I use late D'Arienzo sparingly and with passion. It has so much energy I want to be cautious about when to use it. This tanda comes with Horacio Palma, an expressive singer with dominating but not overbearing presence.…
It's hard to imagine tango without the bandoneón. And yet we don't just have to imagine it, we can see what happens when it's replaced by the venerable accordion. It's key to the sound of Thito Amantte and his band. Here, I review their first album release, Reevolution. And yes,…
It's been a while since I published my recent set, and as there's not been much new music I can review, I guess now is as good a time as ever. The occasion was the regular Monday milonga at Klub Joe in Prague. There were only a few couples for…
Can't get enough of Orquesta Típica Andariega? Shortly after they released their album Avanti, which I reviewed in my previous post, Sexteto Andiamo released their first album Gira Gira.…
Have you heard? Andariega has a new album out, Avanti. And it features Marisol Martinez, whom we know from her collaboration with Orquesta Romantica Milonguera. Andariega remakes old tunes with varying degree of fidelity but always with care and precision. And they care about dancers all the time.…
It happened on this year's Belgrade Tango Encuentro. Dark-Oh played a version of Adiós corazón I have not heard before, with a very unusual pattern played by the piano and pizzicato violin at the beginning and repeating it throughout the song. So strong was my impression that I remembered to…
I've written about new music that inspires me, and recently I've wondered if I put money where my mouth is. To that end, I have done a quick statistical analysis of my playlist from the first half of 2019. The data set I play 3-4 times a month, and I…
I wrote a while back how I like the non-serious, slightly drunk side of tango - as if danced in a smoky pub. If I ever get a chance to DJ in such environment, I'll play some Tango Esquinas there. Today, I'm reviewing their newest album, Orchestra Esquinas, from 2018.…
Dancers and DJs have recurring arguments about the 1950s and newer music. One side says it's difficult, decadent, and not as much fun to dance to than the Golden Age repertoire. The counter is that the songs have more "(d)epth and emotional intensity", as Warren Edwardes writes. Your tango…
At a recent DJ seminar I held, my revelation that I use harmonic mixing when composing a tanda has raised a few eyebrows. What is harmonic mixing? Wikipedia tells us that electronic dance music (EDM) DJs use it to transition between songs that are in the same key (e.g.…