Amorante is a project and stage name of Iban Urizar (Elgoibar, 1975). Urizar has been making and performing music since 2014. His music ‘emanates from the people, is rooted in culture and sung from the heart. Amorante can play the trumpet to paint everything black, he can sing a song with autotune to invoke the spirit of his uncle and infuse it with electronics to recall words long forgotten. Amorante’s music comes from distant echoes, but a fresh wind blows through its heads, throats and lips´. (Amorante).
The artist defines his music as ´folk’, and his songs play with improvisation. He crafts compositions that take listeners on a voyage through both traditional and cutting-edge music, embracing versatility and experimentation as fundamental elements. His songs subtly reference a wide array of musical styles, including the four-verse coplas of Bixenta Mogel, the soulful flamenco vocals of Antonio Molina and Pepe Marchena, as well as echoes reminiscent of folk music traditions. In addition to improvisation, tradition holds significant importance for Amorante, although interpreted in an evolving manner. For him, a song is a dynamic entity that continuously evolves, which is why he often prefers to perform without a predetermined script.
In his 20-year career Iban Urizar has been the travelling companion of many musicians, and has performed in groups such as Café Teatro, Bizarra and Andrakan, among others. Urizar first began his musical career as a soloist five or six years ago and has four albums under his belt: Amorante (2016); Manuela/Brueghel Zarra, (2017) together with Xabier Erkizia; Gure Oroitzapenak (2018), together with Xabier Erkizia, Mariano Hurtado and Miren Narbaiza, and Bat edo Hiru (2020). He will now present his new work Harriherrihar at the Mercat de Música Viva de Vic festival.
