It is a work made up of tango versions of Spinetta's songs and was conceived as a tribute to the 10th anniversary of his death, producer Hernán "Don Camel" Sforzini, who together with Damián Torres Quinteto and Santiago Muñiz formed Los Altiyeros, told Télam.
"Spinettango", a work made up of tango versions of Luis Alberto Spinetta's songs and intended as a tribute to the 10th anniversary of the rock artist's death, has just been released in vinyl format.
"As a child Luis Alberto listened to a lot of tango, his sister Ana said that the first time Luis sang in front of an audience was when he was five years old in a trolleybus, where he sang a tango by Carlos Gardel", said to Télam the producer Hernán "Don Camel" Sforzini, who together with Damián Torres Quintet and Santiago Muñiz formed Los Altiyeros with the intention of bringing El Flaco's songs to the universe of Buenos Aires music.
They did it together with great guests, figures and groups of different styles such as Litto Nebbia, Daniel Melingo, Mimi Maura, the Uruguayan murga Falta y Resto, participated in this album that, in Sforzini's words, reveals "Luis' tango DNA".
Inevitably, the music of Buenos Aires is present in different ways in Spinetta's work, either from a musical point of view when -for example- he incorporated bandoneon to some of his songs, or from his lyrics -linked to the more philosophical side of tango lyrics-.
In his childhood and youth he was surrounded by tango. His father was a tango singer, and was an admirer of the work of Astor Piazzolla, who invited him on several occasions to play in his band, proposals that Spinetta rejected at the time because he did not feel prepared.
"At the time when we started with Almendra, Piazzolla and The Beatles were true guides for us", said Luis Alberto Spinetta in the conversations that Juan Carlos Diez had with the musician for the book "Martropía".
In those intimate talks, Spinetta said that Piazzolla was "the future", the way to break with "the hedonistic melancholy of traditional tango".
Even though he distanced himself from PIazzolla, the mentor of Almendra and Pescado Rabioso did summon two other bandoneonists of that avant-garde to join them in "El jardín de los presentes", an album that the group Invisible released in 1976 and in which Rodolfo Mederos and the recently deceased Juan José Mosalini took part as special guests.
Sforzini, drummer and record producer recognized by the ecological and musical project Planta & Canta, talked to Télam about this idea that he managed to capture on record and that can now also be obtained in vinyl format.
Télam: How did you come up with the idea of making such a particular tribute, taking Spinetta's songs to the tango universe?
Hernán Sforzini: First of all it was born out of love for the creation of Luis Alberto Spinetta, in my opinion he is one of the greatest referents of Argentine popular music, I have been a faithful listener of his work since I was 15 years old.
One day four or five years ago, while I was on the beach, the word "Spinettango" came down to me, and that was the spark that started what would come later.
T: How was the work with Los Atiyeros? Musically you can hear a respect for the melody and structure of their songs, and a search linked to tango from the arrangements, mostly in rhythmic plane or in the singing when they are interpreted by Santiago Muñiz. Do you see it that way? How did you think about it?
HS: Well, the work with Los Altiyeros was pure satisfaction and emotion, both Damián Torres quintet and Santiago Muñiz made their arrangements and interpretations with a lot of love and respect, both are also great admirers of Spinetta. They have plenty of talent.
We recorded the instrumental part in two and a half days and then spent another day working on the vocals for each of the songs.
The recording and mixing of the album was in charge of Facundo Jara with whom I have been working as a team for many years and we understand each other very well.
T: Was it difficult to find the repertoire that fit best to bring it to this tango and in some cases "piazzolleana" version?
HS: It wasn't difficult, in a couple of weeks we defined what the repertoire would be, we defined it together with Santiago.
T: The guests come from different genres, they all gave it a different color, what do you feel they contributed?
HS: Well, each one of the guests is an institution in itself, each one contributed with his personal mark and stamp, which gives the album a sonorous variety in its development. Falta y Resto added poetry and joy to "Bajan", Litto Nebbia brought emotion and historical value to "Muchacha ojos de papel", Melingo added mystique to "Cementerio Club" and Mimí Maura added the perfect balance of energy to "Durazno sangrando".
T: What was your role in this work and did it open new doors for you to immerse yourself in the field of tango?
HS: My role was to choose all the players playing this game and make them play, like the musical DT. I was also in charge of the idea and artwork for the album. All doors are always open, it's up to you if you want to enter or not.
T: Where do you hear tango in Luis Alberto's work? How do you think it permeated his songs?
HS: In Luis' work there are songs that are already tango because of their lyrics, "El anillo del Capitan Beto", "Laura Va", the intro of "Cantata de puentes amarillos", in the album "La La La", where he recorded a tango like "Gricel" with Fito Páez. It also appears in the titles of his songs, for example "Tango cromado". If you listen to "Tema de Pototo" or "Seguir viviendo sin tu amor" Luis' tango DNA is revealed.
SOURCE: TELAM