The Tango Saloon is an Australian experimental

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

band from Sydney, Australia. Their self-titled debut, a "tango-flavored album with a twist of spaghetti western", was released in 2006 by

Ipecac Recordings Ipecac Recordings is an independent record label based in California. It was founded on April 1, 1999 by Greg Werckman (ex-label manager of Alternative Tentacles, ex-lead singer of DUH, ex-employee of Mercury Records) and Mike Patton ( Faith No ...

, the American record label run by

Mike Patton Michael Allan Patton (born January 27, 1968) is an American singer, producer, film composer and voice actor, best known as the lead vocalist of the alternative metal band Faith No More. Noted for his vocal proficiency, diverse singing techn ...

and Greg Werckman. It was described by Greg Prato of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

(All Music Guide) as "a musical breath of fresh air in the often foul-smelling state of modern popular music". Three albums have followed, ''Transylvania'' (2008), ''Shadows & Fog'' (2012) and ''Suspicion'' (2015) featuring vocalist Elana Stone. In June 2007, the band was seen supporting Ipecac label-mates

Peeping Tom Lady Godiva (; died between 1066 and 1086), in Old English , was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries. Today, she is mainly re ...

on the East-coast leg of their Australian tour. Other notable performances include support for

Mondo Cane ''Mondo Cane'' (literally "Doggish World" or "Dog's World", a mild Italian profanity) is a 1962 Italian mondo documentary film and directed by the trio of Gualtiero Jacopetti, Paolo Cavara, and Franco E. Prosperi, with narration by Stefano Sib ...

at Sydney Festival 2012, and for

Marc Ribot Marc Ribot (; born May 21, 1954) is an American guitarist and composer. His work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, rock, and Cuban music. Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notably Tom Wai ...

in 2015 (with The Mango Balloon).

Band members

The Tango Saloon's lineup includes a number of notable musicians, including drummer Danny Heifetz from

Mr. Bungle Mr. Bungle is an American experimental rock band formed in Eureka, California in 1985. Having gone through many incarnations throughout their career, the band is best known for music created during their most experimental era. During this time, ...

and

Secret Chiefs 3 Secret Chiefs 3 (or SC3) is an American avant-garde group led by guitarist/composer Trey Spruance (of Mr. Bungle and formerly, Faith No More). Their studio recordings and tours have featured different lineups, as the group performs a wide ra ...

. Bandleader Julian Curwin plays on occasion in

Monsieur Camembert Monsieur Camembert is a five-piece Gypsy fusion band formed in Sydney, Australia in 1997. They have won three ARIA Music Awards for Best World Music Album in 2002 for '' Live on Stage'' (released in 2001), in 2003 for '' Absynthe'' and in 2005 fo ...

, along with accordionist Marcello Maio and double bassist Mark Harris. Band members' other projects include Darth Vegas,

Hermitude Hermitude is an Australian electronic- hip hop duo, originating from the Blue Mountains, New South Wales. Biography Early years and ''Explanetary'' Multi-instrumentalists, Luke Dubber (a.k.a. Luke Dubs) and Angus Stuart (a.k.a. El Gusto), ha ...

, Marsala and The Fantastic Terrific Munkle. ''Transylvania'' also features a guest vocal from

on the track ''Dracula Cha Cha''. The list of members: Live band: * Julian Curwin – guitar, keyboards * Marcello Maio – accordion, keyboards * Sam Golding – tuba, trumpet * John Hibbard – trombone * Mark Harris – double bass * Danny Heifetz – drums, percussion * Jess Ciampa – percussion * Elana Stone – vocals Other musicians/guests: * Shenton Gregory – violin, viola * Christian Watson – alto & baritone sax * Leonie Cohen – piano * Svetlana Bunic – accordion * Alon Ilsar – drums, electronics * Luke Dubber – keyboards * Martin Kay – clarinets * Reuben Derrick – tenor sax * Kory Horwood – double bass * Jane Sheldon – vocals * Brian Campeau – vocals *

Ilan Kidron Ilan Kidron (born 22 April 1976), also known as iKid, is a Sydney-based singer songwriter with over one billion combined streams, best known as the lead singer for Australia's multi-platinum selling dance music act The Potbelleez. As a writer ...

– vocals *

– vocals

Other activities

In 2010, band leader Julian Curwin developed a stripped-back chamber version of The Tango Saloon, named The Mango Balloon, with a lighter sound adding lounge, exotica and continental jazz to the larger band’s tango/western blend. Aside from six members from The Tango Saloon, the recordings also feature special guests, bringing their own distinct flavour to the music - ''The Mango Balloon: Volume 1'' (2010) with Eddie Bronson, ''Volume 2'' (2012) with Brian Campeau, ''Volume 3'' (2014) with Shenton Gregory, and ''Volume 4'' (2017) with

Matt McMahon Matt McMahon may refer to: * Matt McMahon (basketball) (born 1978), men's college basketball head coach * Matt McMahon (pianist) Matt McMahon is an Australian jazz pianist and composer. (many references to McMahon in this book) Winning the 'Wangar ...

. He also released ''Crossing'' (2018) with Jane Sheldon, and ''Midnight Lullaby'' (2020) with Stu Hunter,

Lloyd Swanton Lloyd Stuart Swanton (born 14 August 1960) is an Australian jazz double bassist, bass guitarist, and composer. Swanton was a member of Dynamic Hepnotics in 1986McFarlan'Dynamic Hepnotics'entry. Retrieved 21 February 2010. and co-founded jazz ...

and Jess Ciampa.

Discography

Studio albums

References

External links

The Tango Saloon official website

Romero Records

The Tango Saloon at Ipecac Recordings

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tango Saloon, The New South Wales musical groups Tango musicians Tango music groups Ipecac Recordings artists