My Dirty Little Secret
Ok.. While Terpsichoral is making her confession I thought I would take the opportunity to make a confession of my own. My confession (or “Mi Confesion” as it may, more appropriately, be known) Is slightly dirtier, a little more embarrassing and could turn out to be positively damaging (well, probably not, but you would surprised at how strongly some people feel about this subject)…
It all started on a cold autumn evening in 2003 at the concert of an electro band playing at The Forum in London. The band in question were, at the time, one of my favourite acts, yet as we all piled into the venue, a crowd of mostly foreign students and hairy pot smoking types, I didn’t know what to expect… What followed over the next 2 hours was, basically, nothing short of magnificent! If there is one thing Gotan Project know how to do, it is put on one hell of a show.
The video above is taken from the performance at The Forum and I remember that when I saw it live I thought it was amazing. Four years later, with the memory of this performance in the back of my mind, I started dancing Tango at the gate with a 10 week beginners course taken by the lovely David & Julie. So there it is, A dirty little truth, I got into tango because of Gotan Project.
…That isn’t the end of my tango journey with Philippe, Christophe & Eduardo. We held hands, walked in parks, took long late-night drives in the countryside around Bath and, like an old buddy that you can always rely upon, Gotan Project would pop up on my CD player and I would love it.. I loved the sound, the dirty bandoneon and the understated drum loops made for great driving music. But you can probably tell from my use of the past-tense, something happened and i think i know what it was…
For me Gotan Project was not tango music it was electro music. Now, however, it reminds me of a number of things…
- The first, of course, is dishwasher tablets (why did you guys have to be so careless when signing your record deal?).
- The second was the the disappointment of re-watching the above video 1 year after starting to learn tango. I doubt I could do any better but what we have here is essentially show tango and not the type of thing that blows your trumpet if you have been learning to dance social tango.
– The third thing, the worst thing, is the use of Gotan Project music at milongas and the carnage that results. I don’t think it is impossible to dance to. Just unadvisable. Now if you are organising a Nuevo night, that is your own business, you crazy guys can play whatever pleases you. But is there really any room for electro music at a milonga? personally I think that it only serves to make a mess of the floor craft and make me despise my favourite driving music.
So my dirty little secret is not so much that Gotan Project made me fall for tango but rather, and i’m not proud of this, that tango made me turn my back on Gotan Project.
4 Responses
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simon says:
YES! a kindred spirit.. Tango STYLED music does make some pretty good ambient music.. Take a bus ride at night in a city while listening to Vuelvo Al Sur and you could almost be in a movie. However it is a bit like chocolate cake, It can be lovely under the right circumstances but if you eat it for every meal, sooner or later, people are going to start avoiding you
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Tanguera says:
It’s not dirty, it’s healthy. Acknowledging that Gotan and similar modern tango bands DO have their place and time will serve to dilute the ‘cringe’ reaction we sometimes have when we hear them. It took me ages to re-start listening to Bajofondo, Gotan and Otros Aires. It was not until I stopped thinking of it as tango music but as POP music, did I start appreciating it all over again. For me, the ‘movie’ track is ‘Leonel El Feo’ by Daniel Melingo, whilst on a train in in the sunshine. Try it
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oooh sounds good.. i will have to try that on monday… oh wait – sunshine? could be a problem
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Wow – I thought I was the only one.
I loved tango music – at least what I had heard, which consisted mostly of Piazzolla and Pugliese. I never equated dancing with the music I was listening to mostly because I had never seen it. Then I see a video for Differente and saw people actually dancing something amazing. It was show tango but I was totally captivated. Started taking classes a few weeks later. Two and a half years later, when gotan comes on – I cringe. Monotonous, repetitive music that makes everyone think they’re Chicho Frumboli. *sigh* I do still listen to it for my more repetitive practicing, though. And for bus rides.
I feel so much better knowing it wasn’t just me!
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