January 11th 2008
Communication 041

Hi Folks,
It has been 2 months now since the last communication was posted but different activities such as “Irun, Lion, Zion in DUB” CD edition, Pictures book and DVD of “Tour 07” with Afro-Basque Fire Brigade, TALKA party on December 1st in Tunk Venue in Irun, Durango’s fair and other projects I will explain you now, have kept me very busy:

- Mirant al Cel:
It is my first feature film soundtrack.
As Hitler’s Nazis did in 1937 during Spanish Civil War, with the bombing of Guernica for what was considered the first bombing on civilian population, Mussolini’s Fascists used in 1938 the same strategy on a big city: Barcelona. This year, it is the 70th anniversary of this attack and Catalonia’s capital movie company Massa D’Or is making a film which will remind us this event. Its director Jesús Garay and I are in charge of the movie soundtrack. We hope that the premiere will take place next March.

- New record:
Meanwhile, I keep on working on creating and recording my new album. Last year, I have announced that I will probably publish a record this year and I am on time. What if I told you the release date? What if on next October 31st my new record ASTHMATIC LION SOUND SYSTEMA was released?

- La Puta People:
From La Rocha neighbourhood in Pamplona, Gorka Argandoña aka Ekain, publishes his first comic book called “La Puta People”. And it is with great pleasure that I have written the prologue.

- Köln, 19/01/2008:
BrigadistakSounds collective has organised a presentation of the DVD which comes with the Pictures book of Tour 07 in the German city of Cologne. This will take place on Saturday January 19th in the K-Hof venue as from 9PM. There will also be different DJs during the party.
And in the beginning of the year, I also have to comment the current state of things and add on a personal basis a subjective list of suggestions that 2007 left us on a creative plan. We have entered the Oteiza year and it is good to remember what Oteiza made us pay attention to long time ago. “When we see a light at the end of a tunnel, we must be alert as it is not necessary the end of it but a train coming”. And he was right. The light we saw was really a train one, and moreover a high speed one. We also used when speaking about the peace process a figure of speech from South Africa: “When we see an hippopotamus in the water, we can only see his top part but under water, there is a huge body supported by powerful legs. But we did not take into account that the pool where was bathing our peace process was infested of piranhas which have already eaten the peaceful hippopotamus only leaving the part outside the water. Despite this, we kept feeding him with Milaka Bilaka. But we failed. But it was a failure of circumstances as we will try again insisting and making ours the song Milaka Bilaka where we sing: No more guns talking to require Dialogue, Respect and Peace.
Today, when shouts of tortured persons in Intxaurrondo jail are mixed with the ones of drowned Zabalza, of Lasa and Zabala when they got their nails torn off before being buried alive in burnt lime, we have to claim again to those who came here to make war, real hate makers, to go away definitively. Even if the issue is where as they are not welcome anywhere. Let’s read a few lines of the “Romance de la Guardia Civil” of Federico Garcia Lorca, killed by them.

Up the palisade streets
climbed the sinister capes
leaving behind brief
whirlwinds of scissors...
…But the Civil Guard advances,
starting cruel fires
where the naked hope of youth
burns. Rosa, the Comborio,
sits keening at her door
with her mutilated breasts
before her on a tray.

After this quote, I give you two texts I am totally identified with:
The 1st one is from my colleagues of La Dinamo about the sentence of 18/98+ and much more:
http://www.ladinamo.org/blog/?p=351#more-351
The 2nd one is from singer El Meswyk after Carlos J. Palomino was murdered.

And finally, here is a list of records, movies and books I recommend.
In all sections, in first place, a woman.

Records:
1. MIA: Kala
2. AMY WINEHOUSE: Back to black
3. THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE QUEEN
4. LISABÖ: EZLEKUAK
5. BURIAL: Untrue
6. COMMON: Finding Forever
7. GRANDE MARLASKA: El Momento de Hacer
8. JAMIE T: Panic Prevention
9. TURBULANCE: Do good
10. THE EVENS: Get evens

Movies:
1. PERSEPOLIS (Marjani Satrapi)
2. THE GOOD SHEPHERD (Robert De Niro)
3. EASTERN PROMISES (David Cronenberg)
4. INLAND EMPIRE (David Lynch)
5. DEATH PROOF (Quentin Tarantino)

Libros:
1. Eider Rodriguez: HARAGIA
2. Naomi Klein: THE SHOCK DOCTRINE
3. Paul Auster: TRAVELS IN THE SCRIPTORIUM
4. Beñat Sarasola: KAXA HUTS BAT
5. Karmele Jaio: ZU BEZAIN AHUL

In this year 2008, we will also reply through creation.
Big hugs and take care

Fermin Muguruza