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Gotan Project: Lunático

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Ya Basta Records
Released: 2007.10.20
Time:
 55:38
Category: Electronica, Tango
Producer(s): See Artists ...
Rating: ********.. (8/10)
Media type: CD
Web address: www.gotanproject.com
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2007.12.24
Price in €: 1,99



 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Amore Porteño (Makaroff/Mueller/Solal) - 5:07
[2] Notas (Mueller/Solal) - 4:20
[3] Diferente (Makaroff/Mueller/Solal) - 5:23
[4] Celos (Makaroff/Mueller/Solal) - 5:30
[5] Lunático (Makaroff/Mueller/Solal) - 2:59
[6] Mi Confesion (Lapalma/Makaroff/Mueller/Ponce/Solal) - 4:20
[7] Tango Canción (Makaroff/Mueller/Solal) - 4:23
[8] La Vigüela (Makaroff/Mueller/Solal) - 5:00
[9] Criminal (Makaroff/Mueller/Solal) - 3:35
[10] Arrabal (Makaroff/Mueller/Solal) - 3:57
[11] Domingo (Makaroff/Mueller/Solal) - 4:13
[12] Paris, Texas (Cooder) - 6:45
 

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Philippe Cohen Solal - Bass, Keyboards, Producer, Sounds, Effects
Christoph H. Muller - Bass, Keyboards, Programming, Producer, Engineer, Synthesizer Voices, Effects
Eduardo Makaroff - Acoustic Guitar, Producer

Cyril Atef - Drums
Joey Burns - Electric Bass, Electric Guitar, Vibraphone, Upright Bass
Juan Carlos Caceres - Spoken Word
Patrice Caratini - Upright Bass
Roberto Tormo - Upright Bass
Daniel Falasca - Double Bass
John Convertino - Drums
Nini Flores - Bandoneon
Rudi Flores - Acoustic Guitar
Minino Garay - Percussion
Facundo Guevara - Percussion
Nestor Marconi - Bandoneon
Apolo Novax - Rap
Cristina Villalonga - Vocals
Victor Villena - Bandoneon

Gustavo Beytelmann - Piano, Arranger, Conductor, String Arrangements
Pablo Agri - Violin
Lázaro Becker - Violin
Pablo Borzani - Violin
Roberto Calomarde - Violin
Maria Eugenia Castro - Cello
Raül DiRenzo - Violin
Leonardo Ferreyra - Violin
Alexandre Jakovlev - Viola
Elias Khayat - Violin
Line Kruse - Violin
Demir Lulja - Violin
Eduardo Peroni - Viola
Benjamín Bru Pesce - Viola
Pablo Sangiorgio - Violin
Jorge Pérez Tedesco - Cello

Jorge Da Silva - Engineer
Emmanuelle Honorin - Engineer
Emmanuel Payet - Engineer
Georges Pettilault - Engineer
Chris Schultz - Engineer
Gotan Project - Mixing
Lionel Nicod - Editing
Mandy Parnell - Mastering
Javier Mazzarol - Digital Editing
Sally Gross - Management
Ariel Lavigna - Sound Assistant
Prisca Lobjoy - Photography
 

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


2007 CD Ya Basta YAB023CD

Second album from tango/electronica crossover wizards follows 2001's 'La Revancha Del Tango'. Named for tango master Carlos Gardel's racehorse, 'Lunatico' features a full tango quartet and strips back on the downtempo elements. However, their continued exploration of electronic sounds and adventurous production techniques means that this is much more than just a straight-up tango album.

The distinctive sound of the Gotan Project, which merges electronica with tango and other traditional South American forms, is further refined and expanded on the group's sophomore release, LUNATICO. The album is more eclectic and ambitious than its predecessor, with intriguing instrumentation that includes bandoneon and strings. Guests include Calexico and vocalist Christina Villalonga (who join forces on the striking opener "Amore Porteno"), rapper Xoxmo, and musical director Gustavo Beytelmann, among others. LUNATICO finds the Gotan Project immersing itself more deeply in the tango, while still trafficking in trip-hop, downtempo, and ambient textures, creating a fine example of fresh, world music fusion.



The Gotan Project literally took the world by storm in 2003 with its million-selling La Revancha Del Tango. Skillfully mixing the heated passion of tango with the cool insistent beats of dance music, the group kept the best of both genres as it offered up an unheralded fusion. This time around, the production team delves further into the tradition, cutting down on the dub production filigree and overarching electronic programming--now sexy grooves often come on the back of organic beats and an unprocessed sound captured during live studio sessions in Buenos Aires. This new focus is furthered with conventional bandoneon soloing as well as acoustic piano and string section backing. Nonetheless, kids craving to cut a rug will dig "Diferente" and "Notas," while the robust "Amor Porteno" (featuring Calexico) is the group's most muscular tune to date. More skilled than the debut, Lunatico is no sophomore slump, though hardcore house music fans may want to wait for remixes.

Tad Hendrickson - Amazon.com



Not wanting to replicate what their debut, "La Revancha Del Tango", had achieved musically, the group has a decidedly stronger emphasis on the organic roots of tango on "Lunatico" and utilized a host of local musicians from Buenos Aires; a complete string section, two emcees, a trombonist, and Argentine piano legend and long time Gotan collaborator Gustavo Beytelmann. The result is their most accomplished work yet. "The beats are sparse and liquid, and the transition from Buenos Aires bordello to European dance floor is seamless"

Rolling Stone



"A jiggy melange of tango with a dab of dub"

Entertainment Weekly



"...an intriguing blend of traditional, passionate tango with cool, contemporary electronica"

LA Times


"[W]ith rich arrangements, smoky Spanish vocals, and unexpected flashes of eerie, erotic tension." -- Grade: B

Entertainment Weekly



"[Lunatico] succeeds in sounding exotic with its sinewy rhythms, piano-led mini-dramas and the most voluble vocals of Cristina Vilallonga..."

Q (p.114) - 3 stars out of 5



"More pop than its predecessor, each track comes decked out with a hook or two....LUNATICO is even intrepid enough to include the cinematic cowboy sounds of Calexico."

Down Beat (p.66) - 4 stars out of 5



"Gotan's much-anticipated follow-up still offers beats, but overall it explores more folkloric elements....There's a lot going on..."

JazzTimes (p.113)



"The way the group combines the alluring sounds of the tango with subtle shadings of dub and electronica makes for music that is stately, melancholic, and timeless."

Dirty Linen (p.66)



Doch, fast alles ist Tango am Gotan Projekt, das nach sechs Jahren sein zweites, nach einem Rennpferd benanntes Album vorlegt: die Bandoneon-Licks, die pochenden Rhythmen, die Traurigkeit des Gesangs. Bis auf eins: der schleppende, bewegliche und schlagzeugfeindliche Grundrhythmus des Tangos wurde weitestgehend abgeschafft und durch eine moderne Drum-Begleitung ersetzt, die auch synthetische Beats nicht verschmäht, inklusive einer gehörigen Portion Jazz. Damit betritt der Tango ein ganz anderes Parkett als das im alten Tanzpalast. Er verschwindet sozusagen zwischen Disco, House und Afrorap (von Juan Carlos C‡ceres), manchmal auch einfach in einer coolen Cocktailbar. Gerade für Traditionalisten sollten die zwölf Tracks eine begrüßenswerte Tango-Erfahrung sein, da es ja durchaus eine perkussive Tradition gibt.

(jn) - kulturnews.de



Die Veröffentlichung des zweiten Albums von Gotan Project dürfte das mit grösster Spannung erwartete Album in diesem Frühling sein. Sechs Jahre sind seit der Veröffentlichung des Gotan Project-Debüt-Albums "La Revancha Del Tango" vergangen. In dieser Zeit erlangte das Pariser Trio Weltruhm mit seiner einzigartigen Mischung aus Tango und elektronischen Beats, gefühlvollen Liedern und leidenschaftlichen Tracks, die das grosse musikalische Erbe Argentiniens mit den postmodernen Klängen des jungen Paris vereinte. Mit "Lunático" erscheint nun der grandiose Nachfolger, der den Sound von Gotan Project aufregend fortführt: Das charakteristische Gotan-Bandeon trifft dabei unter anderem auf die Gitarren von Calexico, orchestrale Arrangements auf rasante Percussion-Grooves, der Afro-Rap von Juan Carlos Cáceres auf deepe Dub-Beats. Es ist ein grosses musikalisches Ereignis, das die Faszination für die Musik von Gotan Project weiter beflügeln wird.



After the global smash that was La Revancha del Tango, issued in 2001, expectations for Gotan Project's Philippe Cohen Solal, Christoph H. Muller, and Eduardo Makaroff were high. After all, they created a new kind of electronic fusion in taking the tango, street, and folk music forms from Latin America (played by studio musicians) and melding them with dub, downtempo, other more subtle forms of electronica. On Lunatico (named for tango master Carlos Gardel's racehorse), the band took a step back into the music that inspired them in the first place. They engaged a full tango quartet, with returning vocalist Cristina Villalonga, pianist and musical director Gustavo Beytelmann, and a small host of others (including desert moodscape rockers Calexico on "Amor Porteño"), a rap performed by Xoxmo, and a spoken word performance by Jimi Santos. The album was recorded alternately in Paris and Buenos Aires. Musically, Lunatico is adventurous, it engages the tango directly, both musically and in spirit. It mixes beats to be sure, but it's so much more musical than its predecessor by allowing strings, Nini Flores' bandoneon, and the standup bass of Patrice Caratini to hold sway over the top of most tunes. Check the rap tune here "Mi Confesión," with Santos gliding over a swath of strings and a pulsing bandoneon. The vanguard tango of the title track, performed in 3/4 time, creates a dance rhythm that slips and swirls over sampled voices and the sound of Gardel's horse galloping. A breakbeat drum kit is layered in the choruses, and the voice of the racemaster. Then there's the nocturnal "Notas," with its loops, and over the top of a subtle layer of acoustic guitar, a narrator is speaking of the direct passion of the tango itself. Flores' bandoneon carves out a melody only to be joined by a gentle yet edgy bath of strings. "Amor Porteño," (with Villalonga and Calexico) is a strange and anxious way to open a recording. The electric guitars, piano, and spare, hypnotic drum kit begin to turn darkly as Villalonga sings her tale of passion and torment. "Criminal" is a compelling track; not because it is accessible, but because it isn't. What begins as a traditional milonga is quickly turned inside out over the course of its nearly seven minutes. It's paranoid and aesthetically moving, dramatic and seductive, as well as disorienting. Acoustic instruments begin an uptempo tango only to be driven underneath by an electric bass, samples of nearly imperceptible spoken voices, and an electronic pulse that plays a mid-tempo disco vamp. As bandoneon and strings climb atop one another, the drama in the track becomes almost unbearable, aching for release. When Beytelmann's piano reasserts the melody, both strings and synthetic elements reflect a journey which has moved away from its theme into absence, though the theme remains. "Paris, Texas" (named after the Wim Wenders film, one is to presume), reflects a journey across the desert into the el corazon sangrante of the jungle. Percussion by Facundo Guevara, on deep-tuned hand drums, hypnotize as acoustic guitar meanders through the skeletal melody and maracas and bandoneon decorate the sparse soundscape that seems to get added to with every chorus, yet remains nearly devoid of movement. Piano enters, then disappears, only to return to eventually take the cut out alone. Lunatico is a brave and exotic experiment. It breaks ground even as it re-seals the old-world tango in time and space. What remains, however, is something unspeakable, some whisper of what the past offers the future and how the future tentatively embraces it. It is a poetic, moving, and disorienting recording that comes from the shadowy worlds of history to into the cloudy pre-dawn with only memories and ideas wrapped in each others clothes. Messrs. Cohen Solal, Makaroff, and Muller are to be commended for their musical bravery; it would have been so easy to repeat the formula; instead they've ventured into unknown territory.

Thom Jurek - All Music Guide



The cut 'n' paste aesthetic of the DJ ought to be anathema to tango, eliding its dramatic tempo changes and stomping on the breathless spontaneity of the dance. Maybe French producers Gotan Project realized this, because Lunático more than makes up for the superficial disco of their hit "Santa Maria (del Buen Ayre)" with something that delivers on the concept of a modern tango-pop. Rather than spike drum loops with wheezing bandoneón samples, "Amor Porteño" enlists Arizona cowboy-noirists Calexico to provide drums and guitar, and it works because the producers and musicians share a cinematic vision of tango and a looseness with the form. The more upbeat vocal track "Diferente" is just as good, coming off like a Buenos Aires version of Portishead. This is heady, richly hued stuff, handily conjuring rain-slicked alleyways and decadent, smoke-filled dancehalls. "Celos" isn't tango at all but a humescent bit of swing jazz, a melancholy break from the pulsing backbeat that shows that the trio really are as open-minded as they claim to be. Of course, there's hokum, too, like the pompous poetry of "Notas," indistinguishable from any of a multitude of exotic "lounge" fare, and the rapping on "Mi Confesión," which is even more inane if you speak Spanish. But more often than not, Gotan Project make something concrete out of the breezy electronics and repetitive melodic snatches, touching down on the mixture of European sophistication, African physicality, and Latin sentimentality that gives tango its undying power to entrance.

Mark Schwartz - Barnes & Noble
 

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