The band - Biography

Camaxe goes all the way back to the encounter of two musicians: Miguel Allo and Marc De Martelaer. Together they decide to form a band which will take as a starting point the traditional music from Galicia, an autonomous region in the north west of Spain.

Miguel knows that tradition inside out. At a very young age he starts playing the gaita (Galician bagpipes), the emblematic instrument of the area he comes from. Soon he also starts composing his own melodies. He puts to music the images from his Galicia which linger in his head.

The first CD “Imaxes” comes out in 2005. It is a record which is at the same time melancholy and joyous. Marc’s arrangements appeal to an audience with an openness to the peculiar sound of the band. The CD receives a warm welcome as well in the specialised press as on the stages of various festivals in the Benelux, France and Spain.

Between 2005 and 2008 the identity of the bands keeps growing and Baptiste Argouarc’h, Filip Lambrechts and Gauthier Lisein become new key figures.

This important evolution results in the second CD “Airexa”. While for the first album the preparation and the arrangements of the music has always been completely in the hands of Miguel and Marc, for this new project the band as a whole starts to take possession of the process. This way the music is enriched with the ideas and influences of each group member. On the CD each musician is also responsible for one complete arrangement and one piece is composed entirely by Baptiste (“El Gavotta”).

Just like on “Imaxes” the key instrument is still the gaita, but new influences are apparent and mark a new era for the band, one of greater maturity. The lyrics dwell upon various social themes and musically the arrangements invite the listener to discover other cultures.

Despite of this openness the world of “Airexa” is still completely embedded in Galician landscapes and culture. For this reason the band decides to record the CD in Galicia, more particularly on the small island “A Illa de Arousa”. During that stay they experience the typical soft sea breeze (“airexa”) which caresses the Camaxe beach. The island is the poetic and meditative setting which helps the musicians to contemplate without judging the things which are important to them, both nearby and far away.

The spirit of openness and encounter which characterises the band is also the reason for the numerous guest musicians on the CD, both from Belgium and abroad: Julien De Borman, Montse Ogando, Patrick De Schuyter, Rémi Decker, Sonia Lebedynski, Sonia Reborido and Tuur Florizoone.

Camaxe, music from Galicia with echoes from the entire world. Ears wide open !