World Cup 2022: Argentina

Great footballers - great music. Is that the simple formula when it comes to Argentinian music? ...
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Tango Tango Tango. Or is it? What does the country that has produced two of the best footballers, Diego Armando Maradona and Lionel Messi, have to offer musically? The piece Toccata, composed by Alberto Ginastera at the beginning of the 20th century, was made famous by Emerson Lake and Palmer. Heavy fare. You have to assume that the group took LSD and could see the notes in rainbow colors with the noise (sorry, progressive rock) they made during the piece. Alberto Ginastera, however, marked the beginning of European-influenced Argentinian music.

In the current Top 50 from Argentina, you often find the usual electronic sound mash, just with Spanish vocals. One singer from this segment who has enjoyed considerable success is TINI. Born in 1997, Martina Alejandra Stoessel Muzlera is the Argentinian star with more than 34 million social media followers and more than 4 billion streams.

Let's turn a little to folklore. Mercedes Sosa is an Argentinian protest singer who retreated to Madrid during the military junta after her songs were banned in Argentina. Todo Cambia is about how everything changes, but that the love for her country and its people outlasts everything. You can read the really interesting life story again here.

The music scene in Argentina, which is characterized by incessant currency problems, is quite distinctive and it's worth Googling it further. But I wanted to come back to the tango. Tango dancing was also banned during the military dictatorship. The tango experienced a renaissance from 1983, when the dictatorship had to give way to democracy. The dance came first in the history of tango and it was only later that the typical sound developed, which is played by a group - often a sextet - that normally includes a bandolino. La Cumparsita is probably the best-known tango piece. It was written by a pianist called Gerardo Matos Rodríguez in 1916 and he came from Uruguay. But the lyrics were written by the Argentinian Pascual Contursi and the original music was transformed into a tango by the Argentinian Roberto Firpo. A 20-year legal dispute developed over the rights and distribution of royalties. However, other famous tangos are of Argentinian origin. For example El Choclo, A media luz and Adios muchachos.

Finally, a tango project from Paris: Gotan Project. 

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The "The Beauty of Sound" playlist with the titles presented here

Playlist on Spotify:

Playlist on Tidal: