Music [Archive] - MensTennisForums.com

gretel

06-15-2004, 01:41 AM

Juan Campodonico aka “Campo” is an outstanding electronic music producer from Uruguay, who works together with Gustavo Santaolalla aka Moviola. They have just produced an amazing CD which will be released by Vibra Universal Record Label, in many European countries such as U.K., France, Spain, Holland, Italy, Russia, Portugal, Germany, as well as in the U.S.

Techno and electronic music have crossed over genres. We are pleased to be able to introduce you to electronic tango, with the CD called: “Bajo Fondo Tango Club” (“Underworld Tango Club”).

"Bajo Fondo" is a compilation of several excellent musicians from Uruguay and Argentina, who collaborated with music and vocals, creating a high quality, exotic rhythm, that will completely mesmerize you. The musicians who were responsible for the "Bajo Fondo" CD are: Jorge Drexler, Moviola, Diego Vainer, Juan Blas, Emilio Kauderes, Luciano Supervielle, Didi Gutman (Keyboard player for the famous Brazilian singer Bebel Gilberto who released "Tanto Tempo"), Javier Casalla (playing in almost all the tracks, Adrian Iales and Adriana Varela doing vocals in one of the tracks).

Campo was born in Uruguay in 1971. He grew up in Mexico and returned to Uruguay at the age of 14, being part of several groups of rock and pop since that early age and teaching music later. He discovered his love for electronic music and formed the group Peyote Asesino ('The Killer Peyote') in his “teens” combining hip hop and rock. Moviola, who is producer of groups such as Divididos, Cafe Tacuba and the famous rock and rap group Molotov, produced a Peyote CD called “Terraja” which was edited in U.S. In the 90's. Campo has also been the producer for many uruguayan groups as well as for the well-known songwriter and musician Jorge Drexler. He just finished a remix for the British group Badfellas which has been released in U.K.

It is a pleasure to interview Juan Campodonico in an exclusive interview about the fusion of tango and techno music in this new millennium.

Interview by Marisa Darnel

ARTIST INTERVIEWS : How did the idea of a fusion of tango and techno begin?

Juan Campodonico: Everything began when I met Gustavo Santaolalla, the Argentinean producer of Cafe Tacuba, Juanes, Molotov, Amores perros. We met in Madrid and first tried to do something electronic with the traditional music of our countries: Uruguay and Argentina. Both countries have the "tango" in common.

When I was with the group Peyote, I sampled and remixed some old tango vinyl together with some "bandoneon" (a unique musical instrument used to create tango music, similar to an accordion but with a richer sound) and violin recordings in a CD called “Terraja”. Gustavo had worked on a soundtrack inspired by Portishead and by tango music. I think that the melancholic and dark Portishead sound brought back memories of tango. Gustavo was already planning to open "Vibra", the record Label Company and he was the one who made the proposal of combining these two genres in a CD and I loved the idea, so I began to work right away. We invited other musicians from Buenos Aires and Montevideo to join us and that's how the orchestra was born. We all feel tango music in our hearts and in our genes.

A.I. : What kind of hardware and software did you use in the CD?

J.C.: I love using technology to make music. I prefer PC to Mac. I work with Gigastudio and Sonic Foundry's Acid Pro. .We used a lot of different software to make the album, mainly Cakewalk Sonar. All of the beats are created and developed in Reason or in Acid Pro. Lately, have been using Ableton Live more than anything else. I use it a lot to do live gigs or DJ sets. Sound Forge has been a great help too. My favorite virtual synth is Absynth and my favorite plug ins are Antares and Ohm Force.

My work is almost 100% digital. I only have a Novation Nova, a Roland JX-305, Line 6 Pod and Oxygen 8, Ezbus from Event, Electrix filters, Kaoss Pad, and Technics 1200.

Gustavo has a lot of hardware in his studio and we finished the production there. We used an old Minimoog , Compressors Universal 1176, and even a Sony DMXR100 Digital Mixer or Protools.

Techno and electronica is a musical language in which different cultural roots are blended together. That's why this musical cocktail we have created works. We have combined a globalized techno with our own original flavor. But at the same time, techno music is very dynamic and it's continually changing. We are always trying to catch up with it and to understand what's going on with it and where it's heading to. It's really interesting.

Electronic music is very diverse: from intelligent techno to a more popular dance style, there is a great diversity of styles and genres. It's the same with tango, there are different styles from D'arienzo to Piazzolla. There are endless possibilities to combine both of them. You'll find dub, trip hop, drum 'n' bass, house, garage, all of them blended with a tango sound.

A.I.: How do you feel knowing that the remix you did for the group Badfellas is already in the U.K. radios and Pete Tong is playing your music?

J.C.: It's very exciting and moving to be able to make music for the world from this very far away and small land called Uruguay. It's my country and I think it is one of the few exotic remaining places in the world. It is in the very far down south, very few people in the world know about it, and it's very unusual for a musician here, to be asked to do a drum 'n' bass for the British market. Techno music was born in Europe, but I think they know that there is a need to recycle the patterns, searching for something new: that's where I come in.

I have always been a fan of British music, but I love all kinds of music .I have also been listening to Brazilian music a lot, tango and our folk music called “Candombe” (a similar percussion based music originated from Africa and which is totally different and has nothing to do with the religion 'candomblé'). When I make or produce music, I blend sounds that are different, but very familiar to me.

A.I.: What has been the reaction from tango fans who still listen to the world's most famous tango singer Carlos Gardel, when they listened to your tango-electronic mix?

J.C.: I don't think they may feel affected or offended. I would feel proud if I were a tango fan of old times, to see that somebody is trying to update this genre. Nobody has complained yet.
I think it's clear that this is not tango in a traditional sense. It's electronic music with a Tango flavor. We tried to mix both genres and we got something totally new. We'll wait and see how the public reacts.

A.I.: How was the collaboration of Veronica Loza in “Naranjo en Flor” (“Blossoming Orange Tree”) and what effects did you use on her vocals?

J.C.: She doesn't have an extensive musical training, but she is a very perceptive musician and a natural artist, not like me. We complement each other very well and we have something fresh going on. She created the basic idea of the song with some sample collections and Acid Pro. Then I changed the arrangement of the song. I did a better definition of the melodies and wrote the background vocals. I worked on the vocals with vocoder, Antares Autotune, compressors, delays and with plug ins.

“Naranjo en Flor” is a classical tango song from the 40s, last century. We intent to bring this music back with all the emotion it originally had, which is so characteristic in this part of the world, but to update it to the actual electronic music codes.

A.I.: Campo, what's your opinion about the techno and electronic music scene in Uruguay and Argentina?

J.C.: There are a lot of interesting things ha penning around here. There are a lot of very talented people. You can go to Buenosaliens.com to know more about it. You can listen to DJ sets and also buy CDs there that you would not find anywhere else in the world.

I would like to find more original styles around here. My work as a musician and producer has always been to keep up to date with the music evolution in the world but adding something of our own musical culture at the same time.

A.I.: You were part of a group called Peyote Asesino (Killing Peyote) and edited a CD in U.S. What can you tell us about this experience and how was your transition to the techno music?

J.C.: I have always been a fan of electronica. I think it's the newest and most exciting way to make music.

When I was with Peyote, which was an alternative and hip hop rock band, everybody in the band was trying to convince me not to use so much electronica on the songs.

Electronica is change and change is life. It's a daily challenge. To hold onto a style is not fun. I enjoy all the music as a listener, from classical to the sub woofer in an After hours club. But being a musician I always need to find or develop something new. I began to listen to the old bands of the 80s like New Order and Depeche Mode and then the trip-hop, club and downtempo. Now I am much into techno and tribal house and also all the different genres. I don't get into rock anymore, but I still like the beats it has.

AI.: What are your plans for the future, Campo?

J.C.: Well, "Bajofondo Tango Club" will be released by the end of February 2003 in Europe and I think we'll go there for promotion. We are also planning a lot of shows with the orchestra in Argentina and Uruguay by the beginning of February. Right now I'm going to do some DJ sets, with some "Bajofondo" tango flavor. Another project is a “Campo” CD, which will be out some time during 2003. I'm also producing an album for Supervielle, one of the artists who plays in our orchestra.

A.I.: What's a day in the life of Juan Campodonico?

J.C.: Every day is different! If they begin to be alike, I get anxious. I want to move or change, just for the pleasure of changing. I have already moved 12 times and I have lived in three different countries.

A day in my life means a lot of hours in my studio but I also like going out to different places at night. Night life in Uruguay lasts until early in the morning, such as 7:00 a.m. . I travel a lot because of my profession as a producer, and that means a change of scene.

The difference between working and resting is not very clear for me. When I am not in the studio, I go to shows or listen to CDs or read music magazines. Those are all necessary things for somebody who is completely focused on music. I also enjoy going to bookstores, record stores and walking around Downtown. I don't like to be in a city where you can't walk safely around Downtown.

A.I.: Thank you very much Campo!

You Can Visit Campo's Official Web Site at: www.campoweb.net