Mar Dulce

Bajofondo Tango Club

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 15, 2008)
• Original Release Date: July 15, 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Decca
• ASIN: B0019FOC54
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,870 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #7 in	Music > Latin Music > Urban > Latin Electronica
  #26 in	Music > World Music > Latin Music > Tango
  #38 in	Music > World Music > South & Central America > Argentina

Editorial Reviews

People en Español

Although the Argentinean Gustavo Santaolalla has become famous in recent years for his film work, he is also one of the most important Latin music producers of the last two decades and has produced albums for Café Tacva, Juanes, Molotov, Dividido, and Julieta Venegas, among others. Now the musician makes a comeback as the brain behind Mar Dulce, the commendable second album from Bajofondo Tango Club. (Santaolalla is also a member of the group). As on its first album, this group mixes electronic music with tango, but this album is far from being a mere copy of its predecessor. For Mar Dulce’s 17 songs, Santaolalla invited some of the most creative singers of the moment to contribute performances such as "El mareo" (Gustavo Cerati), "Fairly Right" (Elvis Costello), "Slippery Sidewalks" (Nelly Furtado), and "Pa’ Bailar, siempre quiero más" (Julieta Venegas). --Ernesto Sánchez (People en Español )

Aunque el argentino Gustavo Santaolalla se ha hecho famoso en los últimos años por su trabajo en el cine, además es uno de los productores de música latina más importantes de las últimas dos décadas, ha producido discos para Café Tacva, Juanes, Molotov, Dividido y Julieta Venegas, entre otros. Ahora el músico regresa como el cerebro detrás del segundo disco de Bajofondo Tango Club (grupo del cual además forma parte), Mar Dulce el cual es francamente muy recomendable. Tal como la primera producción del grupo este disco mezcla la música electrónica con el tango, pero para nuestra suerte este álbum está muy lejos de ser una copia del anterior. Mar Dulce contiene 17 canciones que no le permiten distraerse o aburrirse un segundo. Además Santaolalla invitó a algunos de los cantantes más creativos del momento para colaborar en temas como "El mareo" con Gustavo Cerati, "Fairly Right" con Elvis Costello, "Slippery Sidewalks" con Nelly Fustado o "Pa’ Bailar, siempre quiero más" con Julieta Venegas, entre otros. --Ernesto Sánchez (People en Español )

Product Description

Decca and Surco Records are proud to announce the new release of "Mar Dulce" (Sweet Sea) from Bajofondo, the Argentine-Uruguayan collective led by the two-time Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning composer of Brokeback Mountain and Babel, Gustavo Santaolalla. (The US version of Mar Dulce includes 'Boldozas Majados' featuring NELLY FURTADO and JULIETA VENEGAS adding her vocals to a new version of the international hit single 'Pa' bailar' entitled 'Siempre Quiero Mas') Bajofondo's previous self-titled release sold over 300,00 copies and was awarded the Latin Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental in 2003. As on their earlier recordings, "Mar Dulce" sees Bajofondo's seven virtuosic musicians lead listeners through a sensual soundscape of tango, trip-hop, drum & bass and pop elements that redefine the essence of tango for the 21st century. This newest installment in the Bajofondo oeuvre features guest performances by Elvis Costello, Nelly Furtado, Julieta Venegas, Gustavo Cerati, Ryota Komatsu, La Mala Rodriguez, Santullo, Juan Subira and the final recorded performance by legendary Uruguayan tango diva Lagrima Rios. The irrepressible energy of "Mar Dulce" also translates live. The Financial Times describes a Bajofondo performance at London's Barbican Center like this: "DJ Juan Campodonico triggered drum loops and samples that cross-fertilised with the more traditional tango ensemble of violin, bandoneón...and double bass, all of which were brilliantly played by masters of their instruments. The crowd went wild for it, invading the stage at the end and cheering for more with a standing ovation..." Bajofondo is comprised of Gustavo Santaolalla on guitar, percussion, and vocals; Juan Campodónico on programming, beats, samples and guitar; Luciano Supervielle on piano, keyboards and scratch; Javier Casalla on violin; Martín Ferrés on bandoneon; Gabriel Casacuberta on upright bass and electric bass; Adrián Sosa on drums; and Verónica Loza as VJ and on vocals. The new album, Mar Dulce, was recorded in real time. All the members played together in the studio as if they were a rock or a jazz group, which was a radically different approach from the first album. Mar Dulce was recorded in Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Los Angeles, New York, Tokyo and Madrid. The multiplicity of locations reflects the cosmopolitan attraction of Bajofondo, as well as the eclectic list of guest artists including the extraordinary British singer and composer Elvis Costello, Spanish rapper Mala Rodríguez, virtuoso Japanese bandoneon player Ryota Komatsu and several Rio de la Plata artists whose origins cover the entire gamut from traditional to vanguard. Uruguayan artists participating range from the great Lágrima Ríos (this would be her last recording) and guitarist Toto Méndez (musical director of Alfredo Zitarrosa's quartet) to electronica duo OMAR and vocalist Fernando Santullo, ex-Peyote Asesino, a band that also included Juan Campodónico. Argentine artists include Gustavo Cerati, the frontman for Soda Stereo, the most popular rock group in Latin America in the 1980s, and Juan Subirá, keyboardist and composer of Bersuit, one of the most popular bands in Argentine rock, who makes a surprising appearance on Mar Dulce as a singer, revealing another facet of his talents.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great, fascinating stuff, but not tango., August 13, 2008

By	ippo77 - See all my reviews

Formerly Bajofondo Tango Club, this is a South American music band consisting of seven musicians from Argentina and Uruguay.
The group - initially a studio project only - is essentially the seemingly unlikely combination of the Argentine Gustavo Santaolla -- probably best known as the new millennium's Ennio Morricone, having provided the scores for movies such as "The Motorcycle Diaries", "Babel" and "Brokeback Mountain" -- with the Uruguayian rock musician and producer Juan Campodónico.
Their first record, the hugely acclaimed and ground-breaking Bajofondo Tango Club, an inspired blending of tango with electronica, was launched in 2004 with great success.
In 2005 Bajofondo Remixed, employing several DJs and friends like pianist/DJ/composer Luciano Supervielle, further deconstructed the genre.
Often compared to Gotan Project, their music is a fusion of acoustic tango and electronic music, part of an evolving tango genre which is known as "electrotango" or "tango fusion", which is greatly helping to bring tango back into the mainstream.
The band, which prefers to refer itself as a "collective of composers, singers and artists", has a characteristic style that can be considered, besides the aforementioned mixture of tango and electronica, as an innovative form of DNB, house, chill out and trip-hop.
This newest installment in the Bajofondo oeuvre features guest performances by Elvis Costello, Nelly Furtado, Julieta Venegas, Gustavo Cerati, Ryota Komatsu, La Mala Rodriguez, Santullo, Juan Subira and the final recorded performance by legendary Uruguayan tango diva Lagrima Rios.
"With Bajofondo", says Santaolalla, "we don't like the label "electronic tango" because we try to make a contemporary music of Rio de la Plata (the river that forms part of the border between Argentina and Uruguay) music from Argentina, from Uruguay. Obviously, if you want to do music that comes from there or represents that part of the world tango is going to be part of it - but, in our case, so is rock 'n'roll, electronica and hip hop. Hopefully a new language, not pure tango".
"It recently reduced the name to Bajofondo, in recognition of the fact that the music the band is creating nowadays is reaching beyond simply tango. That's evident with opener "Grand Guignol," which blends a heavy drum'n'bass bottom end with the sweeping flourishes of tango. It's an unexpected pairing of visceral beat and florid romanticism, but it works awfully well. Tango remains the constant for Bajofondo, but the 17 tracks offer quite a few variations on a theme. Elvis Costello delivers a guest vocal on the dreamy tune "Fairly Right," and singer Veronica Loza is strong on the uptempo "Tuve Sol." Shrewd electronics endow the tango theme of "Pa' Bailar" with quite an extraordinary sting". -- Philip Van Vleck
The album is a fine blend of relaxed club beats, electronic sounds and perfectly danceable tangos, this is great CD to have in a tango collection to get the `cutting edge' end of the scale as a contrast to all the traditional stuff.
My favourite tracks : "Borges y Paraguay" , "Chiquilines' which has a Salsa feel and the complex "Pa' Bailar".
This is a great album to surprise people with as background music for a dinner party as well.
Fascinating stuff, but not tango, and not even trying to be tango.
Supervielle
Lunático

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun Music, September 7, 2008

By	Lawin4cr "Lawin4cr" (Stockton, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Saw this group in SF at Stern Grove. Went to the event to see Si Se (who was wonderful), thought they would be the headliners. Was surprised that this group was the headliners. They had so much energy and fun on stage. Bought the CD as soon as I left the concert, the CD is equally fun. I haven't a clue what they are saying, but I love the music!!!!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tango Plugged In to XXI Century Buenos Aires (4.5 stars), September 14, 2008

By	Juan Mobili (Valley Cottage, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

For those who are not familiar with traditional Tango nor heard any of the current representatives of its electro-forms, it worth knowing that Gustavo Santaolalla's production and leadership as well as Daniel Melingo's voice in a couple of tracks, makes this album something you ought to explore immediately.

Just like it happened with Astor Piazzolla--I'm comparing reactions to new versions of a traditional musical form, not suggesting that these guys are as revolutionary nor seminal as the great Piazzolla--any innovations performed on a genre as beloved like Tango will breed as many critics as new worshippers. I think this is equal parts respect for its traditonal forms as the unwillingness of some to accept the evolution of a powerful musical form.

That said, Bajofondo--along with Gotan Project--is a band to listen to if you are thinking of immersing yourself in the archetypal Argentine music' state of affairs. This particular album, to me, has built on their first and famous album, and taking it to a new level of depth. This is not an experiment, it is good music.

Besides Melingo's vocal contributions, there's a number of powerful tracks here, whether instrumental like Cristal, Zitarrosa or Borges y Paraguay, or thanks to some dead-on choices for vocals such as Elvis Costello in Fairly Right, Juan Subira--the song of the album--in Hoy , and Mala Rodriguez and Gustavo Ceratti's turns at the mike.

Santaolalla, as committed to Tango's classic composers as he is to exploring its outer edges, manages to keep things faithful to the mood of Buenos Aires without compromising the proverbial "pushing of the envelope." Whether you find winning two Oscars a respectable feat or not, it should say something about Santaolalla's capacity to create impressive soundscapes. As far as I'm concerned, he's the Rick Rubin of Latin America, more for his talent in recognizing the true sound of an artist than a comparison of career' successes.

All in all, if you are hooked on dancing Tango, go to Anibal Troilo, Horacio Salgan or Osvaldo Pugliese--all gods of the original form--because Bajofondo will disappoint you there. But if you were stung just as deeply by Buenos Aires and like to listen to the intricate evolution of a genre, this is a place to visit.