Aire Ahizpak from left to right: Amaia Aire, Miren Aire, Paxkalin Aire

Aire Ahizpak (Aire Sisters) are a traditional Basque vocal music trio formed in 1992 in Urepele, Lower Navarre, by sisters Miren, Amaia, and Paxkalin Aire.  They are well-known for preserving and performing traditional Basque songs and their repertoire spans classic Basque melodies, poetry, and collaborative regional projects.

The Aire sisters grew up in a household filled with music and song and took to it at an early age. Improvised verses were heard sung on the radio during meals since in their household, improvised verses were held in very high regard as their father, Mixel Aire and their late grandfather, Xalbador, are well known bertsolaris (singing extemporary composed songs in Basque according to various melodies and rhyming patterns).

Miren, Amaia and Paxkalin, the three Aire sisters from Urepele (Lower Navarre), started to sing together as a trio in 1992.  It was in 1998 that the Aire sisters first performed Arrosako Zolan (In the depths of Arrosa) at the independent, alter-globalization Euskal Herria Zuzenean (EHZ) music festival, which was held at the time in the valleys of the village of Saint-Martin-d’Arrossa. The song’s deeply committed lyrics champion Basque identity and language (Euskara) while advocating for openness to other cultures in the face of globalization and has become the festival’s anthem.

After taking a break for a few years, the trio recorded their first CD entitled Bidexka (The Trail), which was released towards the end of 2014. The CD pays tribute to the artists of the Ez dok Amairu movement (There is no thirteen – an avant-garde artistic and cultural movement to renew and contemporize Basque culture in the years 1965-1972), such as Mikel Laboa, Benito Lertxundi, Lourdes Iriondo, Xabier Lete, Mixel Labeguerie, Eñaut Etxamendi. They also sing verses from their grandfather, Xalbador. With this CD Aire Ahizpak wanted to pay tribute to all these artists and equally to their parents for encouraging their broad repertoire.

In 2025, the Aire sisters released a new CD, Eskerrak Bizitza (Thanks to life), featuring five tracks that have been part of their live repertoire but did not appear on their first CD.  "Eskerrak bizitza," the title track, is an adaptation of the famous "Gracias a la vida" by Chilean artist Violeta Parra. Amets Arzallus wrote the adaptation in Basque. The album also features the famous "Nigarra begian" lyrics by their grandfather, Xalbador while other songs include "Ez uste izan" (lyrics by Manex Erdozaintzi-Etxart), "Gazte hiltzera doana" (Jean-Baptiste Elizanburu), and "Emakume" by Eneko Labéguerie. Sébastien Desgrand, their longtime musical partner, plays the accordion.