Tango Is Alive! | Commentary

I offer a few comments on the ongoing debate between the tango and neo-tango camps.

I outline what milongas I like to dance and play, what are the essential components of a good milonga, and how I mix milongas in tandas.

I traveled to Belgrade and Berlin to dance, DJ'd in Norway, Germany, and home in Prague, and voraciously indulged in 1950s tango records. I will share what impacted me the most below.

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. It was mesmerizing.

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. Here is what I found.

This blog has so far been covering my discoveries of contemporary tango. It may appear that I only care about the present but it is not so: I am deeply invested in the tango tradition.

Do you ever meet a song that you just can't get out of your head afterwards? I bet you do. As a DJ, I try to keep my musical relationships casual and uncommitted. Despite my best efforts however, some songs do occasionally drill deep into my memory circuits and keep flooding my consciousness for days on end.

When you say tango, two images pop up competing for my attention. One of them has dancers clothed to impress drinking the Argentine tea and dancing elegantly in a ballroom. Moving with utmost precision and always trying to wow the onlookers. Another captures people in everyday clothes drinking wine and dancing with joyful abandon. Nobody is posing for a shot by the present photographer. The goal is simply to have fun.