WOMAD

Gotan Project

From France

Success in the music industry doesn’t only come via a carefully choreographed, cash-heavy marketing campaign. Those cheeky scamps Arctic Monkeys harnessed the power of the internet to take them to the top of the pop charts, while the 2001 debut album from the Gotan Project, La Revancha Del Tango, was a slow-burning victory for the power of the word-of-mouth recommendation. A deliciously dubbed-up, ultra-contemporary take on tango, over time the album grew to boast seven-figure sales and, five years on, remains the incidental music of choice for car ads and TV makeover shows alike. But now the Gotan chaps have unveiled some new tracks for us to fall in love with the release of La Revancha Del Tango’s long-awaited follow-up, the equally divine Lunatico. Not that they’ve have been taking it easy in the interim. They filled the sizeable gap between albums remixing all and sundry (from Sarah Vaughan to Calexico), as well as turning their own studio-bound project into a live proposition. And what a proposition Gotan Project concerts are. Always imbued with a strong sense of occasion, they’re equal parts classical recital, club night and art installation. Unmissable.In A Few Words… Damn groovy new-wave tango kings