Tanda of the week: Tango Bardo instrumentals

Tanda of the week: Tango Bardo instrumentals

This quartet is one of the permutations that the musicians around Romantica Milonguera create for our enjoyment. They are known mostly for their instrumentals, although they did release two albums with singers.

Their stuff is cocaine for the dance floor. Given in the right amount it releases a magnificent outburst of energy to behold. Take too much and you are in trouble.

Razor-sharp accents, every phrase squeezed dry of all its potential. Tango Bardo goes for your jugular. These guys don't mess around.

Structure

  • Café Domínguez (G-minor, 60 BPM)
  • Pavadita (A-minor, 60 BPM)
  • Mi dolor (D-minor, 63 BPM)
  • Tigre viejo (F-minor, 63 BPM)

Café Domínguez must be the opener here, with its resolute energy and draw. Tigre viejo must close; musically it's most challenging, mixing drama with passages that are almost meditative, and resolving the conflict in a way that seems definitive.

Usage

I would place these bad boys next to a softer, lyrical tanda. In a recent set I played it after La Auténtica Milonguera and right before milongas. It provides a strong jolt of energy and will please dancers who need a good workout.


image credit Artur Aldyrkhanov

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