[Music] Ken Zazpi

I firmly believe that one of the best ways to learn a language is through music, and with that in mind, I thought I'd introduce some Basque artists whose music have helped me learn.

One of the things I have noticed about music in Euskara is that there aren't that many genres to choose from. It usually comes in either folk, ska or metal and although I do, on occasion enjoy music within those genres, I find that rock isn't as strongly represented... at least not with the music I have been exposed to.

That said, I did find a great band within the rock/pop-rock genre called Ken Zazpi and I've chosen to feature them, along with their latest album Argiak, in this blog.




I don't know much about Ken Zazpi other than the information found in their Wikipedia page which is limited to a short blurb about the members of the band as well as their four albums, but I do know that their song, "Noizbait" is one of the best songs in Euskara I have ever heard.

Have a listen and you might agree with me:



And here are the lyrics:

Isiltasunak non zauden galdetzen dit noiznahi
zure izena mila aldiz oihukatuz noiznahi
egutegiko orriak aurpegiratu dit
zenbat gau pasatu dudan itzarrik
zu ez zadenetik

Aska gaitezen malkoz esan zenidan noizbait
izango dugu gure aukera seguru noizbait
geroztik noraezean barneko ekaitzetan
arraunean ibiltzen naiz zure mezu baten zain

Bila nazazu izar bako gauetan
gida nazazu zure itsasertzera noizbait

Iritsiko naiz
argiak jarraituz
iritsiko naiz berriz saiatuz
noizbait
itzuliko naiz
aurkituko zaitut
begiak itxiz gertu sentituz

Bila nazazu argiontziaz
gidatu nazazu itsasertzera

Iritsiko naiz
argiak jarraituz
iritsiko naiz berriz saiatuz
noizbait
itzuliko naiz
aurkituko zaitut
begiak itxiz gertu sentituz

There is also a translation into Spanish here in Musikazblai- a very handy tool for searching up song lyrics (and translations if you're lucky) in Euskara, Català and Galego (Galician).

One of the things that "Noizbait" really helped me with early on in my journey was the pronunciation of zenbat (how much) wherein an N + B turns into an M, so you pronounce it as if it were sembat instead of zenbat.

Although music in Euskara can be hard to find outside of Euskal Herria, I'm happy to be able to say that Argiak can be purchased for $8.99 as a digital download on Amazon. With songs like "Gernikan", "Olatuz olatu" and "Gaueko argiak" it's well worth it.