GoTan Project - La Revancha del Tango

Electronic-fused Argentine tango from Paris that is smooth and sexy if you're open to non-traditional tango forms.

When I first heard La Revancha del Tango (Tango’s Revenge), I thought I was listening to some European-sounding background music, assumed I could ignore it, and went back to work. But after a few minutes, the music got under my skin and the more I listened, the more I realized this was not music to be ignored.

The first album by the GoTan Project, La Revancha is an eclectic fusion of Argentine tango rhythm, electronic synthesizer and native Argentinean instruments. Incorporating the ‘bandoneon’ with violin and some vocals, the sound is smooth, sexy and hip.

Most of the material was written by GoTan’s core group of musicians, but they’ve added a great version of Frank Zappa’s “Chunga’s Revenge” as well as Gato Barbieri’s theme from The Last Tango in Paris. The ten tracks are rounded out with a version of Astor Piazzolla’s “Vuelvo Al Sur”.

The album received a couple of years of play in Europe and sold 500,000 copies worldwide before being released here in the U.S. But it's here at last, and it could make accordion music popular again.

If you’ve seen the hot argentine tango performed by Jennifer Lopez and Richard Gere (his part sure looked easier) in Shall We Dance, then you’ve heard the most popular cut on the album, “Santa Maria (del buen ayre)”. I liked the dance, but I like the music more.