Kortatu

Kortatu
Kortatu at a concert. Fermin Muguruza in the left and Iñigo Muguruza in the right
Background information
Origin	Irún, Spain
Genres	Punk rock, Ska, Ska-punk
Years active	1984–1988
Labels	Soñua Nola! Esan Ozenki Oihuka
Website	http://www.kortatu.net/
Past members	Fermin Muguruza Iñigo Muguruza Treku Armendariz Kaki Arkarazo

Kortatu was a ska punk band from the Basque Country formed in Irun in the summer of 1984.

Kortatu was born in the context of the first democracy years in Spain in 1984. They had a big significance for left-wing basque nationalism (which rejected the new constitutional project) as precursors of a new wave of music: Basque Radical Rock (Rock Radikal Vasco or RRV in Spanish). They reached a huge degree of influence in Basque and Spanish punk, as other bands like La Polla Records, Cicatriz and Eskorbuto became famous in the 80's underground scene. It was a very popular band in Basque Country, and also in the rest of Spain.

Although labeled from the beginning as a radical Basque rock, Kortatu tried to fight against any classification, even if political links with Herri Batasuna were evident. 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 punk and even hip hop, eventually disbanding the formation after seeing Public Enemy in Paris and creating a bigger project, Negu Gorriak. Although their lyrics also evolved from "party-ska" to "combat-rock" (in their last record all the songs were sung in Basque), their style along the lines of social and political protest stayed intact.

They were clearly influenced by The Clash, in fact, their frontman Fermin Muguruza decided to create a ska punk band after seeing Strummer's band in a 1980 gig in Donostia.