Background
Niko Etxart was born in Altzürükü.
Niko Etxart was born in Altzürükü.
He"s widely reputed in the Basque area for being a forerunner of Basque rock and bridging the gap between Basque old tradition and modern music trends. However, unlike many others, he received the Basque language and culture as a child, in particular through the Basque centre in Paris. When he left school in 1972, his only wish was to be a singer.
By this year he founded a group named Tinka with two other friends.
In a time when the Southern Basque Country still remained under the yoke of Franco"s dictatorship, with Basque language and culture quickly losing ground to French, and Basque society struggling between modernity and loyalty to conservative old traditions, not only did Etxart switch to new contents but more controversially he brought along new forms: electric guitar, jeans, long hair, secularity, et cetera, which didn"t go down well with Basque conservative circles and political and cultural activists. The musician showed a rocker outlook, even releasing a hit, "Euskal Rock"n Roll", that made it to the 17th position in the Spanish charts (Los 40 Principales).
However, thereafter he has evolved into gentler tunes, while sticking to rocky manners and look.