In his hometown of Buenos Aires, Cristobal Repetto brought back the traditional voice of the tango. In his early 20s, his voice could easily have been confused with the great voices of tango’s past. He leads a new generation of artists breathing new life into this genre.
Cristobal Repetto was born in 1979 on July 9. Repetto grew up surrounded by musicians, peñas (clubs where you can listen to tango and folk music) and town festivities where he quickly found a way to get on stage and show his early vocal abilities.
“The emotion I feel when I see rock kids appreciate tango, or tango old-timers appreciating what I do, is indescribable,” says Repetto. “That’s the most amazing thing. True, I’m the singer, it is my voice… but it’s also about the songs, which go beyond tango and anybody can appreciate, despite its dark elements. In that sense, I agree with Adriana Varela: tango is the ultimate heavy metal.”
His self-titled album consists of tangos composed and first recorded in the 1920s to the 1960s. “Listening and listening: that’s what my life has been all about so far,” continues Repetto. “I grew up listening to music of every genre.
From an early age, I was shown a vast musical landscape by my parents, popular music of Argentine and of the world. In my family’s large record collection, there were albums by Mercedes Sosa, Tita Merello, Jorge Cafrune, Violeta Parra and Yupanqui. Later on, León Gieco, Fito and Spinetta arrived and, with them, my first songs. Then came the candombes, Caetano and my first bands. And eventually Corsini, Magaldi, the songstresses and ‘Polaco’ Goyeneche. Today it continues to be the music that gets me going.”
Repetto toured Spain as one of Bajofondo Tango Club’s opening acts with great success.
Discography
Cristobal Repetto (Surco/Universal, 2004)
Live at Café de la danse (2005)
Tiempo y silencio (2014)
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.
