Txuma Murugarren

 Not elsewhere. It must be here, this place where fulfilled dreams and bitter defeats rest together. The past and the lived, alongside what is yet to come. Not in another world. It must be here, now, the moment when unfulfilled longings, broken dreams, hope, and triumph coexist.

Singer-songwriter Txuma Murugarren bears the unmistakable hallmark of a unique and unrepeatable artist. Beyond a long and genuine musical career, which began in the 1990s with the band Sasoi Ilunak, with whom he released three albums, including the acclaimed Harakina, Txuma is one of those figures who do not sail other waters or walk other paths than their own.

Since the release of Nire leihoak, his first solo album in 2000, Murugarren has published a total of twelve solo albums over time, always striving for perfect harmony between lyrics and music. Records such as Hegazkinen arima, Gauak, neskak eta maletak, Nire anaiaren kotxeko argiak, Hauxe, or Gautegia—a tribute to Nick Cave’s Nocturama—endorse the career of an unorthodox artist, the author of all his lyrics, and fascinated by Pop, Rock, Folk music, and electronic music, alternating and combining all of them throughout his discography. He has collaborated with electronic music creators such as Templar & Birdy, as well as in various initiatives, whether as a translator for albums like Lou Reed, Mila Esker or Gautegia, or by composing music for performances such as Mathilde maitatzeko moduak alongside Julen Gabiria, or Mirande Kabareta alongside Edorta Jimenez, Ane Zabala, Galder Perez and Rafa Aceves and poems by Ángel Erro or Xabi Borda. A fruitful and relentless creative activity that has established him as one of the most relevant and original figures in Basque music and culture.

Recorded entirely in Mutriku (Gipuzkoa) over several sessions and produced by Txuma Murugarren himself alongside Miguel Ramírez and Ekaitz Hernández, this, his latest album, features Rafa Aceves on piano and Natxo Beltrán on drums, all of whom are regular contributors to previous productions. For listeners unfamiliar with Txuma Murugarren’s musical universe, what they will find in Hemen beharko luke (It Should Be Here) is a varied catalog of distinctive textures with excellent production work: pop beauty underpinned by electronic rhythms in tracks like Ni ez naiz (I Am Not a Poet), the gentle minimalism that serves as a canvas for Dena Amiltzen´s (Everything Sinks) raw lyrics, or the electronic character wrapped in furious guitars in Ezer ez da berez (Nothing Is on Its Own). A multifaceted Murugarren tells us about the nostalgia of Berantetsia (Impatient) while showing his most electronic side through the pop-infused passages of Lizar bat (An Ash Tree). In addition to featuring Juan de Diego on trumpet, the electronic character predominates again in songs like Lagunak Joan (Friends Leave) and Amore eman (Don’t Give Up), both sprinkled with a lyrical quality that defines the inherent quality of a chronicler of the darker side of the human soul, such as Txuma Murugarren.

Hemen beharko luke is the place where both sides of the same coin are displayed as the hallmark of an inimitable artist. Sharp, flexible, sometimes incendiary words paired with exquisite musical creativity. It is here, now. Unfulfilled ambition and the battle won, the yet-to-be-lived, and what is still to come. Facets of the same coin that, ultimately, are a part of the extraordinary beauty of being alive.