In early 2004, Philippe Cohen Solal compiled a mix album of new tracks and remixes on behalf of the band, Inspiraci?n?Espiraci?n (XL Recordings). Philippe Cohen Solal explained some of the factors that led them to make this album, which is not exactly a ?new? GoTan Project record, but a collection of new tracks, plus GoTan Project remixing tracks and people mixing GoTan Project tracks:

"We set ourselves the challenge of bringing together past influences and present aspirations for just one hour - the Ancients and the Moderns. Indeed, what difference is there between a 40s groove, a 70s groove, and a groove for tomorrow? There is a difference in the sound quality of the recordings, naturally, but that aside, Anibal Troilo grooves, Astor Piazzolla grooves, and Pepe Bradock grooves. One is an amazing arranger, one a songwriting genius, and the other an inspired producer. Calexico, Domingo Cura, Peter Kruder, Anibal Troilo, Anti Pop Consortium, GoTan Project, Pepe Bradock, Al Shid and the voices of those Argentinean women, legendary figures, stars or unknowns, with names like Evita, Cecilia and Rita."

The world of the GoTan Project is not just a musical one, it?s also a visual one. The second disc that accompanies the album includes a video by their longtime visual collaborator, Prisca Lobjoy. She is a video artist and has been part of the GoTan Project world since the very beginning?from the design of their first single sleeves, to the album cover and, above all, the creation of the videos, which are projected during the live shows. Her visual poetry is quite unique, and she has been able to capture the very essence of Tango without resorting to clich?s.

With a decidedly stronger emphasis on the more organic roots of tango, almost to a classical level, the group's third recording, Lunatico, has taken one step backwards in order to move two steps forward in what not only Gotan Project, but also many of Argentina's top tango musicians see as the progression of their beloved music's ever-evolving lifespan. "We really wanted to explore both tango and folkloric music from Argentina a lot further than we had before," says Philippe. "That's why many of the tracks are classically tango-oriented, very traditional patterns that people like (Anibal) Troilo would use."

The resulting material from those sessions was and is quite possibly their most accomplished work yet. Not wanting to replicate any of what "La Revancha..." had originally achieved musically, Philippe, Chris+oph and Eduardo subsequently flew back to Paris two weeks later to begin the second leg of work on Lunatico - which is named quite appropriately after tango hero Carlos Gardel's champion racehorse of the 1930's. Fellow collaborators Argentinian Bandoneonist Nini Flores, and Barcelona-based vocalist Cristina Vilallonga joined up with them at their Substudioz back in the French capital and thus began the completion, hidden under top secrecy, of Lunatico. "Recording this album was a more natural process for us all," Philippe adds, "as we wanted to continue the tango experience and in ten years time hopefully we'll still feel the same."

In November 2005, just minutes before Gotan Project were due onstage at the Gran Rex theatre in Buenos Aires, band guitarist and native Argentinean, Eduardo Makaroff, summed it all up in one key quote: "The lyrics of many of the famous tango songwriters would always talk about returning to this city, and so we're going back to the South and to the place that's in our hearts." Seven months prior. Eduardo, along with fellow Gotan producers Philippe Cohen Solal and Christoph H. Muller, had flown from their homes in Paris to begin recording the new album, Lunatico, at Buenos Aires' prestigious Studio Ion - the famed venue where tango greats like Astor Piazzolla had once laid down their audio magic to the vast reel-to-reel tape machines. Sitting in with them for the recordings were a host of local session musicians - a complete string section, two emcees, one trombonist, and Argentinean piano legend and long-time Gotan collaborator, Gustavo Beytelmann, conducting much of the musical goings on.

La Revancha del Tango (Beggars, 2003)

Inspiracion-Espiracion Remix (XI/Beggars, 2004)

Lun?tico (XI/Beggars, 2006)

• Gotan Project Worldwide Tour
• A Collection of Tango