Potato, the disagreements of a band that tarnished the dream of the ‘Euskadi tropikal’: “I need an apology and then we would see” | Culture | EUROtoday

In parallel to the Basque Radikal Rock motion, within the eighties, the choice of a “tropical Euskadi” was shaped in Vitoria-Gasteiz. Those who coined the idea had been Hertzainak, when, in An egg in a pine tree (An egg in a pine tree), they sang: “…eta beharbada egunen batean Euskadi izango da libre ta tropikala (…and maybe one day Euskadi will be free and tropical).” The band Potato could be in control of growing it any further. In the face of battle, tropicality. Instead of the Gernika tree, a palm tree. “We were not only tired of the situation, but also of the weather,” explains singer Pako PKO (Francisco López Moya, La Carolina, Jaén, 69 years outdated). “The whole day it was cold, rainy and we wanted to see the sun. We took that to the political and social field.”

With the orchestral dimension of ska and reggae bands, Potato was based in 1984 with three vocalists: Johnny Brusko (Juantxo Borikó, who died in 2006 on the age of 49, Basakato del Este, Equatorial Guinea), Aianai (Pedro Espinosa, Vitoria, 69 years outdated) and Pako PKO. Without compositional notions, they penetrated the creativeness because of their lyrics and the baton of artists resembling Javier Olloki, Okiman, who died in 2017, who served as musical director of Potato. “The Siberia-Gasteiz thing is something that everyone here has assumed,” says Pako, referring to the track. To heat up, which incorporates the rhyme: “In Vitoria it is freezing cold, there are even those who say it looks like Siberia.” The tropical dream was adopted by a tough awakening. Pioneers within the importation of Jamaican sounds in Spain, they made a pilgrimage to the historic Sunsplash competition in Kingston, the place they distanced themselves from their idealized imaginative and prescient of a Jamaica marked by inequality. It would not be the one disappointment.

Pako PKO leads the present incarnation of Potato, who has simply launched a brand new album, There are nonetheless those that resist. The phrase comes from one other outdated track, rule, co-written with Aianai. “It occurred to the musicians to call it that. After so many years, it was ideal,” says the singer, who’s happy to have financed it via crowdfunding (they raised 5,508 euros) and the reception in halls, with capability of between 500 and 1,000 folks. Pako is the one one to remain for 4 many years, one thing he has been in a position to afford by working as a civil servant in facilities for the aged. From there arose his well-known Popular Rioja reggae, free transcription of what an outdated man named Higinio, a pastor in La Rioja, hummed at meals. “He said they sang it in the war. They sat in a circle and passed around the jug of wine. When they got to ‘let them drink, bang!’, the person who had the jug had to drink.”

Potato formally stated goodbye with a protracted tour in 2007, Thanks and agur, after the demise of Johnny Brusko (out since 1987). In addition to Pako PKO, Aianai was on the tour, who in 1988 had stopped being a daily member as he couldn’t mix it along with his job as a journalist, though he continued to collaborate. After the tour, a battle broke out when Pako, backed by different musicians, determined to proceed. The reconstituted Potato has recorded two albums and continued performing in Spain, Europe and Latin America.

In parallel, Aianai has launched a number of statements, in a harsh tone, expressing her discomfort. “It’s not Potato. It’s a fraud, a deception, an usurpation and it shouldn’t be called that,” reiterates Pedro Espinosa, Aianai. “I told Pako: ‘You can continue on stage, but don’t use the name. Call yourself Pako PKO and the Potatoes, but don’t do this, because you have broken your word and the respect of followers who believed in that worthy ending.’ For Aianai, the loss of Brusko was the turning point. “Johnny Brusko and I got here up with Potato. When he died, I had seen that Potato was drifting. Pako himself acknowledges it within the documentary we made. There had been despicable performances. That distant risk of bringing the three unique singers collectively on stage additionally vanished.”

Aianai says she has not taken action because her complaint “is moral, principled.” Potato was registered between 2010 and 2011, in the name of Pako and another founder, Timoteo Ozaeta, Jalas, the first drummer, who usually accompanies the group as a technician. “Our preferrred was anarchist, it by no means occurred to us to go to those issues of the capitalist system and the property registry. For me, Pako has misplaced credibility, disillusioned and damaged with the beliefs that made up the Potato Punki Reggae Party Banda.”

From Jamaica to Vitoria

Far from shying away from the topic, Pako is conciliatory with Aianai. “He actually seems quite hurt,” he admits. “I respect him so much and acknowledge the essential work he did. He launched emblematic songs, like rule, what we did midway, It will likely be if there may be o Narrow. Although these are conjectures, I consider that Juantxo’s demise affected him drastically. He personally took care of the ultimate technique of his sickness [cáncer de páncreas]”.

Everything went unsuitable in the long run. The group deliberate to increase their farewell to a number of squat facilities in Germany in spring 2008, however, in keeping with Pako, Aianai unilaterally canceled, claiming that her associate couldn’t sing. He denies it: “It’s a lie. I simply said that they should get it together, that I was neither going to organize it nor was I going to go.” The band would play within the German nation as Potato Free-to. With the connection damaged, Pako refused to take part within the proclamation of the Vitoria carnivals that yr, to which Potato was invited. Finally, he canceled the farewell. “What has led me to move forward has been the public,” defends the present chief. “A farewell is not a dissolution. Dissolution, for me, is a chemical concept. You can say goodbye to a friend and, some time later, meet again.”

Aside from the statements, Pako accuses Aianai of getting “torpedoed” Potato’s latest trajectory. He cites a efficiency organized for the 2017 Copa del Rey soccer ultimate, which confronted Alavés and Barcelona, ​​and which hung by a thread after a name from the previous singer saying that they weren’t the true Potato. “That’s true. Hey, it also bothered me a lot, because I played for Alavés. I’m a member!”, Aianai confesses.

Despite the bitterness of the factors of view, they level to a pending dialog. Pako PKO says that he requested Jalas, a mutual buddy, to satisfy along with his former associate to say the digital rights to Potato from the Elkar label, however Aianai demanded a previous apology. “Everything depends on the will,” says Pako. “At concerts, album presentations, I have always said that I would like him to be there. I have nothing against him. If I have to apologize, I don’t mind doing it. I don’t know what, but for peace you do whatever. I imagine the time will come sometime.” Is it too late to revive bridges? “Let’s see, I’m not spiteful,” Aianai responds. “First of all, I need an apology. From there, we would see. Damn, they are doing what we always wanted! They are traveling around, especially to Latin America. Before the PKO sings The working class, that on top of that he sings of sorrow…”.

The apology that Aianai claims is related to another statement that, he claims, Pako published on Potato’s website to argue for his continuity: “He stated that I used to be a dictator and that I used to be half loopy.” The textual content doesn’t seem on the web page, one thing he attributes to it being on an outdated web site. “It’s hard to handle hiring, singing and being road manager. You’re the bad guy, the bastard, the one who says what time to be there…”. Although Potato has barely functioned professionally (hence the dance of members: according to Pako PKO, more than 100 people have been through the band, which usually has seven or eight members), Aianai specifies that his “dictatorship” consisted of establishing that everyone, equally, would charge 300 euros per concert at the farewell. “No member of Potato had ever charged 300 euros per concert.” bolus That year people were able to make a living from the band.”

He admits that he preferred the transforming of pure waste from the newest album, with collaborations from Green Valley or Rapsusklei. within the e book Potato Reggae Band: The utopia of a tropical Euskadi (1998), co-written along with his spouse, Elena López Aguirre, former guitarist of Potato, which he plans to reissue in an expanded model this yr via Pepitas, additionally praised Pako’s capability for reinvention, even after his biggest disaster: when Okiman and different members left within the nineties to kind Arawak. “I recognize that Pako has brilliant songs: Elastic conscience, Glue, The sultan, Climb up…”. Pako, for his half, claims the consistency of the present lineup: keyboardist Carlos Moreno and vocalist Javi Flores have been round for round 25 years, and trombonist Andoni Maidagan for nearly 15. “Potato has been a school dedicated to ska and reggae. Many musicians from the scene have passed through here.”

In the autumn, they hope to carry out in Japan, Pako’s recurring dream. Regardless of whether or not, by then, the founders reconcile, Aianai is categorical that nothing impacts her emotions for Potato: “Not at all. It’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever done in my life.”