It’s not the first time tango’s been twisted, nor is
it likely to be the last.
Once upon a time a man by the name of Astor Piazzolla,
tango’s rough equivalent to jazz’s Duke Ellington, took
the treasured Argentinian dance music and elevated it to the level
of classical music. Although much praised for his mastery in
composition and performance, Piazzolla was also bitterly criticized
for stealing tango away from its traditional sound.
Now, over 50 years after Piazzolla’s first performance,
the Paris-based Gotan Project is here to bring tango back to the
dance floor ““ with a little help from electronica.
The three principle members of the group ““ producer
Philippe Cohen Solal, programmer Christophe Mueller and guitarist
Eduardo Makaroff ““ write melodies and rhythms for voice,
piano, violin, guitar and the Argentinian accordion, the bandoneon.
The sound is then electronically treated, distorted and dubbed, or
in Solal’s words, “tortured.” The result is tango
dressed up in belly shirts and glitter. It allows dancers in clubs
from South Korea to Finland the choice to dance freestyle or kick
up their heels and grab each other’s waists in the
traditional style.
But Solal does not want his music to be confused with world
dance music, the quickly fizzing fad of slapping ethnic music loops
on top of electronic beats.
“I don’t like world dance music because sometimes
people are just making a collage of two different things, and they
are not going deeper into the music,” Solal said.
Gotan Project tries to explore tango music as a whole,
acknowledging not only its sound, but the literature, lifestyle,
politics, culture and even the drug cocaine as characteristics that
are all deeply intertwined with the music’s history. The
first track of “La Revancha del Tango” includes the
voice of Argentinian revolutionary Che Guevera saying, “We
want peace, we want to build a better life for our
people.”
Even if Gotan Project’s goal is to return tango to its
dance floor birthplace, its treatment of traditional sounds
initially made the group anxious about the response from
tango-purists. But so far, there have been no complaints, and the
fact that the group includes two top Argentinian-exiled tango
musicians only helps.
Tango may be an old dance form, but it is certainly not
outdated. Its highly sensual and even sexual dance moves arguably
give it more sex appeal than Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears and
Jewel combined. In its day, tango was denounced by the Queen of
England, the Kaiser of Germany, and the Pope. Gotan Project is here
to show today’s youth what their great-grandparents got wild
to.
“A lot of people have a prejudice against tango,”
Solal said. “Young people think tango is made for old people,
so for me, it’s been a challenge to make this (Gotan Project)
the revenge of tango.”
Gotan Project plays at Royce Hall with the Dakah Hip-Hop
Orchestra Oct. 18 at 8 p.m. Call (310) 825-2101 or go to
www.uclalive.org for more information.