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Updating a South American classic

Bajofondo drops the Tango Club, but keeps its hot Latin sound
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By James Scanlon
For The Prague Post
April 9th, 2008 issue

COURTESY PHOTO
This will be the band's fourth appearance in the Czech Republic, where audiences love its electric tango rhythms.
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Bajofondo


When: Thursday, April 10, at 9
Where: Lucerna Music Bar
Tickets: 429 Kč, available through Ticketpro, Tickestream and at the venue
A few years ago, it would have seemed inconceivable to fuse traditional Argentinean tango with electronic elements of house, trip-hop and drum ’n’ bass. But then, not even mountains or rivers stand in the way of Gustavo Santaolalla.
Although he left his native Buenos Aires for Los Angeles in 1977, Santaolalla’s Latin spirit has never waned. Five years ago, he formed the Bajofondo Tango Club with his Uruguayan counterpart, Juan Campodonico. Their intent was to bridge the Rio de la Plata gap with a new contemporary sound that represented both Buenos Aires and Montevideo.
Already a renowned musician, film composer and producer, Santaolalla may be best-known for winning two soundtrack Oscars back to back, for Brokeback Mountain (2006) and Babel (2007). In Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain epic, Santaolalla’s subtle mix of acoustic guitars, pedal steel and string instrumentation reflected a talent of tremendous natural depth, as well as a keen ear for atmospheric soundscapes. Babel was just as thought-provoking, if a touch more pensive and moody.
In between movie assignments, Santaolalla has continued to move forward with his eight-piece band, Bajofondo. They recently decided to drop the Tango Club part of the name because, as Santaolalla explains, “People were getting confused about what the band was really all about.”
As far back as the1960s, Santaolalla has been a catalyst for change, continually cutting against the grain of convention, and in the process upsetting the so-called fastidious elite.
“When I started as a rock musician, I already had an idea of the kind of music I wanted to make,” he says. “I was very criticized by the Argentinean intelligentsia at the time, who said I can’t mix styles. But I stuck to my ideas.”
Staying power and good old-fashioned grit and determination have since paid incredible dividends. When Time magazine chose to honor Santaolalla with the moniker of “The New Impresario” in its “25 Most Influential Hispanics Living in America” issue, it wasn’t an overstatement. Santaolalla’s grip on the cultural compass of Latin America remains as strong as ever, and he can take Latin sounds anywhere he wants.
Czech audiences should be fairly familiar with Bajofondo by now. This will be the band’s fourth visit here, the most recent being last summer’s Colours of Ostrava festival.
This time, Santaolalla and company come to Prague riding high on favorable reviews of their latest album, Mar Dulce. Although it would have been easy to rely on high-tech studio wizardry, Santaolalla chose instead to have his musicians play in “real time,” performing as a group in the studio.
Almost half the album is made up of instrumentals, with tango all but evaporated. Standout tracks include “Fairly Right” with help from Elvis Costello, “Slippery Sidewalks” with Nelly Furtado and “Pa’ Bail” with Japan’s Ryota Komatsu.
Most Bajofondo tracks transfer well to the stage. The sound boasts a harder edge live than on disc, with plenty of dance floor delights to get the crowd moving. What’s most striking, though, is the way traditional instruments like the violin, double bass and bandoneon (an accordionlike instrument) mesh with laptops and the pumping sounds of turntables.
Santaolalla says what’s happening with Latin American sounds at the moment is “unstoppable.” Judge for yourself at Lucerna this week.

James Scanlon can be reached at features@praguepost.com


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