2006

THE ARTIST – Aurora Beltran

Aurora Beltran needs no introduction. She was born on August 26th, 1964 in Pamplona, Spain. Previously fronting bands such as Belladonna and Tahúres Zurdos, she is responsible for changing the history of pop/rock in Spain. Described online as “like fine wine, growing prettier every day”, Aurora has made her mark in Spanish pop culture. At a young age, she suffered a disease that forced her to sit still for many hours at a time. To prevent boredom, her father gave her a guitar and at age 13, she penned her first track, “Death Come”, which would later be recorded on her first album with Tahúres Zurdos.

She launched her career in the mid-1980’s as a guitarist for Belladonna, who sadly split up after the release of their first LP. In 1987, she formed her second, more successful group, Tahúres Zurdos. The band recorded their first demo and performed many concerts throughout Spain. This eventually lead on to the release of their first album and a signing to EMI Music. During her career with the band, Aurora recorded eight studio albums, two compilations and is well known for her greatly received live show throughout her career. The band continued for seventeen years before deciding to call it a day and split in 2004.

Despite the sudden end to her two previous projects, Aurora continued her career and performed a series acoustic concerts accompanied by Eva Rada, Chorister and the instrumentalists of Tahúres Zurdos. These tracks would eventually go on to become the makings of her first solo album.

Her first album, Dance Classes, was released in March 2008 and included collaborations with Enrique Bunbury, Loquillo and Carmen París. The album has nine tracks, eight of which were composed by Aurora herself. The ninth track, “Candy”, was composed by Iggy Pop!  Her second solo album, Museum People, was released in 2012.

Check Aurora Beltran out here.

THE DATES

2nd June – Sennheiser Studio, LIPA, Liverpool

7th June – Galileo Galilei, Mardid

8th June – Circulo Del Arte, Toledo

9th June – Eden, Huesca

10th June – Artsaia, Aizoain

LIPA BAND

Adam Beany – Drums

Goran Obad – Guitar

Thomas Haakonsen – Guitar

Yuka Hamamoto – Keyboard

Sondre Sandhaug – Bass

Veronica Posse – Vocals

Hannah Rockliffe – Vocals

2006 TEAM

Harriet Pittard – Manager

Sophie Doherty – Manager

Brigitte Wang – Manager

2005

THE ARTIST – Javier Ruibal

Javier Ruibal was born in a province of Cadiz in Southern Spain called El Puerto de Santa María. He has made his mark in the music industry through many talents; composer, arranger, guitarist and his most common trait, an extremely talented vocalist. Javier is noted for his vocal abilities and his blending of different music styles, such as flamenco, jazz and Maghreb music, which has not only turned into the making of his incredible career but his own personal branding. All self-taught, he is one of the most creative musicians of his time, unlike any of his generation or culture.

His first album, called Duna, was released in 1983. Ruibal has composed music for many Spanish artists and famous singers, such as Ana Belén or David Broza. He has appeared on stage together with artists as Pablo Milanés, Joaquín Sabina or Carlos Cano. His already copious catalogue of work is more impressive than most. He was awarded the Medal of Andalusia in 2007, by the government of Andalusia, and in 2009 was chosen to give the opening address of the Cadix Carnaval.  In total Javier has released eight albums, the most recent ‘Lo Que Me Dice Tu Boca’ was released in 2005.

Check Javier Ruibal out here.

THE DATES

14th May – Paul McCartney Auditorium, LIPA, Liverpool

18th May – Salamandra, Barcelona/Hospitalet

19th May – El Loco, Valencia

20th May – Cafe De La Kaku, Villena, Alicante

21st May – Chubby Cheek Jazz Club, Jaen

LIPA BAND

Tor Einar Rogn – Guitar

Alex Brathen – Percussion and vocals

David Junior – Drums

Juan Zelada – Keyboards

Trym Bjonnes – Vocals

Silje Skaugen-Karisen – Keyboard

Auden Sognen – Bass

Lydia Johnson – Vocals

Annie Reppe – Vocals

2005 TEAM

Carly Crowder – Manager

Claire Hart – Manager

Birgitte Wang – Manager

2004

THE ARTIST – Jabier Muguruza

Jabier Muguruza is a Spanish musician and songwriter; music has been a part of Jabier’s life since an early age. He has played the accordion since he was five years old and won a variety of competitions including the ‘European Championship’. Jabier has played in various groups as well as a solo artist. In 1990 he formed the group ‘Les Taximen’; together they released three albums. After the dissolution of ‘Les Taximen’, Jabier became a member of the group ‘Ripiau’; between 1996 and 2000 the group released four albums.

As well as being a member of bands, simultaneous, Jabier also pursued his solo career. In 1994 he released his first album called ‘Boza barruan’.  Since then Jabier has released an impressive, ten more albums including ‘Aise’ in 1997, ‘Enegarren postala’ in 2007 and ’Konplizeak’ in 2007 to name but a few.  Most recently, in 2011 Jabier released ‘Bikote bat’, his eleventh album to date.

Aside from music, Jabier is also an author, in the early 90′s he founded a literary group called Emak Bakia with Bernardo Atxaga , Ruper Ordorika and Jose Mari Iturralde amongst others. In 1994 he published lagun Sei, sei sekretu , a children’s book. This was followed by four other children’s books as well as two aimed at adults.

Check Jabier Muguruza out here.

THE DATES

– Life Cafe, Liverpool

20th May – Cafe Picaro, Toledo

21st May – Musutruk, Gernika

22nd May – Central Cultural Delicias, Zaragoza

23rd May – Galileo Galilei, Madrid

LIPA BAND

Kristian Sveholm – Bass

Thomas Kongshavn – Guitar

Michale Gay – Guitar

Jay Sikora – Drums

Peter Watson – Keyboards

Marte Helleseter – Vocals

Mariona Castillo Garcia – Vocals

Tori Beaumont – Vocals

2004 TEAM

Octavia Harwood – Manager

Sigrid Sketie Tjensvoll – Manager

2003

THE ARTIST – Carmen Paris

Carmen Paris is a Spanish singer-songwriter born in Tarragona but brought up near Zaragoza.   She studied singing, piano, guitar, cello, harmony and music theory at Conservatorio de Zaragoza alongside English studies.  She worked as a singer in the orchestra Jamaica.  After over twenty years in the music industry, Carmen released her first album, ‘Pa my genius’ in 2002.  This album sold a respectable 40,000 copies and won an award for Best Traditional Music Album at the  ‘Premios de la Música’.

Carmen’s second album was released in 2005 named ‘Jotera lo serás tú’.  On this album there were collaborations with several other LIPA Spain Tours musicians including Javier Ruibal and Mercedes Ferrer. Carmen also collaborated with Annie Lennox on the title track.  This album was produced by Tino di Geraldo.

In 2008 Carmen released her third album ‘InCubando’.  The album was written in Cuba but recorded in Madrid.  This album saw collaborations with artists such as Ludmila Mercerón and Santiago Auserón.  This album was awarded Best Fusion Album at the 2009 ‘Premios de la Música’. LIPA students were joined by Carmen in 2003 playing at the Unity Theatre in Liverpool before embarking upon a four-date tour across Spain.

Check Carmen Paris out here. 

THE DATES

30th May – Unity Theatre, Liverpool

4th June – Café Picaro, Toledo

5th June – El Café Ventilador, Alcazar De San Juan

6th June – La Puerta Falsa, Murcia

7th June – Black Note, Valencia

LIPA BAND

Nick Wells – Bass

Marcus Bonfanti – Guitar

John Smith – Guitar, Vocals

David Sattar – Percussion

Craig Connet – Drums

Simon Gibeau – Keyboards

Lisa Dalton – Vocals

Gayle Stevens – Vocals

Stephanie Powling – Vocals

2003 TEAM

Katherine Wolley – Manager

Janet Eyre – Manager

Simon Caughey – Manager

2002

THE ARTIST – Sergio Makaroff

Sergio Makaroff is an Argentinian singer-songwriter who was born in Buenos Aires in 1951. It seems fitting to mention that as a youngster Sergio was a fan of a variety of artists including ‘The Beatles’ who he aspired to be like.  This is most certainly a dream shared with many of the musicians at LIPA. LIPA was founded by ¼ of the Beatles, Sir Paul McCartney.  When Sergio was seventeen he composed his first song called ‘Peter Pan’.  When he was eighteen he travelled to New York in search of artists who had inspired him such as ‘Jimi Hendrix’ and ‘James Taylor’.  On his return to Buenos Aires, he appeared in the musical ‘Hair’ which opened to fantastic reviews. Sergio performed with his brother, Edward, under the name of ‘The Brothers Makaroff’ appearing as supporting artists to other musicians.  Soon ‘The Brothers Makaroff’ became a five-piece joining with Charly Garcia and two others; they released a single with a small record label, however, the group broke up in 1978.

In 1978 Sergio moved to Spain. His friends formed a band, known as ‘Stivel Tequila’, who performed a some tracks written by Sergio including ’Rock del Ascensor‘ or ‘Rock the Elevator’.   Through such songs, in 1981, Sergio was signed by ‘Epic’ and recorded his first solo album named ‘Tengo una idea’ or ‘I Have An Idea’.  In 1986 he recorded his second album ‘La buena vida’ or ‘The Good Life’; this album was co-produced by Ariel Rot.  After this Sergio took a break from the music industry before returning after over a decade with his third album ’Un hombre feo’or ‘An Ugly Man’.  The most notable song from this album was ‘Tranqui tronqui’.

In 1998 Sergio released ’Rico y famoso’ or ‘Rich and Famous’. ‘Makaroff’ followed this in 2002; this album was produced by Tito Rosell, whom was the guitarist on the ‘The Good Life’ album.  In 2008 ‘Número 1’ was released. Sergio‘s most recent album is ‘El inventor del rompehielos’ or ‘The Inventor of the Icebreaker’ which was released in 2011.

Aside from this Sergio has also embarked upon a career in journalism and had pieces printed in a variety of publications. Sergio continues to write songs for both himself and others, most frequently performing in Spain and Argentina.

LIPA musicians were honoured to be joined by Sergio in the 2002 tour; returning to Pacific Road in Birkenhead before taking on a four-date tour across Spain.

Check Sergio Makaroff out here.

THE DATES

7th April – Pacific Road, Birkenhead

9th April – Suristan, Madrid

10th April – Salon De Espejos Del Teatro Romea, Murcia

11th April – Black Note, Valencia

12th April – Sidecar, Barcelona

LIPA BAND

Neil Thomas – Guitar

Ranjit Buran – Guitar

Scott Wiber – Bass

Grenville Harrop – Drums

Amy Newhouse-Smith – Vocals

Emily Gervais – Vocals

Jo Cook – Vocals

Ian Davidson – Vocals

2002 TEAM

Susanna Kroll – Manager

Nadja Kunstner – Manager

2001

THE ARTIST – Mercedes Ferrer

Mercedes Ferrer is a Spanish singer-songwriter who released her first album in 1986 ‘Entre mi sombra y yo’ which translates as ‘Between My Shadow and I’. Mercedes Ferrer’s career began prior to this where she was a part of various French bands.

In 1985 she formed the group ‘La Llave‘ with Carlos Torero.  The band was successful, supporting ‘The Cure’ and winning the VIII Trofeo Rock Villa De Madrid.  In the early 90’s, being heavily influenced by ‘The Doors’, ‘David Bowie’ and ‘Leonard Cohen’ amongst others, she began her solo career.  She has performed in a variety of events such as a tribute concert to John Lennon and another concert in memory of the 11 March 2004 train bombings in Madrid.   Mercedes’ most recent album ‘Travesía’ or ‘Crossing’ was released in 2009.

LIPA musicians were joined by Mercedes in the 2001 LIPA Spain Tour.  She visited LIPA and performed at ’Pacific Road’ in Birkenhead before flying back to Spain to undertake the five date tour. Cities visited included Madrid, Oviedo, Irun, Zaragoza and Barcelona.

Check Mercedes Ferrer out here.

THE DATES

21st April – Pacific Road, Birkenhead

24th April – Suristan, Madrird

25th April – La Santa Sebe, Oviedo

26th April – Tunk, Irun

27th April – La Casa Del Loco, Zaragoza

28th April – Sidecar, Barcelona

LIPA BAND

Adam Skinner – Drums

Mark Broomby – Bass

Joanne Bywater – Guitar

Martin Schmitt – Guitar

Florian Jakob – Keyboards

Jon Allen – Vocals

Martina Clement – Vocals

Emily Barden – Vocals

2001 TEAM

Sandy Worm – Manager

Tim Ortman – Manager

2000

THE ARTIST – Maria Jose Hernandez

María José Hernández is a Spanish singer-songwriter who was born in 1966 in Zaragoza.  She released her first album in 1997, ‘La línea del cielo’, which translates as ‘The Sky Line’.  The album reaches inside those innermost thoughts, feelings, and dreams. Some of these songs were a part of her set-list for the very first LIPA Spain Tour in 2000.

Her second album was released in 2004 called ‘El mar del deseo’ or ‘The Sea of Desire’; this album received great reviews. She collaborated with artists such as Fredi Marugan, Javier Bergia, and Javier Cobl.  Her third album called ‘Círculo concéntrico’ or ‘Concentric Circles’ was released in 2006. María José Hernández’s most recent album was released in 2011 and is called ‘Señales de humo’ or ‘Smoke Signals’. This album has a slightly different feel to her other albums and is described as folk-pop on her website.

LIPA students were honoured to be joined by Maria on the first ever LIPA Spain Tour. Maria played at ‘The Cooler’ in Liverpool before taking on the four-date tour across Spain; Madrid, Murcia, and Barcelona were visited as well as Maria’s home town of Zaragoza.

Check Maria José Hernández out here:

https://www.facebook.com/majosehernandez

THE DATES

The Cooler, Liverpool

2nd May – Suristan, Madrid

3rd May – Gospel, Murcia

4th May – La Casa Del Loco, Zaragoza

5th May – La Bascula, Barcelona

LIPA BAND

Tommy Longmate – Keyboards

Simon Barber – Guitar

Helen Seymour – Bass

Rosie Morris – Drums

Eiko Falkenberg – Guitar, Percussion

Vicky Dempsey – Vocals

Lindy La Fontaine – Vocals

Charlotte Walters – Vocals

2000 TEAM

John Reynolds – Manager

Chad Higgins – Manager