Thin translucent leggings-Bajofondo’s trademark cover-art- are now replaced with dark-skinned legs; a synecdoche of a dark-skinned woman, acknowledging the African heritage of tango in their latest album Presente. Known as exponents of electronic tango, the band now seeks to reaffirm their new identity, disassociating themselves from tango. Presente has more a rioplatense vibe, a genre originating in the Rio de la Plata region, shared by Argentina and Uruguay. The river that separates Uruguay and Argentina was not wide enough to separate the cultures, and not wide enough to prevent their communion. Rioplatense music is a hybrid of classical, hip hop, rock, electro music, and jazz; however, it cannot be understood without first understanding tango.
Tango’s origins are traced to Uruguay and Argentina, an area where a wide range of cultures have made their mark. It’s a singular amalgam of African, European, and Latin American sounds. A Kongo slave arriving in Uruguay, a peasant from La Pampa, and an Italian immigrant in jail, all contributed to this ever-evolving genre. Music and dance popular among the lower classes, often dismissed as lustful by the elites, were complexified in the 20th century through the voice of Carlos Gardel and the bandoneón of Astor Piazzolla. Besides the bandoneón, strings dominate with guitar, piano, violin, and the double bass.
The sensual nature of tango is but one of its facets. Sometimes slow, melancholic violins evoke sounds associated with disillusionment and loneliness, enhanced by the nostalgia of time. The multiple natures of the music encompass the diverse realities and identities of its creators.
In Presente, tension and synthesis coexist between tradition and globalization. “Intro” brings the listener into a crescendo of emotions that eventually culminate in “Código de barra,” a fast-paced, flirty song accompanied by contemporary percussion. By all other means, it resembles traditional tango. The classical and modern collude in “Pide Piso,” way more electro than raw, is a dance song for the weekend night with a lurking, second bandoneón with its distinctive voice.
“Pena en mi corazón” is a song of affliction and a by-gone love, while “Lluvia” is a monochromatic vision of a rainy concrete jungle, an impersonal sea of unknown faces. It could very well be Buenos Aires, Montevideo, New York, or Tokyo.
This album seems to maintain a more tanguero line than the previous ones with the subsequent tracks “Caminante,” “La trufa y el salón,” “Sabelo,” and “Patras.” The experiment in reinventing their sound, brings them to distance themselves from the electronic realm with the a cappella track, “Oigo Voces.”
African Candombe drums mark the beat to “Circular,” exploring the cyclical routine of time and the irrelevance of human actions. Then, electronics return once more in “A Repechaje.” In “Milongón,” wind instruments make one of their few appearances in honor of their tango ancestry.
“Olvidate” is a banger with a chorus reminiscent of a football (the real one) stadium in Buenos Aires or Uruguay. In contrast, an introspective “Outro” leaves us wondering whether Bajofondo is following tango’s ever-evolving spirit or its form. Has this album allowed them to break with the genre and create their own? I don’t know. Go find out yourself!
- Camilo Ucros