A musical duo for more than 5 years, Caroline Phillips and Mixel Ducau formed the group Bidaia with Ritxi Salaberria and Jabi Area. Together, these four musicians create music rooted in Basque traditional dance melodies and rhythms as well as international folk music.
The traditional Basque instruments, the alboka (a small hornpipe – played with circular breathing), ttun-ttun (stringed-percussive inst.) and chirula (3-holed flute) are combined with acoustic guitar and piano as well as with other musical traditions: hurdy-gurdy, Moroccan darbuka and Peruvian cajón.
Bidaia members:
Mixel Ducau: Alboka, acoustic guitar, flutes, ttun-ttun, foot tambourine, lead vocals. Mixel is a native of the Basque Country (France) and founder of the very successful Basque contemporary rock group Errobi in 1975. A multi-talented instrumentalist, Mixel is an accomplished saxophonist and a composer and arranger for many groups throughout southern Europe.
Caroline Phillips: lead vocals, hurdy-gurdy and piano. Born in Northern California’s Bay Area, she studied classical voice in Paris and regularly performed in jazz clubs and private parties for the ex-patriot American community. She began composing in 1988 and moved to the French Basque Country in 1992.
Ritxi Salaberria: upright bass. Born in Hondarribia (Fuenterrabía) in Spain’s Basque Country, Ritxi studied classical flute in Pamplona and bass in London. A studio musician, Ritxi has worked with Spanish pop and rock artists Diego Vasallo (Duncan Dhu), Cesar Cuenca (Celtas Cortos), Julia Leon and French musician Pascal Gaigne, and is a founding member of several popular groups.
Jabi Area percussion. Born in San Sebastian (Basque Country, Spain), Jabi studied classical percussion at the conservatory while playing rock and Basque folk music. He has played with a large number of Spanish and Basque artists including: Cesar Cuenca (Celtas Cortos), Iñaki Salvador and Mikel Laboa.
Discography:
Oihan (Resistencia, 2003)
Duo (2007)
Agur Shiva (2011)
Hitza (2016)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
