The Athletic Foundation Club Fundazioa and Kepa Junkera presents ‘Athletic Bihotzez’

A project that goes beyond sports and that in addition of sparking the feelings of the red-and-white followers, but it also wants to reach those that are not fond of football, transmitting the intrinsic values to this sport.

‘Athletic Bihotzez’ is made up of several elements, among which stands out the latest work of Bilbao musician Kepa Junkera, a CD with subjects that have in common crossbreeding and integration, to which different Basque artists have added lyrics. A DVD, with the making of the project, and a book conceived as a travel book, made up of images and unpublished texts, will transmit to all the social layers the red-and-white soul.

The Athletic Club Fundazioa Foundation continues developing projects that, having as a base the image of the red-and-white club, go beyond the world of the sport, creating synergies with art, culture and, really, with just about everything that concerns our society.

Presented this past 14 June, the new UEFA shirt, designed by Dario Urzay, with which the Athletic Foundation fused art and sports. Today we are here to present an ambitious project that fills us with illusion and pride because it transmits all the intrinsic values of this club and, nevertheless, transcend the interest of the fans, also reaching those not related to the world of sport in general, and to football in particular.

In order to carry out ‘Athletic Bihotzez’, the collaboration of the Athletic Foundation Fundazioa Club with the musician Kepa Junkera has been fundamental, since in addition to his enormous artistic quality, our more international Basque musician, with more than 20 years of musical career and numerous successes, he carries the colours of Athletic in his soul since childhood, that is why his implication in this project extends beyond the professional.

A disc of red-and-white soul with universal vocation.

Fruit of this fusion of the Bilbao musician with Athletic Club has been born the main element of this project: a disc with songs whose lyrics and music have nothing to do with the classic sports anthems, but are conceived to spark the feelings of the followers of the red-and-white club and to even become reference songs in the stands.

Nevertheless, the themes composed by Kepa Junkera are directed to all music lovers, since they combine Basque sounds with ethnic music, as an interracial shout – to which the Bilbao artist has already appealed in previous works -; they fuse different languages; they speak of past, present and future, joining the voices of the youngest from Atheltic’s quarry with that of the first team of lions and lionesses…

Really, it is a project that tries, by means of music, to help forget little exemplary attitudes that have sometimes been associated to football, to gather its main virtues.

Certainly, the themes composed by Junkera, to which lyrics have been added by singers (Doctor Deseo), Tontxu Ipiña and Mikel (Idi-biotz); by writers Edorta Jimenez, Kirmen Uribe and bereber Mustafa; and bertsolaris Xabier Amuriza, Igor Elorza and Unai Iturriaga, have in common the integrating spirit, the force, the edge and, mainly, the capacity to affect and to stir up feelings of our Athletic. It is, really, a disc of red-and-white soul with universal vocation.

‘Athletic Bihotzez’, much more than a CD

The music of Kepa Junkera will be the outstanding element of the project ‘Athletic Bihotzez’ that will be integrated, in addition, by other supports that transmit all those previously pointed values to conform a global image.

‘Athletic Bihotzez’, with an innovative and well-cared for presentation, will integrate along with the CD, a DVD with images of how the project has been developed from its beginnings, with anecdotes, amusing takes of the recordings, some touching ones…

The third element that composes ‘Athletic Bihotzez’ is a book, conceived as a book of images, that will be an authentic jewel for any Athletic Club follower and, for its intrinsic value and its aesthetic quality, also an appropriate gift for any person even if not a fan, like the rest of the supports that compose the project.

For its execution, besides the punctual collaboration of Athletic Club squads from all categories, we hope to also count on the contribution of prominent personalities in different environments, who as they confirm we will notify. We hope this project makes many hearts beat and that it generates at least as many dreams and illusions as with which it has been created.