Sunday, August 17, 2008
Toronto, Canada
The Mod Club
Bajofondo (Tango Club) blend the seductive sounds of tango with trip-hop, house, drum & bass and electronica to create an intoxicating brew that has won over dancefloors around the globe. Led by two-time Academy Award winner Gustavo Santaolalla (Babel / Brokeback Mountain) the group makes their Canadian debut at the Mod Club, celebrating the release of their new CD Mar Dulce, which features a guest appearance by Canada's Nelly Furtado.
What began as a combination of programming and sampling with acoustic and electric instruments -- with emphasis on the first -- has evolved into a band in which everything is practically played live, with only a minimal percentage of sequences and programming. At the present time, Bajofondo is an eight-member band, with seven musicians and a VJ who triggers images in real time along with the music.
As a result of the band's musical expansion, Bajofondo also started integrating elements of Latin American folkloric music in its performances, so when it came time to tackle their new album, they decided to do away with "Tango Club" and shorten their name simply to Bajofondo. The change in the name, more inclusive and with an immediate impact, mirrors the path Bajofondo's music has followed.
Their latest album, Mar Dulce, was recorded in real time, with all the members playing together in the studio as if they were a rock or jazz group, a radically different approach than the one used on the first album. On this album, even the strings were played by a string section conducted by Alejandro Teran, in a tango orchestra fashion, which includes four violins, two violas and one cello. Mar Dulce reflects a cosmopolitan feel, having been recorded in cities like Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Los Angeles, New York, Tokyo and Madrid.
Guest artists include Elvis Costello, Spanish rapper Mala Rodríguez, Nelly Furtado, virtuoso Japanese bandoneon player Ryota Komatsu and several Rio de la Plata artists whose origins cover the entire gamut from traditional to vanguard. Uruguayan artists participating range from the great Lágrima Ríos (this was to be her last recording) and guitarist Toto Méndez (who was the musical director of Alfredo Zitarrosa's quartet) to electronica duo OMAR and vocalist Fernando Santullo. Argentine artists include Gustavo Cerati, who in the 80's was the frontman for Soda Stereo, the most popular rock group in Latin America, and Juan Subirá.
Ever-evolving, the group continues to hone its sound, adding new ingredients, arduously selecting beats and bass lines, but there is always an aesthetic that remains a constant. It becomes evident that what they like to call "bajofondista school" reaches new heights in Mar Dulce, in which parameters are more profound, due to the group's new dynamics and the creative interaction of its members.
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About DJ medicineman
Richard "medicineman" Martin is one of Canada's most highly respected global fusion tastemakers. He hosts No Man's Land, one of the most popular and long-running music shows on CIUT 89.5 FM which airs Wednesdays from 12-2 p.m. His unique cross-cultural mixology has earned a loyal throng of fans over the airwaves and on dancefloors. For almost a decade, he has been called upon by leading world music labels, such as Six Degrees Records, to help get their artists' music into the ears of discerning listeners. Medicineman is the resident ethnogroovologist for Toronto's premier independent world music presenter Small World Music.
Downloads of his show are available at: http://www.myspace.com/medicinemanradio
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Argentina!
MrJCBright 1 week ago
they are great!
elduodedostango 9 months ago
@jorgeluisaqp
The song name is Montserrat ! :D sounds too cool!!!!!
ardnajelazenitram 1 year ago
@URUGUAY0 una provincia argentina
nosemeocurree 1 year ago
This is uruguay!!!!!
URUGUAY0 2 years ago
In reality, it is a group of people trying to reach to a genre they grew up rejecting beacuse of the media, and now being not able to play it (and having never done it), they want to renew it, but end up doing techno with a distant tango flavor... I guess it is easy and tempting when you use Ableton Live...
My two cents...
guidodgs 2 years ago
This is pure ART. I just love this genre.
It´s like bringing our culture back again.
Peace from Argentina!
catuu9 2 years ago 2
their earlier music had blended acoustic tango and electronic music, part of an evolving tango genre which is known as "Electrotango" or "Tango Fusion", which brought tango back into the mainstream. Besides the aforementioned mixture of tango and electronica, the band is innovative form of DNB, house music, chill out and trip-hop.
gonzalo2053 2 years ago
what is the name of this mix?
jorgeluisaqp 2 years ago
wow mate, u wrote an intense review there. cheers for you.
hugs from argentina
fermixx 3 years ago