Bajofondo Tango Club was put together by Rock en español musician and producer Gustavo Santaolalla, winner of two-time Academy Awards and Golden Globe-winning composer of Brokeback Mountain and Babel. It is a collective of artists and musicians creating an array of music based on the fusion of electronica (dub, house, drum&bass) with the traditional sounds of tango.
Bajofondo Tango Club quickly caused a stir in Argentina’s music underground and the world at large. The debut album, Bajofondo Tango Club, certified platinum in Argentina soon after its release in 2003, won the prestigious Premio Gardel for Best Electronica Album and a Latin Grammy as Best Pop Instrumental Album.
After sold-out performances in Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, the collective was invited to tour Europe in July 2004 with unforgettable performances at Roskilde Festival (Denmark), across Eastern Europe, Spain, London (UK) and beyond. What began as a music project became an amazing touring group of musicians, DJs and visuals.
The members of Bajofondo Tango Club come from the worlds of tango and electronic music. The original members were: Gustavo Santaolalla (Argentina), Juan Campodonico (Uruguay), Marcelo Castelli (Uruguay), Emilio Kauderer (Argentina), Juan Blas (Argentina), Didi Gutman (Argentina), Luciano Supervielle (Uruguay), Jorge Drexler (Uruguay), Adrian Iaies (Argentina), Pablo Mainetti (Argentina) and Javier Casalla (Argentina).
The band shortened the name to Bajofondo after they felt their musical genre had broadened. As on their earlier recordings, their Mar Dulce album sees Bajofondo’s musicians lead listeners through a sensual soundscape of tango, trip-hop, drum & bass and pop elements that redefine the essence of tango for the 21st century. Mar Dulce features guest performances by Elvis Costello, Nelly Furtado, Julieta Venegas, Gustavo Cerati, Ryota Komatsu, La Mala Rodriguez, Santullo, Juan Subira and the final recorded performance by legendary Uruguayan tango diva Lagrima Rios.
“With Bajofondo,” says Santaolalla, “we don’t like the label ‘electronic tango’ because we try to make a contemporary music of Rio de la Plata (the river that forms part of the border between Argentina and Uruguay) music from Argentina, from Uruguay. Obviously, if you want to do music that comes from there or represents that part of the world tango is going to be part of it – but, in our case, so is rock ‘n’ roll, electronica and hip hop. Hopefully a new language, not pure tango.”
On Mar Dulce, Bajofondo was comprised of Gustavo Santaolalla on guitar, percussion, and vocals; Juan Campodónico on programming, beats, samples and guitar; Luciano Supervielle on piano, keyboards and scratch; Javier Casalla on violin; Martín Ferrés on bandoneon; Gabriel Casacuberta on upright bass and electric bass; Adrián Sosa on drums; and Verónica Loza as VJ and on vocals.
Discography
* Bajofondo Tango Club (Vibra, 2003)
* Bajofondo Tango Club Presenta Supervielle (2004)
* Bajofondo Remixed (Universal Latino, 2006)
* Mar Dulce (Surco/Decca, 2007)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.