foton: Pacotwo/WE

Adur Letamendia is a Basque hepcat who digs a righteous disc. When he ain’t angling Biscay swellforms with Z-town bros like Aritz, Hodei et al, he be marketing pointy surfboards at Pukas or nicing up his afternoons to the sound of a colourful juke box. Here, Adur talks us through the 45’s and books he’d take for solitary confinement in Desert Island Dicks, SE’s delightful rip off of BBC R4’s 40 year radio program of a similar name…

“I mostly listen to singles these days, rather than albums. So here are ten 45’s that I’d take to that island…”

MUSIC

Gardens & Villa  —  Black Hills
These Canadians are pretty cool. Their vibe, style and music are great. Heard them in a vimeo surf movie that I loved. iTunes did the rest. Orange Blossom might be even better.

Alexander – Truth
I’m not a fan of TV shows. But “Breaking Bad” is too good not to watch, so when the show was at its peak and they finished an Oscar winning episode with this song I had to add it to my top playlist straight away.

Gyptian  —  Hold you
If you have partied in Spain during summer ‘11 you have danced to this rhythm. Well, not exactly this one, Gyptian’s song is the original, Jamaicanly-perfectly-sensually remixed version. The one in the pubs was more sexual, not sensual at all.

Jacques Brel  —  Ne me quitte pas
Oooh my god!!! This guy is The Man. Watching him sweating singing this French classic simply inspires me.

Bon Iver  —  Lump Sum
Dreamy. The acoustics on Blogotheque are serious masterpieces. Hypnotic. They are getting huge.

Don Carlos  —  Time
I grew up listening to Don Carlos with my dad. One of the greatest. I was lucky enough to watch him perform live in San Clemente with my good friend Dane Gudauskas. We had a picture taken with him that will be an all time top 5.

Gregory Isaacs  —  Night Nurse
Best, absolutely best love song ever. Crying out loud for a nurse to come heal your heart??!! This man was a true gentleman-lover. You can feel it.

Junip  —  Don’t let it pass
Jose Gonzalez’s group project. Simply great.

Lauren Wood  —  Fallen
Nineties style that I discovered not long ago. I’ve been feeling nineties lately.

Maddi Oihenart  —  Ikusiko dira berriz
Basque at its greatest. I’ve cried listening to this song. The woman, with her French Basque accent will leave you with chicken skin. You will have to find the right version though.

Moreno + 2  —  Deusa do amor
Have you ever felt absolutely speechless by the beauty of a woman? Of course. Unable to express your feelings? No one will do it better than a Brazilian with a guitar, and you know that. “Tudo fica mais bonito cuando vc está pro perto…”

Mos Def  —  The Boogie Man Song
Oooooh Mos Def… capable of the best and the worst. This is the perfect grown-up lullaby. Good night…

BOOKS

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
The author, John Kennedy Toole, committed suicide thinking he was a failed writer. The book is hilarious and its main character must be one of the most memorable in modern literature. It’s a must.

Su único hijo by Leopoldo Alas Clarín
It’s a book written in 1890, and the author is one of those who led one of the greatest movements of our literature. This is the kind of humour I enjoy the most while reading.

Euskal Mitologia. Mitologia Vasca by Luis Garagalza
My uncle gave it to me as a present. He had cancer and wanted to share with me the meaning of my name ‘Adur’ in our Basque language. He was the one who told my parents to name me Adur, and this book explains the meanings of lots of Basque stuff. It’s great.

The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition by Caroline Alexander
It’s a f***ing heavy story, based on true events, one of history’s greatest epics of survival. Men who survived the Antarctica in the early 1910’s. It’s brutal. Don’t hesitate if you are on a 5mm wetsuit and ready to surf.