA.
  • In the CD reedition of El estado de las cosas (Oihuka, 1998), all three songs from the A la calle Maxi single were included.
  • In the CD reedition of Azken guda dantza (Esan-Ozenki, 1992), the censorship beeps are removed from the "Aizkolari" song.