[Tango-L] What do you think about Tango mixed with electronic music?

[Ron Weigel]

On 5/1/06, Sergio Vandekier <sergiovandekier990 at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> What do you think about Tango mixed with electronic music?
>

In almost all cases, 'tango electronico' consists of the addition of
some tango elements (use of bandoneon, lyrical references to 'tango',
'milonga' & 'Buenos Aires', reinterpretation of classic tango
melodies) to music with rhythmic characteristics that typically
classify it as 'club', 'trance', or 'house' music. The predominant
rhythmic structure either lacks the pulsating walking rhythm of tango,
or the tango rhythm is weaker than a considerably stronger club rhythm
that is characteristic of spot dances rather than progressive dances.
For this reason, very little 'tango electronico' is suitable for
dancing tango. Some of this genre of music is suitable for dancing
some 'night club' dances such as hustle and night club 2-step. Much of
it is too slow for partner dancing in general.

There are some very few exceptions:

(1) Carla Pugliese (based on the CD 'La vida y la tempestad')

The best example of retaining tango rhythmic characteristics and
adding electronic elments that I am aware of is some of Carla
Pugliese's music. In particular 'Ostinato' and 'La vida y la
tempestad' and most of 'La cumparsita' have rhythmic characteristics
of classic tango. The electronic elements add to the melody and do not
disrupt the predominant tango rhythm. As DJ, I have used some Carla
Pugliese and find that it does not significantly increase the amount
of arhythmic dancing on the floor.

(2) Electrocutango

On the 'Felino' CD, the milongas 'El lloron' and 'Retrolonga' follow a
standard milonga rhythmic. The tangos 'Felino' and 'Electroqtango'
have a prominent pulsating tango rhythm, and 'Sin Piel' is not bad
either. However, the electronic overlay is more prominent than used by
Carla Pugliese and can be distracting for some dancers, who use the
enregy contained within the strong electronic elements to project
themselves across the floor at a faster pace than is warranted by the
tempo of the music, resulting in increased off balance movements.
Also, Electrocutango music does not generate the soft sad feelings of
classic tango. It has an aggressiveness to it that is more
characteristic of international ballroom tango. Nevertheless, I would
still consider their music within the tango genre, because of its
rhythmic characteristics.

(3) Otros Aires

The milongas 'Milonga sentimental' and 'Amore que se baila' have a
standard milonga rhythm and are danceable as milongas. The tangos
'Percanta' and 'En direccion a mi casa' have a pulsating tango rhythm
with a moderately strong electronic overlay, but are still danceable
as tangos. 'Sin rumbo' has a stronger distracting pounding club
rhythm, but is still danceable as a tango with some concentration on
the subordinate tango rhythm. In all these Otros Aires recordings, one
needs to adjust to the unidimensional electronically produced sound,
which lacks the depth of acoustic instruments used in classic tango. I
also notice that some dancers tend to 'bounce'  more to Otros Aires
than they would to classic tango and milongas, so that the quality of
dancing may be compromised by using these recordings.

Other than this there may be an occasional 'tango electronico'
composition that has a danceable tango rhythm (e.g., Jaime Wilensky's
tango 'Chocolate' and milonga 'Universo'), but generally 'tango
electronico' lacks the rhythmic characteristics of classic tango and
thus, rather than being considered an evolutionary trend of tango
music, it is best considered an evolutionary trend within the genre of
'electronic club' music, with which it shares more in common. Thus,
the use of most 'tango electronico' by DJs at milongas risks
disrupting the atmosphere produced by a program of entirely classical
tango music. On the other hand, it may provide a convenient bathroom
or cigarette break for classically minded tango dancers.

Ron