Mikel Erentxun confesses in an interview: Was there a fight between egos in Duncan Dhu? How he met Christian Meier and more

mikel erentkun (Caracas, 1965) returns to Peru to celebrate his musical career this Thursday, May 4, at the Leguía Theater, with his tour ‘Amigos de guardia Tour’. It will be a celebration of life, love, dreams and friendship.

“I will return to Lima after four years with a super special project that brings together the best of Duncan Dhu and Mikel Erentxun. We will remember these 38 years of career, it will be an unforgettable meeting”,

highlights the singer-songwriter from Chicago.

His latest album, “Amigos de guardia”, is for the Spanish artist an celebration and a turning point in his career. There he reviews 35 years of musical lifefrom the first recordings with Duncan Dhu in 1985, to the Cadiz trilogy.

“. He’s recorded 27 albums since Duncan Dhu. At the beginning of 2020, just before the pandemic, I decided that 35 years was a nice figure and that I could take a little parenthesis, a stop in time and revisit everything I had done up to then. I started calling my friends, the response was incredible, a lot of people signed up. And an album that was going to have a duet turned into a duet solo album. All the songs are sung with a guest”, explains the interpreter of “A minute from you”.

─How did music come into your life more than 30 years ago?

It was always present in me. I grew up listening to the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, Cat Stevens, David Bowie. At the age of twelve I made a group at school, then another, and it was always a hobby, without any pretensions. I want to be architect and indeedIt was at architecture school that I met Diego Vasallo with whom I did Duncan Dhu. When the group grew there was no turning back. The music was catching me more and more. Fortunately it is a trade that has no age.

─ Do you see yourself as Bob Dylan doing tours at 81 years old?

To do them you have to have an energy that fortunately I still have, but I don’t know if I will have it at 80 years old. Of course, I do see myself recording records, music will always surround me in one way or another.

─Do you still think that it is impossible to surpass Duncan Dhu?

It is impossible at the level of success because it was too important a group. I have given more concerts, recorded more albums and written more songs like Mikel Erentxun, but Duncan Dhu is more famous and important than me.

─Was there never a fight between egos?

At first yes, because he wanted to reaffirm that he was no longer Duncan Dhu but Mikel Erentxun, but it was useless.

─Is it true that you like your voice better now than before?

I don’t like my old voice. That’s why I like my solo career better.

─In an interview you described yourself as an old man who refuses to modernize. What do you think of the use of artificial intelligence as an assistant to compose melodies?

It is an aberration. At 58 years old, I don’t want to experiment, I don’t like to work with an analog mentality. I compose with guitar, with piano, I don’t use Auto-Tune or other tools that technology offers. I don’t think it’s better or worse than recording records in hotel rooms with a computer, without any instrument, but it’s not my world or my language.

─How did you meet Christian Meier and what was it like working together on the song “Novia de nadie”?

We met when he came to present a film at the San Sebastian International Film Festival. There was a lot of chemistry and we became very good friends, she called me to sing on her record.”eleven nights” (2002). We did the duet in New York, we had some wonderful days. Then we played in Lima, in a concert that he offered.

─ Will you go on stage together this May 4th in Lima?

I invited him, but he can’t because he’s in Los Angeles.

─A few years ago you had angina pectoris that took you to the hospital. Did your priorities change as a result of that?

It completely changed my life: I started exercising, eating healthy, and stopped drinking alcohol. But my change was mostly mental. My life before revolved around my musical career, now my family is the most important thing.

─Are you working on a new production?

I am preparing a double and varied album. It will have piano everywhere and it will revolve around me, which is what I have been doing for a long time. The release of this production, in September of this year, will mark the beginning of a new cycle in my career.