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Review
Gotan Project, The Barbican
5th May 2003
DJ - Philippe Cohen Solal
Guitar - Eduardo Makaroff
Programmer - Christoph H. Muller
Violin - Line Kruse
Vocals - Christina Vilallonga
Piano - Arnaldo Zanelli
Bandoneon - Serge Amico
Video - Prisca Lobjoy
As the lights go down at the
Barbican, something else illuminates the stage. The band semi-masked
from the audience, blur into the darkness behind a projection
screen that dwarfs the set. The familiar break-beats of Christophe
Mueller begin creeping through the air, as the audience's attention
is high jacked by stunning visuals projected on stage. The theme
as ever with this band is of course Tango, visually and sonically.
Crusaders of reinvention, the Gotan Project have brought Tango
kicking and screaming into the 21st century with a suitably heavy
dose of dub, hip-hop and break beats.
Fans of the band who have so
far only had the pleasure of sticking La Revancha Del Tango into
their CD players are being short changed. Live, the Gotan Project
surpasses everything that you hear on the album with a dynamic
set balancing sonics and visuals for maximum impact. Founded
by Eduardo Makaroff (Guitar), Phillippe Cohen Solal (DJ), and
Christophe H. Mueller (Programmer), the band started up three
years ago more as an experiment than a finite ensemble. Since
then their mix of Tango and dub beats has generated unprecedented
interest and produced an album that is still selling at an increasing
rate to an international audience. They're met at the Barbican
with the kind of reception that only confirms their rapid ascent.
Initially, the band remain
shielded behind the projection screen boasting Prisca Lobjoy's
tango-inspired visuals. Vintage clips of dancers leap in sync
with the tracks as the band move through the well-known tones
of "Santa Maria" and "Triptico". Christina
Vilallonga's sensual vocals bring out a Parisian café
feel to the tracks, and the atmosphere continues to charge as
live dancers tango across the stage.
Almost as big on build up as
they are on Tango, the majority of their tracks have a tendency
to kick in after a good two minutes of bandoneon jabs and programmed
beats. As their signature style takes hold, the intros begin
to blur making way thankfully, for hooks distinctive enough to
retain a sense of definition between tracks. Once the projection
screen falls away to reveal the band in the flesh, they launch
into a generous chunk of their new material. Makaroff, Solal
and Mueller remain a solid support whilst solos are served up
by Arnaldo Zanelli (Piano), Serge Amico (Bandoneon) and Line
Kruse (Violin) whose Jazz tinged lines whirl the audience into
sonic bliss along with a heavy treatment of live effects.
As it becomes obvious that
the night will turn into a standing ovation before it has even
begun to end, the Gotan Project embark on an encore long enough
to please even the most hardcore fan. Armed with more new material
as well as some confirmed favourites, they receive a standing
ovation from the stalls up to the rafters.
With the likes of Pink Martini, and
Mariza leaping onto the market with their own distinctive sounds,
the Gotan Project retain their own trademark style with a Tango
for the 21st century. Perhaps one reason why they have earned
themselves such a wide-ranging audience is down to the diverse
influences that culminate their live sets. A mix of Tango, dub
beats, VJ-ing, and dance fuse together to produce an addictive
performance which leaves the audience standing, the atmosphere
buzzing and the Gotan Project safe in the knowledge that Tango
is still very much alive.
Helenka
Bednar
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