La Passion Del Tango - Various Artists

Advantages: Great Modern Tango music
Disadvantages: Only 10 Songs

...Intro: I bought this in Buenos Aires after hearing it played in a shop. The Gotan project cleverly uses a mixture of traditional instruments such as the violin and banadeon to create tango sounds mixted in with both electronica and modern beats to offer a new take on tango music. Background: Initiated by Philippe Cohen Solal and Edouardo Makaroff in 1999, with Christoph H Muller joining immediately, Gotan Project saw the light of day with the release of their first 10 inch in February 2000 on Ya Basta!, Solal's label. The project which gathers on record, as well as on stage, top Argentinean musicians exiled in Paris, is experiencing an incredible international success with the release of their first album "La Revancha Del Tango". To date, nearly 1 000 000 records have been sold in the whole world . Their current live tour is taking... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Alternative to most modern music, tracks 7 and 12 in particular
Disadvantages: some tracks may lull and some may feel that bit too long.

.... But was i was immediatley mesmerized by not only the unique style of the music but of the various, sometimes unconventional instruments blended beautifully with some new age techniques. This music is no generic pop-chart nonsense, the (some live and some sampled) singing illustrate a uncommon passion to the work while leaving mystery as to the subject with foreign languages. Certain tracks in particualr may already be in your subconcious, with track 1, Montserrat and track 4, Mi Corazon having already been used in television advertisements, but these are not even my personal favourites. Track 12, Forma, with a short, but immedietly arresting piano riff backed by what sounds like electronic trance/trip-hop exudes an almost summer-like feeling. Track 7, Esperandote, mixes a modern, almost trance inducing upbeat backing beat twith the sounds... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Some astoundingly moving tracks, unbeatable for its chill value
Disadvantages: A little inaccessible at times

...and firmly establishing the Café del Mar series on the alternative and electronica scene. Jose had always had a lifelong ambition of becoming a DJ, and after moving to Ibiza, he found his dream had come true when he was offered a job Djing in Café Del Mar in 1990. Jose’s blend of laid back dance and ambient cool soon elevated him to become one of the Café’s most prominent acts and later, the now ex-resident of Del Mar swapped his decks for a producer’s chair. His job was to compile a CD each year that captured the spirit of the chillout Café by picking the prize cuts from the period and sending them back across the Med to the mainlands and the UK. Café Del Mar lies somewhere between the 2 types of compilation I listed above – it is superb to listen to from start to finish, but you can easily pick out some storming tracks... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful