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Bajofondo is a Río de la Plata-based music band consisting of eight musicians from
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
and Uruguay, which aims to create a more contemporary version of tango and other musical styles of the Río de la Plata region. It was founded in the early 2000s as a studio experiment, which culminated into the successful album ''Bajofondo Tango Club''. This led to touring and eventually to the current lineup. Bajofondo calls itself a collaborative as all members have solo careers as well. The group has toured around the world, particularly in Latin America, the United States, Europe and parts of Asia. Their music is known to a wider audience than those who know their name as their music has been used in film and television.


Concept

The name alludes to the river that separates Argentina and Uruguay politically but unites the area as a region, called Rio de la Plata. The music has been called “electrotango” or “electronic tango” but leader
Gustavo Santaolalla Gustavo Alfredo Santaolalla (born 19 August 1951) is an Argentine musician, composer, and record producer. He is known for composing his film scores with his collaborator and acclaimed director Alejandro González Iñárritu, which composed the ...
does not believe that it sufficiently describes the group's sound, stating there is more than that. Tango is an influence but it not the band's style. The Argentine-Uruguayan influence is more than just tango, and includes
murga Murga is a form of popular musical theatre performed in Montevideo, Uruguay, Panama, Argentina and Badajoz, Spain during the Carnival season. Murga groups also operate in the Buenos Aires Carnival, though to a lesser extent than in Montevide ...
, milonga and
candombe ''Candombe'' is a style of music and dance that originated in Uruguay among the descendants of liberated African slaves. In 2009, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) inscribed ''candombe'' in its Repres ...
. The idea of the group is to take these traditional styles and create something more contemporary, with elements from rock, hip hop, jazz and electronic music, especially sampling. Bajofondo calls itself a collective, rather than a band, where members work on both projects under the Bajofondo name and on individual projects, often in collaboration with one or more other members. There are eight members, seven musicians and one VJ, who gives a theatrical aspect to live performances, by adding digital images in real time to the music. Each member has their own solo career, and lives in different places. Two of its members, drummer Adrian Nicolas Sosa and producer-composer Gustavo Santaolalla, live in Los Angeles. Four more are in Uruguay, and two are in Argentina. In addition, on most albums, the group has collaborated with other artists including
Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in 2020, and has twice been nomi ...
, Nelly Furtado,
Julieta Venegas Julieta Venegas Percevault (; born November 24, 1970) is an American-born Mexican singer, songwriter, instrumentalist and producer who sings pop-rock-indie in Spanish. She went on to join several bands including Mexican ska band Tijuana No!. Ve ...
, La Mala Rodriguez, and Gustavo Cerati.


History

The idea for the group was that of Gustavo Santaolalla in the early 2000s, with the idea of experimenting with the acoustic instrumentation of tango music, with electronic beats and other influences in order to create a more contemporary music of the Río de la Plata region. Santaolalla had already been work with
Juan Campodónico Juan Campodónico (Montevideo, Uruguay, 1971), sometimes working under his stage name Campo, is an Uruguayan musician, producer, composer, creator and former member of El Peyote Asesino, Bajofondo and Campo. He produced albums by Jorge Drexler (F ...
on other projects and together they began experimenting in the studio, trying out different sounds, sampling and playing instruments themselves along with participation from friends. After two years of work, the first album, self-titled ''Bajofondo Tango Club'' was released in 2002. The album introduced their new style along with the participations of guest artists such as
Jorge Drexler Jorge Abner Drexler Prada (born September 21, 1964) is a Uruguayan musician, actor and doctor specializing in otolaryngology. In 2004, Drexler won wide acclaim after becoming the first Uruguayan to win an Academy Award, which he won for compos ...
,
Adriana Varela Adriana Varela (born Beatriz Adriana Lichinchi on May 9, 1952 in Avellaneda, Argentina) is an Argentine tango singer, with a successful career that encompasses many records, as well as minor movie roles. Summary Adriana Varela is regarded as one ...
,
Cristóbal Repetto Cristóbal or Cristobal, the Spanish version of Christopher, is a masculine given name and a surname which may refer to: Given name *Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895–1972), Spanish fashion designer *Cristóbal Cobo (born 1976), Chilean academic * Cr ...
,
Adrián Iaies Adrián Iaies (born November 4, 1960) is an Argentine pianist and composer who has been nominated for the Latin Grammy awards three times. His main style is jazz but he combines that with soul, tango, and other styles. Iaies became involved in jaz ...
,
Didi Gutman Didi may refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Didi" (song), a song by Khaled * Didi, the principal character in '' Didi's Comedy Show'', a German comedy television show * Didi Pickles, mother of Tommy and Dil in the cartoons ''Rugrats'' and ''Al ...
, and
Pablo Mainetti Pablo is a Spanish form of the name Paul. People *Pablo Alborán, Spanish singer *Pablo Aimar, Argentine footballer *Pablo Armero, Colombian footballer *Pablo Bartholomew, Indian photojournalist * Pablo Brandán, Argentine footballer *Pablo Brenes ...
. The album reached triple platinum and won Argentina's Gardel Prize and a Latin Grammy (Best Instrumental Pop Album) . The popularity of this album encouraged the formation of most of the permanent group and touring. In their first shows, about seventy percent was pre-programmed with thirty percent live. Today only ten percent of what is heard is pre-recorded. Since then, six other albums have been made, either with the entire collective or with individuals with collective support, such as Luciano Supervielle's solo album in 2004, produced by Santaolalla and Campodónico. This was followed by ''Bajofondo Remixed'' in 2005, with reworked versions of songs from Bajofondo Tango Club and Supervielle's album. In 2008, the album ''Mar Dulce'' was released and the name of the group shorted to just Bajofondo, as the idea was not just tango music as the base but all styles of Rio de la Plata regional music, such as milonga and candombe. In 2013, the Presente album has no guest vocals and strings play a more major role with eleven violins, four violas, three cellos and three stand-up basses. This album won the Latin Grammy for best instrumental album. They have toured around the world particularly in Latin America, the United States, Europe and parts of Asia. Venues include music festival including Coachella in the United States, Womad in England,
Festival Internacional Cervantino The Festival Internacional Cervantino (FIC), popularly known as ''El Cervantino'', is a festival which takes place each fall in the city of Guanajuato, located in central Mexico. The festival originates from the mid 20th century, when short play ...
in Mexico, Cactus Festival in Belgium, Pirineos Sur Festival in Spain, Pohoda in Slovakia, World Music Festival in South Korea, Summer State in New York City and Glastonbury. Other major venues and appearances include the 2010 appearance at the
Disney Concert Hall The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue (Los Angeles), Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, California, is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center and was designed by Frank Gehry. It was opened on October 24, 2003. Bounded ...
in Los Angeles with the
Orchestra of the Americas The Orchestra of the Americas (OA) is a Latin Grammy Award winning symphony orchestra of musical leaders, ages 18 to 30, representing more than 25 countries of the Western Hemisphere. Leadership The orchestra is guided by Artistic Advisor Plácido ...
, the
University of California Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
, the Lincoln Center in New York, the Barbicon Center and Roundhouse in London and in 2009 they were part of the opening of Argentina's bicentennial festivities. Their music is more widely known to the public then the members individually and even the group in total. One reason for this is that their music appears often in television and film than on radio, because it adapts to the first two mediums better. The song Pa’ bailar was used as the theme for the Brazilian soap ''
A Favorita ''A Favorita'' (English: ''The Favorite'') is a Brazilian telenovela produced and broadcast TV Globo. It premiered 2 June 2008 to 17 January 2009 with a total number of episodes of 197. It is created by João Emanuel Carneiro and directed by Ricar ...
'' ( TV Globo), and the same song for an
Acura Acura is the luxury and performance division of Japanese automaker Honda, based primarily in North America. The brand was launched in the United States and Canada on March 27, 1986, marketing luxury and performance automobiles. It was introduced ...
commercial for the Super Bowl. Other examples include commercials for Kahlua, Macy's and Shell. Warner Cable used ''Pa’ bailar'' for a trailer for the series ''Nikita'' in 2011 and the Russian gymnastics team used several of their works for the
2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
.


Members

Bajofondo current lineup has eight artists.
Gustavo Santaolalla Gustavo Alfredo Santaolalla (born 19 August 1951) is an Argentine musician, composer, and record producer. He is known for composing his film scores with his collaborator and acclaimed director Alejandro González Iñárritu, which composed the ...
, cofounder of Bajofondo, is a singer, composer, producer and plays guitar, charange and
ronroco The charango is a small Andean stringed instrument of the lute family, from the Quechua and Aymara populations in the territory of the Altiplano in post-Colonial times, after European stringed instruments were introduced by the Spanish during co ...
and lives in Los Angeles. He also is the director of a record label and publishing company. His career began at age 16 with the band ''Arco Iris'', a pioneer in fusing Latin American folk music and rock. He played with ''Soluna'' and then with ''Wet Picnic'' after he moved to the United States. His solo career includes three albums. He has been a producer since the 1970s, working with Leon Gieco, G.I.T. and Divididos, along with
Maldita Vecindad La Maldita Vecindad y los Hijos del Quinto Patio (, usually called only "La Maldita") is a band formed in Mexico City in 1985. They are pioneers of rock en español and one of the most influential rock bands in Mexico. They first made an impac ...
and
Café Tacuba Café Tacvba (Pronounced ''kaˈfe taˈkuβa'') is a band from Ciudad Satélite, Mexico. The group gained popularity in the early 1990s. They were founded in 1989, before they had the current lineup of Rubén Isaac Albarrán Ortega (lead vocals, ...
. In 1997 he cofounded the record label SURCO, whose first release was Mexican band Molotov, along with Bersuit, La Vela Puerca, Julieta Venega and more. Santaolalla has also composed soundtracks for films such as The Insider,
Amores Perros ''Amores perros'' is a 2000 Mexican psychological drama film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (in his feature directorial debut) and written by Guillermo Arriaga, based on a story by them both. ''Amores perros'' is the first installmen ...
,
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,
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and
Babel Babel is a name used in the Hebrew Bible for the city of Babylon and may refer to: Arts and media Written works Books * ''Babel'' (book), by Patti Smith * ''Babel'' (2012 manga), by Narumi Shigematsu * ''Babel'' (2017 manga), by Yūgo Ishika ...
. This work has earned him a BAFTA, a Golden Globe and two Oscars. He has also won fourteen Grammys of various types.
Juan Campodónico Juan Campodónico (Montevideo, Uruguay, 1971), sometimes working under his stage name Campo, is an Uruguayan musician, producer, composer, creator and former member of El Peyote Asesino, Bajofondo and Campo. He produced albums by Jorge Drexler (F ...
is the other cofounder of Bajofondo and does programming, beats, samples and guitar. Campodónico is from Uruguay but grew up in Mexico after his parents were exiled, returning in 1984. Soon after he was a member of several rock and pop bands and has been a pioneer of electronic music. In the mid 1990s he formed the band ''Peyote Asesino'', the first Uruguayan band to fuse hip-hop with contemporary rock. This work attracted the attention of Santaolalla, producing the band's second album and giving them international exposure. The band broke up soon after but Campodónico continued to work with Santasolalla, eventually creating Bajofondo, which continuing with his own projects and working as a DJ under the name of Campo. Luciano Supervielle does piano, keyboards and scratch. Born in France, Supervielle developed his music career in Uruguay, synthesizing hip hop, tango, rock and Uruguayan folk in a way that takes advantage of his abilities on keyboards and turntables. He began his career with the hip-hop group Plátano Macho then began working with Jorge Drexler, participating in four albums and a DVD. He is the youngest member of Bajofondo and has released two solo projects while a member. Javier Casalla is a violinist who has played with various ensembles in rock, tango, folk, jazzo and classical. In addition to Bajofondo, he collaborates with the bands of Cristobal Repetto and Lucianco Supervielle. He released a solo album in 2006(produced by Santaolalla) and participated in the production of soundtracks for various films. Martin Ferres is a bandoneon player who plays both traditional and avant garde music and his work is influenced by minimalism as well as tango classics. In addition to Bajofondo, he composes music for theater and dance, and has been heard in many of Argentina's main theaters. Gabriel Casacuberta plays upright bass and electric back, beginning his career as a session musician in Mexico but working with many Uruguayan artists. After returning to his home country, he played in a number of bands, including Plátano Maco with Supervielle. He has also produced music for movies and television. Adrian Nicolas Sosa is a drummer, producer and composer, who was involved with Bajofondo since day one as a producer and A&R when he was the general manager at Surco Records. He joined the band as a musician after they had already produced one album that used drum machine called "Tango Club". For the Mar Dulce album, Santaolalla decided to try live drums as an experiment and asked Sosa to sit in. The success of this led to Sosa's becoming a permanent member. At present Sosa also writes, produced and he also sang in one of his compositions called "Cuesta Arriba" featured in the last Bajofondo album "Presente" (2013). Veronica Loza is a VJ who connects the band's music with stage presence, generally through digital images. On stage, she appears at a keyboard like a musician but her production is visual. She also provides vocals.


Discography

* ''
Bajofondo Tango Club Bajofondo is a Río de la Plata-based music band consisting of eight musicians from Argentina and Uruguay, which aims to create a more contemporary version of tango and other musical styles of the Río de la Plata region. It was founded in the ear ...
'' - 2002 * '' Remixed'' - 2005 * ''
Mar Dulce ''Mar dulce'' is an album by the Argentine/Uruguayan tango fusion band, Bajofondo. The album was recorded in Buenos Aires, Argentina, In the first phase, double bass, violin, bandoneon, guitar and piano were recorded, then strings orchestra und ...
'' - 2007 * '' Presente'' - 2013 * ''Aura'' - 2019 ;Related albums * '' Bajofondo presenta Supervielle'' - 2004 * '' Bajofondo presenta Santullo'' - 2009 * '' Bajofondo presenta Campo'' - 2011 ;DVD * '' Supervielle en el Solís'' - 2006


References


External links

*
National Geographic video
*
Bajofondo interview with Undergroundrepublik
{{Authority control Tango music groups Uruguayan musical groups Argentine musical groups Latin Grammy Award winners