# Tanghetto

Tanghetto is an Argentinian neotango and electronic tango music project created and led by musician and producer Max Masri. It won the Gardel Award and was nominated five times to the Latin Grammy Awards. It's based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The style of Tanghetto is a blend of tango and electronic music and is also influenced by world music and jazz. The main feature of their music, apart from the balance of electronic and ethnic sounds, is the strong presence of melody and song structure. Tanghetto uses technology as another musical instrument.

## History

Tanghetto released their first album, Emigrante (electrotango), in 2003. It was inspired in the economic crisis that Argentina was facing in 2001 and also in the feelings of distress generated by the massive exile of many young Argentines, that decided to flee from their country, in a desperate move to find a future. Emigrante was nominated for the Latin Grammy Awards of 2004 in the category of "Best Instrumental Album", and later reached platinum status in Argentina in 2006 and double platinum in 2009. According to The Los Angeles Times, Tanghetto is the most seductive electrotango band that is based in Buenos Aires and the album Emigrante is "marked by its languid melodies, its smoky textures and the kind of delicate piano lines that would make Massive Attack proud". They presented the album in many different venues in Buenos Aires and as a part of the Festival y Mundial de Tango, and also at the most iconic place in Buenos Aires, their show at the Obelisco. In December 2004 the group released an album from a side project called Hybrid Tango, in which a variety of world music styles are blended with their unique sound, including flamenco, candombe, and jazz. This album was also nominated for the Latin Grammy Awards of 2005 in the Traditional/ Best Tango Category.
In October 2005 a new album, Buenos Aires Remixed, was released. It contains 12 remixed versions of Tanghetto songs plus two cover songs ("Enjoy the Silence" from Depeche Mode, and New Order's "Blue Monday"). Their version of "Blue Monday" became an alternative radio hit in the US, and a favorite on the KCRW radio station in Los Angeles. Buenos Aires Remixed reached gold status in early 2007 and became their second platinum album later that year. In 2005 they released their first controversial video, "Tangocrisis", with images of the Argentine economic crisis. Their second video from Hybrid Tango, "Barrio Sur", was their first video with rotation on MTV. In July 2006 they released their first DVD, Live in Buenos Aires.
After consistently touring Europe and the Americas, the band recorded their next studio album, El Miedo a la Libertad, named after Erich Fromm's classic essay, "Fear of Freedom". The album was released on March 1, 2008, and in July 2009 it won a Gardel Award, the Argentine equivalent of the Grammy.
In late 2009 after their first big tour in Brazil, they released a new studio album called Más Allá del Sur, which was also nominated for a Carlos Gardel Award, this time in 2010. In 2011 they released their album VIVO (live around the world), which was recorded during their last two tours. The album also includes a cover version of "Seven Nation Army" from The White Stripes and an electrotango version of the song "Computer Love" by German electro pioneers Kraftwerk. There's a second volume for the VIVO album dubbed VIVO 'Milonguero' with 14 live tracks, including unplugged versions recorded during the 2007 BBC sessions and some bonus tracks, such as Piazzolla's "Allegro Tangabile". This album features a notable live version of "Libertango" also by the great tango creator Astor Piazzolla. VIVO Milonguero won their second Gardel Award. In late 2012 a concept album called Incidental Tango was released, with the participation of guest arranger / pianist Aldo Di Paolo. For the Incidental Tango album, Masri envisioned the notion that music is always the soundtrack of everyone's life, and thus tango in all of its forms is the 'incidental music' of life in Buenos Aires. Tanghetto toured all over Europe in 2013, playing in one of the most important venues in London, The O2 Arena, and toured Romania and Poland for the first time. They also toured in Latin America, in Mexico, Uruguay, Chile, Brazil, Argentina.
In 2014 they released the follow-up to their 2004 concept album Hybrid Tango, named Hybrid Tango II. The album consisted of new recorded material and some songs that were not used in other albums but were of excellent artistic quality and were kept for this project. In September 2014 Tanghetto was nominated for the third time to the Latin Grammys with Hybrid Tango II competing with Rubén Blades, who won. In 2015 they released the album Progressive Tango and got their sixth nomination to the Gardel Awards. Progressive Tango, first promo single, became the number one song played from Tanghetto in Spotify. With that tour they played in Europe, America and Asia. In 2016 they released the album Desenchufado. It was also nominated to the Gardel Awards, becoming their seventh nomination to the most prestigious awards in Argentina, in 2017. In 2018 they released the album Vivo en Buenos Aires, recorded at some of the most important music halls of Buenos Aires and featuring two new songs. In July 2018 they played for the first time at the iconic Lincoln Center in New York City for 3,000 people. In 2019 they performed their most important show in Buenos Aires celebrating 15 years of the Emigrante album, playing at the Ballena Azul Symphony Hall, with three Argentine music legends as special guests: Pedro Aznar, Sandra Mihanovich and Nito Mestre. In early 2020 they played in Buenos Aires's iconic tango venues the Torcuato Tasso, La Viruta and Salon Canning, and after that (because of the COVID-19 pandemic) they only did virtual or "from home" concerts and some TV specials. Also in 2020 they released their eighth studio album, Reinventango, which was nominated to the Gardel Awards 2021 in the category "Best Tango Orchestra", a historic achievement for an electroango band. In May 2021 they released the album Tanghetto plays Piazzolla as a tribute to the legendary Argentine musician Astor Piazzolla. it was nominated to the Latin Grammys of the same year. According to Grammy.com (the official site of The Grammys) Tanghetto's Reinventango presents a rugged masterpiece of melancholy melodies and sharp beats. Relentless in the purity of its vision, it sets a gold standard for all tango records to follow.

## Current live lineup

* Max Masri: synthesizers and programming, vocal
* Antonio Boyadjian, piano
* Daniel Corrado, drums
* Octavio Bianchi, violin
* Joaquín Benitez, bandoneon
* Regina Manfredi, Chelo

## Other musicians

* Diego S. Velázquez: guitars, bass, synths,
* Chao Xu: violoncello and erhu
* Alessio Santoro: acoustic/electronic drums and percussion
* Leandro Ragusa: bandoneon
* Matías Rubino: bandoneon
* Martín Cecconi: bandoneon
* Nicolás Tognola: bandoneon
* Federico Vazquez: bandoneon
* Aldo Di Paolo, acoustic and electric piano

## Discography

Studio Albums
* 2003: Emigrante (electrotango)
* 2004: Hybrid Tango
* 2008: El Miedo a la Libertad
* 2009: Más Allá del Sur
* 2012: Incidental Tango
* 2014: Hybrid Tango II
* 2015: Progressive Tango
* 2020: Reinventango
* 2021: Tanghetto plays Piazzolla
* 2023: ARGENTINXS
Live Albums, Remixes, Special Editions
* 2005: Buenos Aires Remixed (twelve remixes & two covers)
* 2010: VIVO (live album, includes a 3-track bonus studio EP)
* 2011: VIVO Milonguero (second volume of VIVO, with 14 new live tracks and a 3-track bonus studio EP)
* 2016: Desenchufado (recorded live in-studio)
Singles (Promo or digital)
* 2003: Inmigrante
* 2004: Una Llamada
* 2004: Más de lo Mismo
* 2005: Alexanderplatz Tango
* 2005: Enjoy The Silence
* 2006: Barrio Sur
* 2006: El Boulevard
* 2007: Blue Monday
* 2007: Mente Frágil
* 2008: Buscando Camorra
* 2008: Tangocrisis
* 2008: Englishman in New York
* 2009: La Milonga
* 2010: Tango Místico
* 2011: Buscando Camorra Live
* 2012: Yumbera
* 2013: Gallo Ciego (single)
* 2014: Quién me quita lo bailado
* 2015: ¿Cuánto Más?
* 2016: Progressive Tango
* 2018: Cono Sur
* 2021: Transtango
* 2023: Tiempo
* 2023: Carabelas Nada

## Videography

| Year | Song | Album | Notes |
| 2006 | Barrio Sur | Hybrid Tango | First Tanghetto video to be played on MTV. |
| 2006 | Tangocrisis | Hybrid Tango | Contains uncensored footage from the December 2001 riots in Argentina |
| 2006 | Biorritmo | Tangophobia Vol. 1 | Track later re-recorded and included in the Más Allá del Sur album |
| 2007 | Blue Monday | Buenos Aires Remixed | New Order cover, shot in London in 2006 |
| 2007 | Mente Frágil | Emigrante (electrotango) | First tango and electrotango video with an LGBTQ story. It received MTV rotation. |
| 2008 | Alexanderplatz Tango | Emigrante (electrotango) | Shot in Berlin, Germany |
| 2008 | El Duelo | Hybrid Tango | Shot in Rome, Italy |
| 2009 | Buscando Camorra | El Miedo a la Libertad | |
| 2010 | Tango Místico | Más Allá del Sur | |
| 2010 | La Milonga | Más Allá del Sur | Unofficial video |
| 2014 | Quién Me Quita Lo Bailado | Hybrid Tango II | Archive footage from the 1950s in Montevideo, Uruguay |
| 2021 | Himno | video release | Tanghetto with multiple tango dancers |
| 2021 | Transtango | Reinventango | Tanghetto with non-binary dancers |

## Awards

Tanghetto was nominated to the Latin Grammy Awards for the first time in 2004 in the "Best Instrumental Album" category with their album Emigrante (electrotango). As of January 2022 every studio album released by the band has received an award or a nomination. In 2009 they won their first Gardel Award (Argentine Grammy) with their album El Miedo a la Libertad. They competed with top artists like Yo Yo Ma, Rubén Blades and Pablo Ziegler. In 2021 Tanghetto was nominated for "Best Tango Orchestra" for the Gardel Awards, the first time an electrotango band is nominated in what used to be an "only for traditional tango" category. Also in 2021 Tanghetto was nominated for the fourth time to the Latin Grammys for their album Tanghetto plays Piazzolla, also the first time for the band to be nominated to both awards in the same calendar year.
| Year | Album | Award | Category | Result |
| 2004 | Emigrante (electrotango) | Latin Grammy | Best Instrumental Album | Nominated |
| 2005 | Hybrid Tango | Latin Grammy | Best Tango Album | Nominated |
| 2009 | El Miedo a la Libertad | Premios Gardel | Best Electronic Tango Album | Won |
| 2010 | Más Allá del Sur | Premios Gardel | Best Instrumental / Fusion / World Music Album | Nominated |
| 2011 | VIVO | Premios Gardel | Best Alternative Tango Orchestra Album | Nominated |
| 2012 | VIVO Milonguero | Premios Gardel | Best Alternative Tango Album | Won |
| 2013 | Incidental Tango | Premios Gardel | Best Alternative Tango Album | Nominated |
| 2014 | Hybrid Tango II | Latin Grammy | Best Tango Album | Nominated |
| 2016 | Progressive Tango | Premios Gardel | Best Alternative Tango Album | Nominated |
| 2017 | Desenchufado | Premios Gardel | Best Alternative Tango Album | Nominated |
| 2021 | Reinventango | Premios Gardel | Best Tango Orchestra/Band Album | Nominated |
| 2021 | Tanghetto plays Piazzolla | Latin Grammy | Best Tango Album | Nominated |
| 2023 | ARGENTINXS | Latin Grammy | Best Tango Album | Nominated |