November 02, 2006

Gotan Interview

Gotan is on tour. Here as an interview with them in Montreal's "The Gazette".

As one sees, this band doesn't really think they are making tango music -- it is something different: electronica infused with tango.

"In the beginning, there was an attraction in bringing a melodic element to electronic music, a melancholy," Muller said. "Electronic music has a tendency to be 'up.' Tango is not at all like that. The only people to (explore melancholy in electronica) before were Massive Attack." Easier said than done. Tango is a complex music with a rich history. Doing it justice while making something relevant to the here and now demanded a delicate balance. "It was a challenge," Muller said. "It's not an easy music. I didn't know a lot (about tango). I knew Astor Piazzolla. Then after a while, I got into traditional tango, and studied with Eduardo (Makaroff). He taught me what it is."
[...]
"Somehow, without wanting to, we have created a new branch in the big tree of tango. Tango has been around for more than 100 years. It has many facets. Now we find ourselves in it, reinventing that music."

Posted by joegrohens at 01:28 PM | Comments (0)

October 28, 2006

Tito Palumbo's editorial on electronic tango

Hi Joe:

This seems relevant to Tete's note. I think it is perhaps less passionate but clearer and more educational than Tete's note. What do you think?

Beatriz

This is the English translation of an editorial on "Electronic Tango" that appeared in the March 2006 issue of the magazine, B.A. Tango/Buenos Aires Tango" that is currently in its 12th year of publication and is one of the most widely read tango reviews in the world. The editorial was written by Tito Palumbo, editor and publisher of the magazine.

There is no "electronic tango." There is electronic music.

That is a conclusive and categorical assertion, and I will get straight to the point. The so-called "electronic tango" that is causing some impact outside Argentina and expanding abroad has no support whatsoever from among those who dance and teach tango in the Rio Platense (i.e. the entire region encompassing metropolitan Buenos Aires and the shoreline cities of Uruguay across the Rio de la Plata river). There are reasons for this.

"Electronic tango" has, in fact, nothing to do with tango, not in the area of "avant-garde tango" nor in the compositions of Astor Piazzolla whose "city music" always is grounded in the city of Buenos Aires.

Neither does using the electronic sampler to incorporate parts of true tangos certify that the music is or has been born into or born of the tango. It is not even a bastard child of the tango family. The electronic music lacks both the structure and the form of the tango genre. It lacks the tango's "three-minute story." It simply is not tango and cannot be said to be tango.

By no means is it in any way acceptable to say that young people will begin learning to understand and to dance the tango through the use of electronic music. Absolutely not! It is very difficult, not to say impossible for those who become intoxicated with electronic music ever be able to appreciate real tango.

The integration of young people with electronic music defined as "tango" is related to a cultural orientation that includes diluting as well as globalizing the true tango. Even the name, "electronic tango," seems to have been chosen especially to mislead those who are without expertise, without significant knowledge of the tango.

Tito Palumbo

Posted by beatriz at 02:52 PM | Comments (0)

July 06, 2006

Roberto Goyeneche singing at a concert

Roberto Goyeneche is my favorite tango singer. In my opinion, he was even better than Gardel or Rivero. His voice was expressive, murky, intense, and addictive. His interpretation was extraordinary.

The bandoneon player in the footage is no other than famous Nestor Marconi.

Posted by yana at 02:33 AM | Comments (2)

July 05, 2006

Waltz with No Return

Vals sin volver is written by Korey Ireland. This is a sad but beautiful piece of music which I enjoy dancing to. This is an impromptu performance of Tova and Carlos to Vals sin volver.

Posted by yana at 12:45 PM | Comments (1)

June 14, 2006

Orquesta Tipica - a Film by Nicolas Ente

Watch this trailer. It's great, an indie documentary featuring the contemporary tango band "Orquesta Tipica Fernandez Fierro". There are some great scenes in here, like where crowd on the street chants to police "Let them play" while a middle-aged man pleads "We want tango, not cumbia that rots kids minds".


Quotes from the band members:

  • "Back in April, we got together with a bass, and a bandoneon player. So we said, since we are three, let's find a violinist and make a quartet. Within a month we went from 4 to 12 members."

  • "Trying to assemble an orquestra tipica back then was already really huge."

  • (The director) "They thought they were a garage band. With the Orquesta, I follow a dogma. The orchestra always comes first."

    • From the producer's description
    Twelve guys looking like punk rockers pushing a piano down the street. Their sound is elaborate but raw. Their music is politically committed while historically linked to counterculture; still, it is part of a genre more than a hundred years old. This is their story. This is Buenos Aires 2006.

    Links

    Posted by joegrohens at 02:05 PM | Comments (0)

    May 12, 2006

    Bif Naked - Tango Shoes

    This song by Canadian punk popster Bif Naked is no tango, but it has great lyrics and a cool tune, and takes its theme from one of the most important things about tango - women's shoes!


    Get this video and more at MySpace.com

    "Tango Shoes" Lyrics

    When we're together,
    I am alone.
    I dawdle down the street, shuffle my feet,
    don't wanna go home.

    There's an antique store.
    I go inside.
    All I got on me,
    is only twenty bucks and my pride.
    (That's when I see them!)

    My new tango shoes,
    They are my treasure! They're so cool!
    My new tango shoes,
    They are my ticket! My tools!
    My new tango shoes,
    they're gonna help me dance away from you!
    My new tango shoes!

    Like Cinderella, I am transformed.
    Suddenly I'm taller
    you're smaller
    I am reborn!
    With new courage,
    I go downtown.
    To find you sitting at a table,
    girls all around.
    (and they see my...)

    My new tango shoes,
    They are my treasure! They're so cool!
    My new tango shoes,
    They are my ticket! My tools! My new tango shoes,
    they're gonna help me dance away from you!
    My new tango shoes!

    ...see my sexy metamorphosis
    right before your angry eyes...
    I stick a red rose in between my lips,
    turn on my heel,
    dance out of your life!

    You told me you love me.
    That was untrue.
    Now that we're over,
    this dance is for you.
    (Tango!)

    My new tango shoes,
    They are my treasure! They're so cool!
    My new tango shoes,
    They are my ticket! My tools!
    My new tango shoes,
    they're gonna help me dance away from you!
    My new tango shoes!

    LInks

  • Amazon: "Essentially Naked" Includes interesting customer reviews.

    Posted by joegrohens at 06:11 PM | Comments (0)

    April 11, 2006

    New Tango Streaming Radio

    At the tango-dj list, Manuk reported on this Turkish online Tango Radio server.

    Add to the growing list:

    Posted by joegrohens at 10:15 PM | Comments (0)

    April 06, 2006

    Gotan Lunático

    Gotan Project's new CD "Lunático" (named after Carlos Gardel's horse) will be released in the U.S. on April 11, 2006. This is actually only the second CD produced by the whole group since "Revancha del Tango" (2001). "Inspiracion Espiracion," an in-between album was a DJ mix album of new tracks and remixes by Phillippe Cohen Solal released under the band's name in 2004.

    Preview:

    Other:

    Posted by joegrohens at 02:48 PM | Comments (3)

    August 29, 2005

    Wall St. Journal on "Neotango"

    WSJ.com - The New Tango Trades Cheek to Cheek For Hot, Fast Moves

    Excerpts:

    BERKELEY, Calif. -- It still takes two to tango, but young urban aficionados have added some surprising new twists to the tradition-bound Argentine dance.

    [ ... ]

    But by about 4 a.m., it was time for something quite different on the dance floor. With the traditional crowd gone home to bed, Mr. Ladas dumped the orchestra music and replaced it with the sort of modern, bass-heavy dance music that might be played in a hip nightclub. The dancing was different, too: The people in their twenties who remained switched over to a new kind of tango that had them lifting, twisting and ricocheting around the room.

    [ ... ]

    This is "neotango," a new millennium version of the dance that was born at the turn of the last century in the brothels of Buenos Aires. It's booming all over the tango world.

    [ ... ]

    Formal wear is out; sneakers, low-rider jeans and halter tops are in.

    [ ... ]

    And the dance itself is different: faster, more fluid and requiring more floor space. While old-school dancers, enjoying simple steps, might press themselves heart to heart, the new version rotates over swaths of floor at high speed. Actually, there are many competing new versions. Some dancers borrow moves and music from electronica, swing and even martial arts.

    [ ... ]

    When new-style dancers first emerged in Denver, they were dubbed the "nuevo brats" for causing collisions on the floor with their flashy and sometimes haphazard moves, said Stephen Brown, founding member of the Dallas tango community who has been a DJ at Denver tango festivals.

    [ ... ]

    It isn't just the dance moves that are dividing the audience, it's the more beat-oriented music. "Tango requires music with a human breath, and without that it isn't danceable," said longtime Denver teacher Tom Stermitz. But even Mr. Stermitz, who promotes the older, closer style, recently added an alternative milonga to his popular annual festival.

    Here's the full text of the article, in the event that the above link is broken. Joe The New Tango Trades Cheek to Cheek For Hot, Fast Moves Heavy Beat, Lots of Twisting Draw a Young Crowd; Mr. Ladas's All-Nighters By KIM-MAI CUTLER Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL August 29, 2005; Page A1 BERKELEY, Calif. -- It still takes two to tango, but young urban aficionados have added some surprising new twists to the tradition-bound Argentine dance. For most of a recent Saturday night, Homer Ladas staged what appeared to be a program of traditional tango at a small studio here. Locked in tight embrace, dozens of couples gently swirled on the scuffed wooden floor as the sound of violins from the golden age of tango in the 1940s floated in the air. But by about 4 a.m., it was time for something quite different on the dance floor. With the traditional crowd gone home to bed, Mr. Ladas dumped the orchestra music and replaced it with the sort of modern, bass-heavy dance music that might be played in a hip nightclub. The dancing was different, too: The people in their twenties who remained switched over to a new kind of tango that had them lifting, twisting and ricocheting around the room. Tango impresario Homer Ladas with his wife and teaching partner, Cristina Navarro-Ladas. The two met at a tango festival. This is "neotango," a new millennium version of the dance that was born at the turn of the last century in the brothels of Buenos Aires. It's booming all over the tango world. For years, the very word tango brought images of sophistication and glamour: tuxedoed, rose-clutching tangueros strutting across the floor with leggy women -- tangueras -- in dresses slit up the thigh. But the tango was withering away. A lot of American milongas, or dance parties, were kitschy affairs patronized by an aging and dwindling cast of die-hards who danced to scratchy records of accordion music. But now, in city after city across the U.S., a new generation of tango dancers is packing the floor again. They swerve and kick, not to the traditional violins of, say, the great Francisco Canaro's orchestras, but to the dub beats of Massive Attack or wailing guitar lines of Jimi Hendrix. Formal wear is out; sneakers, low-rider jeans and halter tops are in. And the dance itself is different: faster, more fluid and requiring more floor space. While old-school dancers, enjoying simple steps, might press themselves heart to heart, the new version rotates over swaths of floor at high speed. Actually, there are many competing new versions. Some dancers borrow moves and music from electronica, swing and even martial arts. One popular neotango DJ played gigs in Beijing, Washington, D.C., and St. Louis this summer. Indeed, at Mr. Ladas's Berkeley milonga studio, there's usually a global assortment of partners on hand -- an architect from Berlin; a Japanese woman who helped found the Edinburgh, Scotland, tango society; college students who fly up from Southern California just to dance; even a porteño, or native of Buenos Aires, or two. Mr. Ladas, who hosts all-nighters in the San Francisco area and in other cities across the country, is emblematic of the new generation of dancers. A former mechanical engineer in Tucson, Ariz., he saw a flier for tango when he was 27 years old and became obsessed. He took lessons and, soon, 10 hours of dancing a week became 15 and then 20. At an Amsterdam tango festival, he danced for 26 hours nonstop. But tango remained just a hobby for Mr. Ladas, now 36, until two cataclysms shook up his life -- his mother's death and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, just a day later. He took a leave of absence from his job to teach tango, and he never returned. At around the same time, neotango was growing increasingly popular in American and European dancing circles. It had its roots in the pounding club music, the experimental stylings of a few prominent Argentine dancers and modern fitness regimes: yoga, Pilates, martial arts and capoeira, a Brazilian art form that combines martial arts with acrobatics. While the traditional form of tango can be highly structured, neotango's early proponents believed dancers had to be free to experiment, and experiment they have. Mr. Ladas set out to spread the word about the new tango, teaching classes and hosting milongas around the country. In 2003, he and a group of like-minded San Francisco dancers opened the doors to the city's first large-scale alternative milonga. "There was a group of young people who were frustrated who wanted to have more expressiveness in tango," he said. But when neotango started picking up steam, the passionate tango community divided into cliques as arguments brewed over which kind of tango is best. Even as Mr. Ladas's neotango events have swelled in popularity, some dancers have branded him a "tango philistine" or have avoided his events. The same rifts have appeared in other communities, too. When new-style dancers first emerged in Denver, they were dubbed the "nuevo brats" for causing collisions on the floor with their flashy and sometimes haphazard moves, said Stephen Brown, founding member of the Dallas tango community who has been a DJ at Denver tango festivals. Traditionalists simply long for the older styles: chest to chest, cheek to cheek, and eyes closed in what is known as the tango trance. "Tango is very close to the heart," dancer Moti Buchboot said. "That makes it really easy for crazy zealots to go in there and say that their style is the style and that's the only right style." It isn't just the dance moves that are dividing the audience, it's the more beat-oriented music. "Tango requires music with a human breath, and without that it isn't danceable," said longtime Denver teacher Tom Stermitz. But even Mr. Stermitz, who promotes the older, closer style, recently added an alternative milonga to his popular annual festival. The debate has even come home to Argentina. Tango was repressed there between 1955 and 1983 under regimes that broke up milongas and jailed dancers. Argentine tango went underground. Although it came roaring back to life when several Broadway shows in the 1980s and early '90s, including "Tango Argentino" and "Forever Tango," sparked interest abroad, the music didn't catch up with the times. When neotango music first emerged, just one club in Buenos Aires would play Carlos Libedinsky's homemade compilation of electronic tangos called "Narcotango." But after spreading it to friends in Europe and North America in 2003, the musician has sold about 20,000 CDs, mostly through word of mouth, and it has become part of standard playlists at several Buenos Aires clubs. "Many people say that it's not tango. Even I'm not sure -- I don't say that it's traditional tango, of course," Mr. Libedinsky said. "But it's something new, something refreshing. It brings new colors to the music and to the dancing." It is abroad where the new dance has taken off and gone through endless mutations. Mr. Ladas has been teaching swing dancers to tango. "Swango," anyone? Other East Coast couples are pioneering "liquid tango" and "free tango," among an infinite assortment of names. By whatever name, it proves that, after several decades, Argentina doesn't have a lock on tango anymore. Write to Kim-Mai Cutler at kim-mai.cutler@wsj.com

    Posted by joegrohens at 06:09 PM | Comments (0)

    Piazzolla

    Areg sent me this link to a review of Piazzolla's CD Rough Dancer and the Cyclical Night, a suite of pieces composed for a cycle of dances in Graciela Daniele's "Tango Apasionado," a theatrical work based on the poetry of Borges. The music was released in an album recorded in 1987. I love the producer's anecdote about Piazzolla bursting into the studio as they were cleaning up tracks on the recording tapes. "If you correct anything you'll be eating dinner with Borges tonight."

    Whether Piazzolla's music should be played for social dancing is always a subject of debate. When Piazzolla was in Troilo's orchestra he hated tango dancers - they cramped his style, they wanted "tangos", he hated old tangos, he thought "La Cumparsita" was the worst piece of music ever written; the dancers hated him because he wrote arrangements for the dance band that were hard to dance to. Troilo asked Piazzolla to cut it out because the dancers used to throw fruit at the band and throw coins on the floor and walk off. Maria Castello remembers seeing Piazzolla in a televised recording of a concert in Buenos Aires where they audience threw coins at the musicians on stage. Once when Piazzolla was giving a radio interview, embittered tango fans came to the station, entered the studio, and beat him up.

    Listen to this great interview with Piazzolla where he talks about how, by the time he was studying in Paris, he was sick and ashamed over having been a tango musician. He was embarrassed to let Nadia Boulanger know he had played in a cabaret to earn a living. And yet he cared enough to Osvaldo Pugliese to listen to his new tango and opine whether it was tango or not. "Yes, it is tango," said Pugliese.

    Astor Piazzolla on KPFA's Speaking Of Music, May 11, 1989, Exploratorium Theater, San Francisco

    Also, this CBC broadcast by Guadalupe Jolicouer devotes a lot of time to Piazzolla. It's been a while since I listened to it; she either has some of Piazzolla's remarks on tape or reads remarks he had made about his music. (This is where I learned that Piazzolla sought Pugliese's tango blessing on his music.)

    Posted by joegrohens at 11:48 AM | Comments (0)

    February 15, 2005

    Play Count

    For what it's worth: The most played tracks in my iTunes.

      Name • Artist
    1. Real Rock • Sound Dimension
    2. Nueve Puntos • Carlos Di Sarli
    3. A La Gran Muñeca • Carlos Di Sarli
    4. Champagne Tango • Carlos Di Sarli
    5. Yo soy de Parque Patricios • D'Agostino / Vargas
    6. El Flete • D'Arienzo
    7. Sentimientos • Jaime Wilensky
    8. Grazing in the Grass • Hugh Masekela
    9. GOLGOTA • Rodolfo Biagi
    10. Hotel Victoria • D'Agostino / Vargas
    11. Pénsalo Bien • D'Arienzo, Juan
    12. Una Emocion • Tanturi Campos
    13. Track 16 • Enrique Rodrigues
    14. Prelude • Metier
    15. La Cumparsita • Miguel Villasboas
    16. cumparsita • DI SARLI
    17. tuba something • Tuba Tango
    18. Cafe Domingues • D'Agostino / Vargas
    19. El Morochita • Enrique Rodrigues
    20. Corazon de oro • QUINTETO PIRINCHO (Vals)
    21. El Tango • Hi Perspective
    22. La cumparsita • Florindo Sassone
    23. Chega de Saudade • João Gilberto
    24. Vida Mia • Osvaldo Fresedo
    25. Tequila • Wes Montgomery
    26. Track 06 • Enrique Rodrigues
    27. Bailongo De Los Domingos • Tanturi
    28. Del pasado • ALFREDO DE ANGELIS (Milonga)
    29. Mi corazón • Campo
    30. Don Juan • Carlos Di Sarli
    31. Zorzal • Carlos Di Sarli
    32. El Internado • La Solistas De D'Arienzo
    33. Prisionero • Tanturi-Campos
    34. Voulez•Vous? • Arling & Cameron
    35. Festejando • Color Tango
    36. Cornetín • DI SARLI w Rufino, Florio, et al
    37. Track 14 • Tuba Tango
    38. Marisabel •
    39. Adios Arrabal • D'Agostino / Vargas
    40. Bim Bom • João Gilberto
    41. La Mariposa • Color Tango
    42. Corazón • DI SARLI w Rufino, Florio, et al
    43. Track 13 • Tuba Tango
    44. Forma • Supervielle
    45. Yo Soy de San Telmo • Carlos Di Sarli
    46. Reliquias portenas • FRANCISCO CANARO (MILONGA)
    47. Confianzas • Gotan Project
    48. Desafinado • João Gilberto
    49. Sonar y nada mas • ALFRED DE ANGELIS (VALS)•
    50. Champagne Tango • Carlos Sarli
    51. La Viruta • D'Arienzo
    52. Montevideo • Miguel Villasboas
    53. A Evaristo Carriego• Pugliese
    54. The Look of Love • Ron Isley
    55. Nostalgias•Lomuto
    56. Dindi • Astrud Gilberto

    Much of this is due to my playing through my laptop for dances and practices. I cannot account for why I seem to have played "The Look of Love" as often as "A Evaristo Carriego", but there you go. (Ron Isley is pretty good, though.) I'll try to do this again in several months and see what has changed. Oh... by the way, I have recently used "Real Rock" and "Grazing in the Grass" as cortinas, which exaggerates their frequency, as I only play 20 seconds or so.

    And... I apologize for the inconsistent entry of song titles and artist names. I'll clean that up someday.

    Posted by joegrohens at 10:29 PM | Comments (0)

    January 02, 2005

    Torito's web site

    Rob "Torito" Nuijten of Amsterdam publishes a very interesting, and attractively designed, web site for tango in Netherlands. Links of interest:

    From browsing his "Tango agenda" just now, I learned of the death of Jose Libertella, cited below.

    On a lighter note, Torito reports on a great tango video clip ( "Uniquely Spikey".) from a TV commercial of the Singapore travel industry. (Requires QuickTime).

    Fun: Webmovie commercial spotted: Dancing Tango for Singapore. Bold man with lady in selfmade SM bra. (Who are they, do you know?)

    One must note that Torito takes some very nice tango photographs, as I have mentioned previously.

    Posted by joegrohens at 01:41 AM | Comments (0)

    Jose Libertella R.I.P

    Many of us from Urbana and Purdue saw the great bandoneonist Jose Libertello leading the Sexteto Mayor in concert with Tango Pasión in Chicago last year (October 2003).

    The fueye has taken its last breath in his hands.

    From Torito's website:


    A great loss. Jose Libertella (Sexteto Mayor) dies in Paris, on wednesday Dec 8, at the age of 71, while on tour with Tango Pasión. The maestro has been flown back to Buenos Aires. Jose Libertella in Torquato Tasso, BsAs, in December 2002. Photo © Rob Nuijten, Amsterdam (Torito.nl)

    Posted by joegrohens at 01:00 AM | Comments (0)

    December 30, 2004

    Junior Cervila

    Read Jackie Wong's interview with Brazilian dancer, actor and filmmaker Antonio Cervila Junior, who was seen in Carlos Saura's Tango and figured prominently in the final dance sequence.

    Junior: You can dance tango to EVERYTHING. Well, I can because I want to. Piazzolla is a genius. Great to dance, but traditionalists don't like him. So they don't want to dance to his music. Then of course, it becomes impossible. The only possible things are the ones that you believe.

    I came from Copacabana and would turn tango into salsa, mixing the two dances. I loved it. And then turn Milonga into Merengue. Anyway, I don't like to say that I am right and traditionalists are wrong because there is no right or wrong. It is only what you really feel. And everybody agrees that tango is a feeling. So, if you don't feel Piazzolla, don't do it. But shut up and let other people be happy.

    In the forties Julio De Caro was considered too modern and people from that time used to say that the real tango were the old ones from 1910. So the question is not what is tango, but WHEN. A 40's tango was not tango for a 1910's dancer. So a 2000's tango will never be tango for a 60's dancer. And it's not a physical age, but where in the timeline you place your head. There are teenagers that are more traditional then older people.

    [...]Tango is so stuck in one place. I think tango can give much more than it is giving. Tangueros only have to realize that everything is changing. We can't dance exactly like in the 40's because we are not in the 40's. The world has changed and so has changed people. If a tanguero is very traditional and thinks that everybody has to dance like in the 40's ONLY, I think that he should not use TV or cellular phones. He has to live like on those days. My choreography is modern. My dance at the milonga is calm and subtle: introspective. My productions try to bring young people to tango.

    I became intrigued by Junior back in 1999 when Alberto and Valorie brought to town a CD music compilation that Junior had made. I don't know if the CD was ever published; it may have been just a pre-release version. It was called "Tangos Instrumentales para Bailar," but Carlota and I always referred to it as "The Junior CD" (as in "oh, that tune was on the Junior CD!"), and it influenced our tango listening at an early stage.

    Here is the playlist.

    Tangos Instrumentales para Bailar
    1. Cafe Dominguez - Angel D'Agostino
    2. Gallo Ciego - Osvaldo Pugliese
    3. Nochero Soy - Osvaldo Pugliese
    4. Bahia Blanca - Carlos Di Sarli
    5. El Pollo Riccardo - Leopoldo Federico
    6. El Andariego - Osvaldo Pugliese
    7. Racing Club - Angel D'Agostino
    8. Inspiracion - Annibal Troilo
    9. Recuerdo - Horacio Salgan
    10. Comme Il Faut - Carlos di Sarli
    11. Fuego Artificiales - Armando Pontier
    12. Boedo - Francini / Pontier
    13. Shusheta - Horacio Salgan
    14. Cuando Llora La Milonga - Alfredo Di Angelis
    15. El Internado - Los Solistas de D'Arienzo
    16. El Chamuyo - Domingo Federico
    17. El Rey del Compas - Juan D'Arienzo
    18. El Cencerro - Juan D'Arienzo
    19. Ataniche - Roberto Firpo
    20. Sabado Ingles - Roberto Firpo

    And now there is his very exciting show Latin Dance Carnival. Not just anyone can put together a dance review like this one! This guy is deeply talented and intellectually very interesting. View the 2002 show video and 2004 show slideshow.

    Posted by joegrohens at 10:48 PM | Comments (0)

    December 27, 2004

    Bajofondo Tango Club

    Pirineos Sur, Festival Internacional de las Culturas

    July 10, 2004 Lanuzza, Spain (Pyrennees)- The international culture festival "El Festival Pirineos Sur" included the first live performance of Bajofondo Tango Club, with Adriana Varela, Javier Casalla y Cristóbal Repetto.

    Read here for some interesting Background on some Bajofondo members. Reading this you quickly realize that these musicians do not think they are producing "tango" music. They are trying to create something new, that integrates tango, rock, electronica. I love the creativity and intertextuality of this music. In the song "Corazon", for instance, they sample Polaco Goyenache "senors, senoras...." I get goosebumps.

    To quote keyboardist Luciano Supervielle:

    - The fact is that I do hip hop. The things that serve me as the tango are those that I can associate with my genre. As in all work of experimentation, there are things that stay of side. But the tango and the hip hop share a dance origin, then there are many things that one knows that can be associated. Anyhow, if I do a contribution to some evolution it is to that of the hip hop or of the electronic music, not to that of the tango. The new tango is going to arise from a type that is tanguero, that he dedicates ten hours per day to doing tango. And if it approaches the electronic music, it will do it from the tango. I am of another side. { from }

    J.Campo says the same thing in a different interview:

    I think it's clear that this is not tango in a traditional sense. It's electronic music with a Tango flavor. We tried to mix both genres and we got something totally new. We'll wait and see how the public reacts. { from }

    Anyway, one of these days, a tanguero musician will weigh in with some contemporary sounds, and then we'll have music for a milonga. On the other hand, Adriana Varela is one of the outstanding singers of tango argentino. The sound of her voice on Perfume and Mi Corazon definitely infuse these tracks with tango weight.

    Watch a video of Bajofondo Tango Club in Performance: Bajofondo Tango Club - Sadler's Wells - June 2004

    Sample Bajofondo tracks at Tangostore.com.

    More links:

    a Wifiblanes.com weblog » Bajo Fondo Tango Club en La Paloma(review of show in La Paloma)

    MensTennisForums.com - Music (interview with Campo)

    Posted by joegrohens at 11:41 PM | Comments (0)